How to Find Peace When You Feel Inadequate

Inside: When we’re navigating new, unfamiliar terrain in life, we may think controlling all the details and planning all the steps will make up for our inexperience. Here’s a better approach. ~

This year, for the first time since the mid 2000s, nobody at my house is going back to school in August.

One daughter is working remotely and living at home for now. The other will be studying abroad in Ireland but doesn’t leave until the third week in September.

It’s a new season of life for all of us. Some are feeling the transitions more acutely than others. The future is full of questions and opportunities to feel nervous and inadequate.

Another Uncertain Season

I think back to my daughters’ early teenage years, a phase of life that was also full of uncertainties. I remember fretting about all the unknowns one morning when a verse from the book of Psalms reached out and grabbed my heart.

“The Lord guards the inexperienced; I was helpless, and He saved me.” (Psalm 116:6)

I breathed a sigh of relief as I read these words. I was so very glad God was guarding my children as they tried to learn difficult concepts and absorb new material at school.

And Yet …

As I considered the timeliness of finding that specific verse on that very day, another thought flitted through my still-anxious brain.

My children are not the only inexperienced ones here.

I knew parents all over the world have been rearing teenagers successfully for thousands of years, but I had never done it before. My head swam with the practical, emotional and spiritual ramifications of preparing children for young adulthood.

What if I miss something? What if I do it all wrong? What if I emphasize this when I should be focusing on that?

Then the comfort of scripture caught me again, mid-fret.

“The Lord guards the inexperienced; I was helpless, and He saved me.”

Can You Relate in Some Way?

Maybe the new terrain in your life is helping older parents, raising toddlers, interacting with grandchildren, managing an unexpected diagnosis, starting a new job, wading through fresh grief or figuring out life as an empty nester. Perhaps more than one scenario on this list applies to you, plus others I didn’t even mention.

We could pretend our worries and struggles don’t exist or try to plow our way through them on our own, but Psalm 116:6 suggests a different approach.

Our gracious, righteous and compassionate God guards us whether we ask Him to or not. But something happens in our minds and hearts when we scoop up all our fears and concerns and start handing them over to Him, one sorry bit at a time.

Here, Lord. Your Word says I’m supposed to cast all my cares on you, because you care for me. So please take this, and this, and this. Oh yeah, and this too.

How the Peace Comes

As we acknowledge our helplessness before Him—as we lay down every single “what-if” and “how-am-I-going-to-do-that” at His feet—the peace that transcends understanding starts to invade our souls.

I don’t know how this happens. I just know it does.

God may not answer all our questions or show us how everything is going to work out. In fact, He probably won’t—not right now, maybe not ever.

But He Does Save Us—from Ourselves

He rescues us from our need to know the next 15 steps. From our desire to control the outcome. From our belief that we are the key figures in making this all work.

We might be inexperienced and helpless, but we are not—nor will we ever be—on our own.

As Psalm 27:1 reminds us, “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom should I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom should I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1)

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How has God guarded or saved you when you felt helpless and inexperienced? Let’s encourage each other by sharing our stories in the comments.

♥ Lois

P.S. I’m linking up this week with #tellhisstory, InstaEncouragements, Let’s Have Coffee and Grace & Truth.