It’s Okay… To Not Be Okay

It’s okay to cry. 

‘Jesus wept,’ (John 11:35), and we are called to ‘rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.’ (Rom. 12:15)

It’s okay to be angry. 

Legitimate anger is not a sin (John 2:14-17; Matthew 21:12-13); the sin comes from letting your anger fester and lead you to questionable thoughts or actions (Eph. 4:26, Rom. 12:18-21).

It’s okay to be confused and to not have all the answers.

We are told that if we lack wisdom, we should ask God for it (James 1:5). We are also told to follow admirable examples and be diligent in our study of the word of God and our search for truth (Acts 17:10-11, 2 Tim. 2:15).

When the issues of life come knocking on our doors, we are not expected to come out unscathed. Our bodies aren’t made of steel, and neither are our minds or emotions. If we were all made to be life-proof, then I would say that we are all gods; self-sufficient in ourselves, all-knowing and all-powerful. If all that were true, Jesus would not say, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28), and we would certainly not be continuously encouraged over and over and over again about our access to help and comfort in our distress:

‘“Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God.’ (Isa. 40:1)

‘…humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.’ (1 Pet. 5:6-7, NKJV)

‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.’ (2 Cor. 1:3-4)

So, what next?

As you might have noticed from the passages above, God knows very well that we will go through issues in life, and He stands there at the ready. His arms are wide open to comfort us and dry our tears. You might ask why doesn’t He prevent all the issues in life from happening in the first place, but only a loving parent would discipline his child; a lack of discipline is said to be a sign of illegitimacy and disregard (Heb. 12:5-8). There are some things that we need to go through; unpleasant while they are happening, but we are better off for it in the long run.

Do not let anyone disregard how you feel or what you’re going through; how you feel is how you feel, regardless of whether you or someone else thinks you ought to feel differently. What matters is what you do next. You can either choose to wallow in your current situation, react off-handedly by making a string of dumb and regrettable decisions, or you can seek the path of recovery.

God is called the ‘Father of mercies and God of all comfort’ and the God who ‘comforts the depressed’ (2 Cor. 7:6), and His mercy and comfort is available for you today in Jesus Christ. I don’t know what you are going through, friend, but I believe the Father of mercies and God of all comfort has enough mercy and comfort for you, too. He is never too busy to hear you out. He is never too preoccupied to ignore your tears. He cares about every single teething pain, teen angst, mid-life crisis and elderly woe.

Won’t you rest on His shoulder?

‘…Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.
Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.’ (Heb. 4:14-16)

It’s okay to not be okay, but it’s not okay to stay that way.

(For further encouragement, I would recommend checking out “God-Forsaken Emotions” by Aszerina Ijaodola, taken from her new poetry book ‘Swatantra: Poetry birthed on a walk to freedom’, available now on amazon)