God the Father

Image courtesy of Sabrina Bailey from The Red Room Photography.

Spring semester has only just begun and I already feel beaten and worn down. It’s not that the workload is heavy; in fact, it’s relatively light compared to previous semesters. The problem is that I’m not ready to be responsible. I’m not ready to make myself do the little homework that I have; I would rather watch TV and surf the Internet (in particular, waste hours browsing Pinterest).

Since I’m feeling stressed out about my responsibilities, I’m stressing out about everything else that’s going on because, well, why not? I’m already stressing out, so why not stress out more? Why focus on just school pressure when I could also focus on the troubles I’m facing with finances, relationships, and my health? It’s an all-out stress fest over here.

If you are human (and I’m assuming you are), then you can probably relate to my situation. You might not have the exact same troubles that I’m having, but you probably have troubles of your own that just seem to pile up. It can be exhausting right? It would be so much better if we could just crawl under a rock and hide for the rest of our lives.

Hiding under a rock is no way to live. Also, it's a bit creepy. Image courtesy of Google Images.

 Unfortunately, hiding under a rock is not an option and it’s no way to live a life. The good news is that it’s okay to wallow (just not for very long). We have legitimate reasons to be stressing out.

If you’ve accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior then you’ve already got someone there to listen to you rant and vent. Some people might say that it’s bad to complain to God, but you know what? He created us. He knows us. He knows when we’re really upset; pretending not to be upset isn’t fooling him.

Jeremiah, one of God’s prophets, complained about how God “deceived” him (Jeremiah 20:7-18). He complained and whined… he had good reason to be upset. As a prophet, he wasn’t exactly well liked. (Would you like someone who talked of destruction?) God knew how tough Jeremiah’s situation was; he wasn’t even angry at Jeremiah for complaining.

God “examine[s] the righteous and probe[s] the heart and mind” (Jeremiah 20:12); God isn’t shocked by our anger. It’s okay to come to him and complain, just as Jeremiah did. And I don’t know about you guys, but I feel so much lighter once I’ve explained to someone how I really feel, especially if I’m angry.

Here are two things about accepting God as our Lord and Savior:

One, we are children of the Most High King. We are sons and daughters of the King and Creator of the universe. We are nobility. Pick your head up, look yourself in the mirror, and remind yourself that you are a son or daughter of the Lord God Almighty, who gives strength to his people.

Two, we are the adoptive children of God. We have the right to run up to him, crying “Abba,” “father.” He is a loving father who does not want to see his children suffer. He waits for us with open arms and will comfort us in times of trouble. “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” he promises (Hebrews 13:5; Deuteronomy 31:6). Also, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 21:4).

Life is stressful. Cry if you must. Wallow (but not for long). Realize and accept that you are only human and can only do so much on your own. Then turn to God and take your problems to the cross. He is the loving father who is waiting to comfort us in every trial, no matter how trivial something might seem.

Cheers!

Molly