What Does It Mean to be a Lutheran Youth… When It Comes to Trusting in God’s Providence?

The most consistent complaint that I hear in my vocation of counseling adolescents and teenagers is that they feel frustrated because they feel they are always being controlled. Those youth report that parents are always so worried about them and things would be just fine if their parents stopped worrying and gave them more freedom. This rebellion from parental authority is a classic (but sometimes overstated) sign of the pattern where youth are beginning to develop their own unique identity. So how is this conflict regarding control and authority in the home with parents similar to the relationship that we have with God during our youth years?
Perhaps you feel some of the same “controlled” feelings when you go to church, talk to your pastor, or when you feel forced to attend church youth group events. Or maybe you feel that if you were in charge and had complete control of all of your life events, you would be able to create a perfect life for yourself. However, we know from Scripture and our day-to-day life events that ultimately God is in control of our lives: “God is with you in everything you do” (Genesis 21:22). This divine control or authority is known as His providence and, as sinful human beings, we are constantly fighting against—or rebelling against—God’s perfect providence.
If God is in complete control and He knows your future, does that mean that you should stop worrying about your life? Since God knows what will happen to all of us, should you stop applying to so many colleges or planning for tuition expenses and scholarships? Does God have a specific person for you to marry? The short answer to many of those tough questions is that God’s providence still gives us opportunity to exercise free will in earthly things. God uses us and our free will decisions to guide and protect us with His perfect plan.
One more tough question that you might be asking with regards to God’s providence is this: If God is perfect and has so much control and authority in our lives, why do evil things happen at all? This is where it is important to remember that the evil in the world is not caused by God’s will, but by our own sinful lives. In God’s original plan, there was no evil, no pain, and there would not have been fighting with parents or drama with kids at school. Nonetheless, God even uses our pain, suffering, and conflict for good: “The Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son” (Hebrews 12:6).
Whenever you feel constrained and controlled by your parents’ rules or “nagging,” remember that God has a similar pattern of structuring your life by using His providence to guide and instruct you. Remember that it is the sinful nature within each and every one of us that fights and rebels against the order and structure that we need. Lastly, take comfort in the truth that God’s providence is, and always will be, perfect. “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18).
Joshua T. Mears is a Christian counselor at Wisconsin Lutheran Child and Family Service—Christian Family Counseling.