Confidence In Christ: A Devotional For Teen Girls

Stress

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." – Proverbs 3:5-6

I'm going to be honest with y'all—growing up is hard.

Statistically, millennials are the most stressed out generation of all four of the living current age groups (Millennials, Gen Xers, Boomers, and Matures), according to a study on apa.org. Obviously, the cause of stress is different across the board, but many of the concerns are universal. College (and the cost of it), major life decisions, and trying to make it are a few of the many things that many young adults think about on a regular basis. Even while still in high school, stress can be rampant, between bullying, peer pressure, and deciding on a future career.

Heck, even middle schoolers and elementary school students battle stress in some form or another!

As a Christian, stress can be slightly easier to manage. There's the assurance of a personal God who hears your prayers, a community of believers for support, and the Bible to turn to during our toughest seasons. Nonetheless, we still live in the world and we still have to find a way to deal with the pressures that come with it. Each of us have unique situations and drives that make us susceptible to some kind of stress or another.

For me, I've always been an overachiever. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it often causes me to put huge amounts of pressure on myself to succeed. Wanting so much to be successful in life, I often find myself spending my thoughts and energy worrying about how to achieve my goals. Sometimes, it even causes me to envy those who seem further along than me—which as a Christian, is always wrong.

Meanwhile, in a crazy, stressed out, maddening world, Jesus calls us to do the opposite of what the world says. He tells Mary—the model overachiever seek him before her duties. He calls fishermen to be His disciples. He accepts the humble sinners over the knowledgable proud.

He tells us that if we have faith as small as a mustard seed, we can move mountains.

I truly believe that if God has put something on your heart, He'll work out the details of it in time. Nonetheless, sometimes God's timing is different than our timing. Sometimes, He says to "seek first the Kingdom Of God and all of these things will be added to you" (Matthew 6:33). God has a plan for your life—but sometimes, those plans take time to unfold. Many of my hopes and dreams have taken time to come to pass, and I have no doubt that my current goals will take time and patience as well. That's how God helps us grow.

Before any dream, goal, or relationship, God wants to be number one in our lives.

So many of us are Martha's but God wants us to have the heart of Mary.

So many of us are worried about so many things, when only one is important.

This week, let us make a conscious effort to trust God with our stories.

After all, If we have the Maker of the stars as our author, how can we possibly go wrong?

Discussion Question - Do you struggle with stress or worry? If yes, how do you handle it?