And we have this belief that we get to participate. In the crucifixion, redemptive suffering, that when we suffer well with the Lord, that it means something. And I love that. And God is so good. That’s evidence of his goodness that he says, Hey, I’m gonna invite you into this incredible thing and that you get to be part of this story.

Okay, so he gives us enough grace to carry the cross of today. But he does not give you any grace for your imaginary problem. So let’s say we’ve got a five-year-old boy and he’s struggling to learn how to read, and your brain goes, oh no, he’s gonna be terrible at school and he’s never gonna get a job.

And maybe he’s not gonna go to college, and then maybe no girl will want him and he is never gonna get married. And then maybe he’s gonna be unsatisfied with his life and he’s not gonna believe in Jesus anymore, and then he’s gonna go to hell. I’m not saying that that’s what our brains do, but sometimes they do.

And the Lord is sitting there like. Hey, love. Hey, that was a wild story that you just made up in your mind right now. And like, I just checked the Grace inventory and I don’t have any grace for you, because that’s not what’s gonna happen, right?

And so you’re trying to carry something really heavy and you’re like, Lord, could you help me carry this thing? And he’s like, actually, I don’t want you to carry that. Could you set it down? Could you set it down for me?

Whereas like if you’ve got a kid right now. Who’s three and cutting some teeth and throwing the biggest angry fit that you’ve ever seen in your whole life. I promise you, you’re gonna have enough grace to handle that situation. It’s in front of you. You can just be like, is this a lot right now?

And I can handle this and this is right in front of me and I can do this. And I have grace. The Lord is with me. I can pray for one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, watch my video on gifts of the Holy Spirit, and I’m gonna have enough strength and wisdom and all the things to handle this right now.

Okay. If your teenager gets in a car accident, that sucks. Right? And obviously there’s like fender benders, and then more serious ones, right? But whatever it is, you are gonna get enough grace for that problem, for those of you with adult children, if you’ve got a girl and she’s living with a boyfriend, you’re gonna have enough grace for having lunch with her.

Well, you know, she’s living with her boyfriend. You don’t like it. It’s not okay. But this human is in front of you and you can love her, and God’s gonna give you grace and wisdom and the words that you need in that moment.

But your imaginary problems about the things that she’s gonna face in the future, or her walking away from her faith, or her having children out of wedlock or whatever it’s that you’re worried about, you just don’t get any grace for that right now. So it feels really heavy.

And if you’re not sure, you can ask the Lord about it. You can say, Lord, are you asking me to carry this right now? But most of the time I find, unless it’s actually happening right now, the answer is no. The answer is no.

Now you might see some riding on the wall for something that’s coming, like let’s say, this is a kind of a fake example, but my daughter, she works at this teriyaki restaurant. She’s. About turn 15 and there are two super cute boys there who are like super Protestant, homeschool boys, like amazing boys. So kind, so gentlemanly, you know, I don’t think she likes either of them in like a romantic e crush kind of way.

But I did feel in that moment moved by the Holy Spirit. I was driving her home one day to be like, Hey, have we talked about why? It’s pretty challenging to marry a Protestant boy, even if he’s amazing and even if he loves Jesus so much and he reads his Bible every day, and we love that. Love me, a Protestant boy who loves the Lord, okay, but probably not great to marry one.

I felt the stirrings of the Holy Spirit to tell her that. But I’m losing no sleep over it. I’m not chewing on this problem. I’m not like, oh no, what if she falls in love with one of these boys and then like his parents are, and then what if she converts him and then his parents are mad at me. Because my daughter is like pulling their boy into the alza, like all of that is wildly made up and I just don’t get any grace for that right now.

So I’m not saying that there isn’t a matter of like prudence or seeing where things are going, and that might lead to the Lord giving you wisdom to say something to the person in front of you. Like, Hey, maybe it isn’t a great idea to move in with your boyfriend. but he doesn’t give you grace for the drama, like the dramatization, the story that you are creating because of that.

And then of course, the worst story that we tack onto the end of all of it is, and I’ve totally failed my kids and I’m a bad mom. Okay? That’s the one that we tack on, which is like, I’m a really bad mom.

And so, listen, this is such a huge concept. God only gives you grace for the problems that he wants you to carry. If you are feeling right now, like life is so heavy and you’re having a hard time coping with life, my guess is that you’re carrying something that he has not asked you to carry. Okay? And another really subtle, sneaky, maybe spiritual attack way that we do this is the way that we talk to ourselves all throughout the day.Okay?

I’m praying for you, pray for me, and have a blessed day.