By Daniel Francis
I remember my 30th birthday very well. I woke up that morning, lying in bed thinking that everything feels the same. The rumours I heard about reaching that age were just that, rumours.
Some of the rumours I heard were that your body begins deteriorating from your 30th birthday onwards and you know no rest from that day forward because your anxiety reaches new heights. I scoffed in the face of these distortions as I rolled off my bed and lurched to my feet only to immediately fall back into my bed. This happened because I felt the pain of my knees give way! From that day forward, my knees cracked when I bent them. I laughed in the face of ageing, and I learned a cruel lesson.
All joking aside, there is this looming, impending feeling of responsibility that follows you around as you grow older. It is a given. You tend to have more responsibilities as you age, whether responsibilities towards your relationships, children, job, etc.
Simply trying to juggle all these things as you feel your energy levels deplete moving through the week can be stressful. The rumours I heard were overdramatised but there was some truth in them. I felt like I lost the ability to feel true rest past a certain age.
I acknowledge I have somewhat of a perfectionist complex and that plays a big role in the pressure I put on myself. However, that does not explain why most of my peers share my sentiment of almost consistent anxiety looming under the surface and an infinite chase of rest.
Then it occurred to me. What if we declared full dependence on God?
I recall a period where the talking point in the social media space was how toxic it can be being overly dependent on someone, specifically a partner.
The argument made sense in that when you rely too much on someone, there is no way that they can always be there for you and satisfy all your needs. It is not humanly possible.
Are you beginning to get where I am going with this? God lives above the realm of human possibilities so why not declare and work towards full dependence on Him?
What would full dependence on God look like in theory? What I see is exactly what God is calling us to do. Ironically, this path also gives us exactly what we are searching for.
Full dependence on God looks like working your hardest and then being able to truly rest because you know that God will take care of the rest. It is also knowing that if things go your way, that was His will and if it does not, then it was not meant for you because it was against His will.
It looks like going to Him for everything. Relying on Him to provide what you need and trusting that He will provide the path that is best for you.
Full dependence looks like knowing He will always be there for you. When you wake up at 3 a.m. because your mind is racing or when you are in the middle of an important presentation and you are nervous, He is there.
His omnipresence means that you can call on Him whenever you need and He will be there.
I love the idea of being able to truly rest, don’t you? I want to be fully dependent on God. I want to do my best and then not worry about a thing because God will take care of the rest.
Maybe you are feeling like I do: wondering how in the world I get to that point in my life. The answer seems simple, really. Get in the habit of being dependent on God. Go to Him always for the little and the big things.
Pass on your worries to Him and accept the outcome that He creates. It starts with the internal processing of this new reality, but it ends with you knowing true peace through God.
So, who is with me? Who will declare dependence on God today?
Daniel Francis is a millennial helping other millennials. He is a two-time author of the books The Millennial Mind and The Millennial Experience, and an entrepreneur. Over the past four years, he has served as a Personal Development Coach whose work targets Millennials and helps them tap into their full potential. He is also a self-publishing coach and has guided hundreds on self-publishing their book successfully.
LinkedIn: Daniel Francis
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