Exodus 14:14: “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
Being still means to stop trying to figure things out on your own. Being a young adult means you are stuck in this weird in between stage of being in the real world and not being in the world.
Young adulthood means figuring out life for you. You get to develop who you are going to be, the opinions you are going to listen to, the friend group you are going to allow to influence you, and the relationship with God you are going to have. I think young adulthood is hard because it is a tearing away of your old perspective of the world that was given to you by your parents and creating a new one for yourself. Figuring young adulthood out is not easy but figuring life out without God is worse. Here are some ways to rely on God during this crazy season.
Be vulnerable with God
If you are not vulnerable with God, how can He heal the REAL issues in your life? Just like a best friend, he wants to hear all that is going on in your head. He wants to hear about the good things, like getting a free bagel on your way to work. However, he also wants to hear about the questions you have, the frustrations you have, and the craziness that happens in young adulthood.
When I am questioning the Bible, the Church, or anything else, taking it to God helps! Being real with God has allowed me to grow my relationship with Him. Some days I feel so done with the world I just say, “Jesus, if I don’t sleep in the next ten minutes one of my roommates is going to get a shoe thrown at their head.” Even though I don’t always hear, “Kaylee, don’t throw that shoe” being vulnerable allows me to take everything to God instead of trying to make sense of it on my own.
Take a breath
Young adulthood often comes with a bunch of stress! You may be working a double shift, have three meetings, and 2 exams to study for but you still need to find a few minutes to just breathe and be with God. Like any relationship, you need to have some quality time in order to grow with that individual. This could mean sitting in your car and telling God you feel like you could sleep for 10 years or taking some time to thank him for your cancelled class.
No matter what it is, keep God in the loop.
In school I am notorious for working until I burn out. I will schedule meetings back to back, write a paper for hours, and still tell my friends I have time to go to Wawa with them. I have learned that the days I cut my time with God out, I forget to breathe. Spending time with God gives me the motivation I need to thrive in this crazy season.
Get ya self some good friends
The friends you have can make or break you. If you have friends that constantly show you a brand new perspective on things and encourage you in Christ, then young adulthood can become a lot less scary. Sometimes it is hard to understand what God is telling you and you need a tangible human being to tell you that it is going to be okay.
One day I sat in my dorm feeling like any moment I was just going to pass out from exhaustion. Seeing that look of weariness on my face, one of my roommates said, “Buddy, you want a chocolate bar?” I took the pity chocolate and started to cry. “Kaylee, what is happening?” they asked. By now all four of my roommates gathered in our common area and listened as I sobbed about the stress of school, work, family, and everything else that seemed to be piling up. At the end of my overdramatic monologue they laid their hands on me and prayed. During the praying I felt as though my perspective was restored. Life seemed a little less intimidating. Sometimes you need good friends to hand you a chocolate bar and point you back to Jesus.