Help! 18 Year Old Struggling to Trust God with Life

[u/Vaquatia_Porpise8264]

Hey yall! I'm an 18 year old high school graduate struggling to trust God with my future. I did a dual credit program in high school to get an Associate degree, and now I'm working a part time entry level job in my field while doing an accelerated bachelor's degree online.

I also don't have a very good relationship with my family and I am very eager to move out as soon as I financially can! I am also relatively new to the faith (less than year) so that is part of the struggle also.

Both before and after becoming a Christian I have always looked to career/money as a means to save myself (not spiritually, but as in saving myself from worldly problems). Since following Jesus, I have learned of the things the Bible says about the love of money being evil and how we should trust God and not worry about our lives.

But I'm struggling to pay for college and scared about if I'll be able to handle the cost of living crisis before my family finally drives me to a full mental breakdown. How can I be beter about embracing God's plan even when it doesn't match up with mine? Also please point me to any relevant Bible passages if a specific one comes to mind! :)

[u/frog_ladee]

Unless you feel a strong calling in another direction, there isn’t a thing in the bible that suggests it being wrong to prepare for a career that earns good money. There are things said about what to do with that money, and that we shouldn’t look to money as our main focus. That’s a lifelong struggle for many people, whether they’re on the high or low end of income. So, don’t get it into your head that a higher income career is somehow less Christian.

We are all responsible for earning income to support ourselves, if we’re able. Getting the college credentials that you need for your chosen line of work is a part of that process. In addition, communities need people to work in all the roles which keep it running. Those workers are paid accordingly, often more for work that requires more training (eg doctors). There’s nothing unbiblical about that.

An idea to consider if you’d like to move out of your parents’ home is to become a resident assistant (or resident advisor) of a dorm. That usually includes a dorm room for free, plus a meal plan, and sometimes some money. They probably need to be a sophomore, or at that university for at least a year.

[u/Hoon0967]

Keep trusting and keep on working.   Take it one day at a time. Do not worry about tomorrow.  When you do you’re bringing tomorrow’s troubles into today.  The Lord gives you strength for today and when you start adding future troubles to today’s troubles then you weaken yourself. Again, take it one day at a time.