Tired of Tears and In Need of Peace

Hi. I got up tonight and looked for a site that might help me and I hope you are it. I’ve been crying for almost 4 days straight (not all day, but whenever I’m alone). I’m tired of crying and can’t seem to stop. The reasons are multiple (stress, finances, studies, future plans that are so uncertain, fights with the people closest to me etc), but I’m usually able to work through my thoughts and emotions and get to a place where I find peace and stability again.

Stella

Dear Stella,

Thanks for sharing your situation with us and my prayers and heart do go out to you during this time of sorrow and unrest.

I think most of us at one time or another have gone through seasons of difficulty and times when it seems like nothing is going right. While I think prayer is important, I think how we pray is more important. If you’re praying “God take this anguish away”, then I doubt anything will happen. On the other hand if you’re praying “God what are you trying to show me or teach me through this tough time”, then I believe your prayers will be answered.

Since you don’t have a history of depression I would guess that your sadness is because of circumstances and not a chemical imbalance, therefore, you have to look at each problem and pray that God will show you how to handle each in a constructive and character building way.

Maybe God is trying to show you that you need to slow down, or maybe he’s teaching you how to love your friends more like He does. Maybe He’s asking you to confront this issue of jealousy head on so it no longer plagues your life. Whatever the case may be, this season of your life has the potential to really grow you as a person so don’t shy away from the lessons that are waiting to be learned.

I think specifically the issue with jealousy shows that you have a faulty view of yourself. You obviously think that you are inferior to this friend. When we love ourselves and truly believe that God loves us for who we are, we don’t feel the need to be jealous of anyone. This isn’t as simple as it seems though because often the root causes of our inferiority need to be discovered and uprooted.

Don’t lose heart Stella, and keep moving forward as things will get better. Allow yourself the time and space needed to understand this situation and what lessons can be learned from it. Also find a good friend that would be willing to talk through some of the things you’re feeling as it will also help. Apart from that if there is anything that you love doing, take some time out and do it as this will also lift your spirits.

My prayers are with you,

Ted