When I lived in St Andrews (where I grew up) I was a confident girl who had few but very close friends. At the end of my 4th year in school I found out that I would be moving to the other side of the country. At the end of my time living there I began to date my current boyfriend who in fact lived on the other side of the country too which made us have a long distance relationship and took away every weekend from both of us from travelling.
However when I told my best friend I would be moving she quickly began to grow apart from me in order to find new friends for her next two years at school and soon was hardly saying a word to me. The last few weeks of school I would wander around the corridors alone, minding my own business and preparing for important examinations. That could seem like a very sad and lonely situation but I wasn't down! This part of the story here stops me every time I think about it. Let me quote from what I said;
"I wasn't down"
I had every opportunity to feel as sorry for myself and for a good reason. Why was I so content? Quite simply, I wasn't worried. Any negative event that I came across I kicked out of the way and thought of the positives that could come out of it. This is what we need to do with any bad situation we find ourselves in but most importantly, we need to see the positives of God's work in our situations.
Here are the positives and God's work in my bad situation then:
- I would make new and more loyal friends where I move to
- I would be closer to my boyfriend
- I would get life experience by settling into a new home and school
- I would meet more christians by going to a new church
Although some challenges seem big, we really need to take that idea of "challenge" out of our head and replace it with "opportunity" or "spiritual growth" or "beneficial experience".
God knows our concerns, our fears and weaknesses. He doesn't set up a challenge too big for us or one that'll hurt or make us weary. He creates them in order to spiritually strengthen us and to give us life experience.
This verse stands out to me whenever I feel at my lowest or like giving up:
"I am the Lord your God, who holds your right hand, and I tell you, "Don't be afraid. I will help you" Isaiah 41:23
Worrying is seen as quite a natural thing, however not only does it put us in a pessimistic way of thinking but it also stops us from being close with God. It can lower our trust in him, his plans, his love for us. It makes us want to become more reliable on human things such as having a bath or taking it out on somebody else or taking medication. This is exactly what the Devil wants. He will jump at any opportunity to ruin your relationship with God;
"The devil, your enemy, goes around like a roaring lion looking for someone to eat. Refuse to give in to him, by standing strong in your faith" 1 Peter 5:8-9
We need to stop. We don't even need to dwell over the bad situation and think of what we need to do. We need to take it to God. God is willing to step in and carry our fears, our worries, our weaknesses for us.
"Trust the Lord with all your heart, and do not depend on your own understanding" Proverbs 3:5
When in doubt I always consult the bible, so here's some verses that might help you if you're hitting that worrying or difficult phase:
- Matthew 8:25-26
- Matthew 6:25
- Matthew 11:28-30
- 1 Peter 5:6-7
- Proverbs 18:10
