Me too! Somehow some people think that being a Christian means you don't feel these feelings or go through trough troubles in your life. We, Christians, aren't immune to feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. How we react and what we do with them is what makes us different from the world. We know in our heart that Jesus was tempted in every way mankind was and is tempted. Being of the frame of mind that we are not alone is a big plus! We know that God works according to His plan and that He is constantly working things out. Not necessarily on our time line but on His which is perfect; not like mine which is not perfect and often not well thought out. We can act like the world, throw up our hands, throw a temper tantrum, destroy our witness and act like so many others. Or, we can be better. I have had numerous times in my life when the choices I've made to my feeling hopeless and helpless were anything but Christian. There were many times that I really wondered what God's purpose for my life was as it felt like I was the biggest failure that ever lived. I have the choice to react in any fashion I choose. God gave me this freedom of choice in hopes I would choose to let him take care of all of my situations.
My frame of mind just doesn't affect me and my relationship with Jesus. It also affects those around me whether they know me or not. I've made messes of small situations that took years to undo. I've also made choices immediately that have taken care of the situation right away. Perhaps your life has it's ups and downs as well. Unless you are perfect, I can't imagine anyone being immune to the ups and downs of life. Just remember that God is at work and sometimes we need to get out of his way. Sometimes we need to let life's circumstances to work their way to the bottom of the pit before we have the presence of mind to look up. In my world it's taken years sometimes before I could see the hand of God at work. He was always at work but my attention was to the problem and not the solution. When we begin to be solution focused, we can have hope and know that He who began a great work in us will bring it to completion. Shortly after becoming a Christian I travelled home to tell my family. They all rejected the Message. I went to those who I know professed a Christian faith and asked them to go to my family and share Jesus with them. They told me it wasn't their job. Shocked I went to my leadership in Youth With A Mission with the dilemma. They told me that Scripture said the Word of God would never return void or without results. They told me that where two or more are gathered there Jesus is in their midst. They told me if we pray in faith believing according to the Word of God that our prayers would be answered. So we claimed my families salvation. Today they are all believers. Not by my might or wisdom, but by God answering the prayers of a few.
While I would like to say that I've arrives...I've not. That won't happen until Jesus takes me home. He isn't done with me here on earth. So, I move forward and deal with what is thrown. I try to stay in Him through these times and try to not do it on my own. That just breeds futility. It's refreshing to exit the hole and or climb to the top of the mountain. Unless we drop into the hole or spend time in the valley, our appreciation for being out of the hole and out of the valley doesn't mean as much. We need the contrast of both. For this it's important for us to be able to look at how were delivered from the hopelessness and helplessness from various situations in our life. God is faithful and He will do what he says he will do. Our job is to believe. Remember, it's always your choice just as it is mine. Peace
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