Mombarded by Helplessness

Sometimes it’s hard to know what to do.
How can I get my baby to stop crying?
How can I help my baby fall asleep?
How can I help my little one learn?
How can I help my teen get over rejection and judgment?
How can I help my nearly adult child make those important life-guiding decisions?

Every time we face a new problem, we’re reminded that even though we’re older, more experienced, and perhaps wiser than our children, we still go through things for the first time with them. Even as we have younger children go through similar circumstances, we continue to learn, because our children are different. We’re not completely confident in everything we do. Our children sometimes see us as having it all together, and that might give us a boost of confidence, but we know better.

We’re just trying our best.
The more humble we get, the more we realize that it’s actually okay to not know it all. It doesn’t let us off the hook. We still have responsibility. But it relieves some pressure. We get to move forward with uncertainty but with determination. We have a confidence, not in what we are capable of doing, but in the assurance that God gives us as we follow him.

We’re not as helpless as we feel, because we always have God’s help.

It doesn’t mean we are always fully confident we’re following well or that he’s completely invested in what we’re doing—even if we deeply believe that but situationally doubt it. Our confidence doesn’t rely on the outcome as much of the process, the relationship of our dependence on God. It means we trust him. We know him. We go to him.

When God is our help, we are never helpless. We may be incapable at times, but he isn’t. We may not have the wisdom and perspective we know we need, but he does. We may not have the strength to persevere, but he does.

He doesn’t always give us a specific answer to a problem. Our baby still cries. Our toddler still struggles. Our teen still gets overwhelmed. But we persevere toward God through the variety of situations. We know that our response is important, not just because we need a quick solution but because we have a reliable God. Honoring him becomes more important than getting the solution we want.

Helpless doesn’t mean hopeless.

How do you need to have hope?
How much do you trust God to help you?