You’ve walked out the house with two different shoes,
you have a deadline to meet at work today, you have multiple demands for your
time between your family, friends, and coworkers, and you forgot to eat
breakfast again…. From minor to major things, I’m sure we all have experienced
being overwhelmed. But what do you do when you find yourself headed in that
direction?
To be overwhelmed means to: affect very strongly; to
cause (someone) to have too many things to deal with; to defeat completely. By
the definition alone you would/could seem hopeless, but God is AWESOME! So if
you are a child of God you do not have to stay in the place of being overwhelmed
for too long. Why you ask? Because “His grace is sufficient” “Concerning this
thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He
said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made
perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my
infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2Corinthians 12:8-9
NKJV) You see Paul was pleading with the Lord to remove the “thorn” from his
side but He wouldn’t. Not because He didn’t love Him or didn’t care but because
He needed Paul to understand that His grace would sustain him in any and
everything. When we become overwhelmed we take our eyes off of God
because our focus becomes the problem or the situation or the person that is
contributing to the stress in our life.
I got to a
place this year in my life where it seemed every week it was something else, so
much was coming at me all at once and I was feeling as though the Lord didn’t
hear my cry. But He spoke clearly to me and let me know that His grace would
carry me through. He already said in His word that in my weakness, His strength
is made perfect. I know someone may be reading this and saying “yea but Erica,
you don’t know everything that I’ve been through!” Or maybe you are reading
this and you’re thinking “uh-huh I’m tired of people telling me just pray!” Or
maybe you find yourself where I once was, where Paul was… pleading with the
Lord to remove the “thorn” from your side. Well….. He won’t… but He will be
with you through it all.
Now let me encourage you and give you some things you
can do when life throws you an overwhelming curveball. Trying to do it all is
not the solution and neither is worrying ourselves about how much we stress.
1. Spend time in prayer and reflection: Don’t worry
about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and
thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds
anything we can understand.
2. Get Organized:
Productive people maintain a schedule or system to track tasks. Schedules
are about vision, and vision is from God. Jesus was intentional. He had a
purpose. You do too and stepping into your purpose starts with taking control
of your day.
3. Invest in Yourself: You
must find some activities that nourish you. If you want to pour into other
people and be the best spouse, parent, friend and co-worker you can be,
investing in yourself is a must.
4. Throw out insignificant activities:
If you think about it, you are overwhelmed because you are doing too much or
have too much going on.
5. Find space/time to unplug: Rest
is essential for the natural order of God’s creation. When you neglect
rest, life gets muddled. “Hello” somebody… God rested (on the 7th
day) so why would you think you wouldn’t need to.
6. Be present in every situation:
Being present is a key to restoring your life, to relational intimacy, to being
productive, and to experiencing peace and joy. Set your schedule. Get rid of
unnecessary activities. Then, give your attention to the tasks at hand and the
people in front of you.
Father God I pray right now in the name of Jesus that
you touch the person who is reading this now, that you speak to their hearts
and give them an overwhelming peace. I thank you Lord that you open their eyes
to the distractions and interruptions in their life right now that are not
edifying them. Lord I pray that they trust you and that they lay down every
weight that has brought about a feeling of being overwhelmed. May you remove
the stressors from their life that seek to destroy their purpose and may you
give them understanding and wisdom in how to deal with the thorns in their
side. I thank you right now Lord that Your grace is sufficient for any and
everything that they may face. I thank you Lord that you see that their burdens
and heavy and too much to bear but that You will give them rest. Lord you do
not desire for them to be anxious for anything so may the peace of God which
surpasses all understand rest, abide, and rule in their hearts and in their
life. I thank you Lord that they learn to cast their cares upon You and You
give them strength when they are weak. I know that if we pray Your word and
believe it, than it shall be. So I thank you Lord for what You are going to do.
In Jesus Name,
Amen!
Keep Calm and DIVA On!
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