Often when dealing with drama, I find myself turning to friends and family for help. While there is nothing wrong with that, there is a far greater person in whom to turn first. Doesn’t God tell us several times in the Bible not to put our trust in man instead of Him? “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man” (Psalms 118:8 NKJV).  So shouldn’t our automatic reaction in rough times be to pray?

I know it’s hard when something comes up in your life not to immediately text a friend telling them all about it. But, our reaction should really be to drop everything and tell it all to God. When I use this tactic, by the time I’m done with my prayer, I find myself with barely anything left to tell my friends. When before I might’ve sent a long message about what happened, I find myself sending a small, basic message. Sometimes, I don’t even send a message at all.

When something angers us, like drama, all we want to do is vent. But God provides us with a much better way: prayer. Venting feels good, but when we’re angry, it usually results in sin. “Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end” (Proverbs 29:11 NIV).  You can’t let your anger take control of your speech. It’s better to hold it back than to say something you will regret later. “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;” (James 1:19) When we’re angry, the best thing to do is slow down our speech as is said in the verse quoted. If we speak quickly, we are in danger of saying something we may regret. I have said things in the past out of anger that I know I shouldn’t have. I apologized to the people it hurt, but more importantly, I apologized to God. I chose in that moment not to go to God first, but to turn to the world first. It’s okay to be angry, but how we act on that anger is important. We are to “be angry and not sin” as it says in Ephesians 4:26 (NKJV)

So, I come to this question: Does God understand drama? The short answer? Yes. There’s no doubt about it. Young people often have this mindset of “only my friends understand.” We never think that God could understand what’s going on in our friend group. But, God made us. He made us to think the way we do. He made us to interact the way we do. The size of our knowledge compared to His is like a pencil point compared to the whole earth, the whole universe even. Therefore, shouldn’t He know what’s troubling us? If that isn’t enough, His Son came to earth and was able to sympathize with us. “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).  I think Jesus definitely dealt with “drama.” One of His followers betrayed him for money and another denied knowing Him three times….and He knew it was going to happen! That’s more friend drama than I’ve ever had to deal with.

What do you think God would tell us about our experiences with drama? Well, God has already told us. He answers all our problems in His Word. Maybe the problem is gossiping or lying.  God answers: “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal truthfully are His delight” (Proverbs 12:22). How about jealousy? Again, God answers: in Galatians 5:19-21 it is among the many works of the flesh and it ends by saying that the people who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. And peer pressure? Yet again, God has an answer: “…if sinners entice you, do not consent”(Proverbs 1:10). But, these problems among friends, and all others, have an initial remedy found in the very first verse of Psalms, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers” (Psalms 1:1). You really have to look at the people who you surround yourself with and see what really comes out of their friendship. Have you changed your lifestyle and attitude since being with that friend? Has that change been good or bad? Have you changed them?

God understands all that young people go through and He wants us to look to him first in all those things. In James we are given what we should do whether we are happy or sad. “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise” (James 5:13). If we have faith in what we pray for, we can overcome anything. “And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him” (1 John 5:14,15). As long as we have faith that He will help us, we can get through whatever has been put before us. Young people today face a lot of problems. Whether it be drama, depression, anxiety, or bad relationships, prayer can help us through it. God understands all of those difficulties. Jesus was so immensely distressed that He shed blood in His sweat, but he prayed through it. He prayed for three hours because He knew what He needed to spend His time doing before He died. He could’ve been spending time with His friends and family to say goodbye, but He decided to spend His time in prayer. And that’s exactly what we need to spend our time doing in times of trouble.

God does understand drama. He understands all. He wants us to come to Him first in all things. We are to “pray without ceasing” as it says in 1 Thessalonians 5:17. If we pray without ceasing, we are putting God before our problems. One of the main tactics I have been taught for depression and anxiety is to distract myself. Prayer is the best distraction you could ever come up with because you are putting your focus on God and not the world. God knows that. Another tactic used is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which is replacing negative thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors with positive thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors. Putting your mind on God, through prayer and study, is putting positivity in your mind instead of negativity. Prayer alone may not cure all situations, but we should always turn to God first and always. We should also never sit in our suffering saying we can’t get better, when we could be praying through it. So, let’s do as it says in James 5:13 and choose prayer over suffering.

-Ellie Grace Ridgeway lives in Ironton, OH. She is the daughter of Jason & Cindy Ridgeway and the grandaughter of Bud Ridgeway