Silas
Beloved of All
The weight you’re carrying is real, and it makes sense that you cried out. You love your daughter, you want to provide, and you're exhausted by the stress and the cycle you keep repeating with alcohol. But listen carefully: the answer doesn’t begin with trying harder to fix yourself. It begins with resting in what Jesus has already finished.
God’s work of redemption is complete. On the cross, Jesus said “It is finished.” There is nothing you can add to earn forgiveness or to make yourself acceptable. Your salvation, your standing with God, rests entirely on His grace through faith. You asked Him to forgive you and not give up on you. He won’t. His grip on you did not start with your effort, and it won’t fail now. The very faith to cry out to Him is proof that He is already at work in you. He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.
The trouble is, we often try to numb the pain of what God is doing in us rather than submitting to it. You mentioned the anxiety and the drinking. It’s no surprise that you reach for alcohol to quiet the stress, but deep down you know it only makes things worse. You’re not alone in that struggle. When God chips away at our rough edges, it hurts. We flinch and sometimes we scream. Yet that inner work must happen before He can work through us in the way He intends. The drinking is a counterfeit rest, a temporary escape. True rest is found in ceasing from your own frantic efforts and trusting His finished work. He invites you to lay that burden down.
Your daughter’s desire to help others as a fitness trainer is a good thing. If God put that skill and willingness in her heart, He will provide the opportunities in His time. Waiting is hard. Our impatience often gets in the way, but God is faithful. Encourage her to work diligently, as unto the Lord, and trust Him for the results. The principle remains: if anyone is able to work, they should do so with quietness and eat their own bread. She is using the gifts God gave her, and He sees that.
For your own work and the anxiety you face, remember that God is able to use even stressful situations for good. That doesn’t make it easy, but it does give purpose to the struggle. Ask Him daily for the wisdom and strength to do your job, and then rest in His care. The same applies to the punctuality you mentioned. Rely on His enabling, and also take simple practical steps, knowing His grace is sufficient when you fall short.
You and your wife are caught in a pattern that feels impossible to break, but the grip of that habit isn’t stronger than the work of the Holy Spirit. As God does His work in you, submit to it even when it’s painful. Count it as a refining process, not a rejection. He is preparing you for something greater, and He will complete it. He doesn’t discard broken tools; He restores them.
You don’t need to be a “better person” by sheer willpower. You need to depend on the finished work of Jesus. Your standing is not based on your goodness but on His. So tonight, rest in that. Cease from your own frantic attempts to cope, and let His peace take root. God’s work in your life isn’t over. He is stirring your heart even now, and a willing heart is what He uses.
God’s work of redemption is complete. On the cross, Jesus said “It is finished.” There is nothing you can add to earn forgiveness or to make yourself acceptable. Your salvation, your standing with God, rests entirely on His grace through faith. You asked Him to forgive you and not give up on you. He won’t. His grip on you did not start with your effort, and it won’t fail now. The very faith to cry out to Him is proof that He is already at work in you. He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.
The trouble is, we often try to numb the pain of what God is doing in us rather than submitting to it. You mentioned the anxiety and the drinking. It’s no surprise that you reach for alcohol to quiet the stress, but deep down you know it only makes things worse. You’re not alone in that struggle. When God chips away at our rough edges, it hurts. We flinch and sometimes we scream. Yet that inner work must happen before He can work through us in the way He intends. The drinking is a counterfeit rest, a temporary escape. True rest is found in ceasing from your own frantic efforts and trusting His finished work. He invites you to lay that burden down.
Your daughter’s desire to help others as a fitness trainer is a good thing. If God put that skill and willingness in her heart, He will provide the opportunities in His time. Waiting is hard. Our impatience often gets in the way, but God is faithful. Encourage her to work diligently, as unto the Lord, and trust Him for the results. The principle remains: if anyone is able to work, they should do so with quietness and eat their own bread. She is using the gifts God gave her, and He sees that.
For your own work and the anxiety you face, remember that God is able to use even stressful situations for good. That doesn’t make it easy, but it does give purpose to the struggle. Ask Him daily for the wisdom and strength to do your job, and then rest in His care. The same applies to the punctuality you mentioned. Rely on His enabling, and also take simple practical steps, knowing His grace is sufficient when you fall short.
You and your wife are caught in a pattern that feels impossible to break, but the grip of that habit isn’t stronger than the work of the Holy Spirit. As God does His work in you, submit to it even when it’s painful. Count it as a refining process, not a rejection. He is preparing you for something greater, and He will complete it. He doesn’t discard broken tools; He restores them.
You don’t need to be a “better person” by sheer willpower. You need to depend on the finished work of Jesus. Your standing is not based on your goodness but on His. So tonight, rest in that. Cease from your own frantic attempts to cope, and let His peace take root. God’s work in your life isn’t over. He is stirring your heart even now, and a willing heart is what He uses.
