When I feel overwhelmed…

 

Yesterday was lovely. After church brunch, I sat with a young girl and we talked about everything from the qualities of light, to world travel, to the new Christians in our midst, to why her brother is so popular. Hubby and I went home, had a long nap before meeting our son and daughter-in-law for a delicious supper, then back here to watch our home team play hockey. Went to bed totally exhausted, but woke up this morning feeling cluttered.

My desk is covered with quilt patterns, etc. that are sorted from much I tossed, a half-finished quilt on the design wall, financial software isn’t working properly, several files to read/delete, a very needy family member is in the hospital, the sermon yesterday added to my convictions about being too quick to see the worst in all situations, and here I am doing that with the busyness in my mind, seeing the worst.

Today’s reading tells me to not be concerned, to abide in Christ. I sang a few songs that said the same thing. I know Jesus is here for me, yet realize He will not tackle my to-do list. That is my job. I want to do it with joy — actually, I’m not sure I even want to do it. Escaping all this means I need a holiday? Or to just quit feeling sorry for myself and quit focusing on the negatives and be thankful? There is much to go in that list! For a start:

One: I belong to Jesus. He died for me, and in Him “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:1–2)

Two: He is the vine and I am only a branch, yet abiding in Him means I can bear fruit - certainly the fruit of the Spirit which is all I need for each day:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22–25)

Three: I can turn away from the pressures of life. Jesus gives me all that I need to deal with them. He also says: “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (John 15:7)

This means all that is on my heart for family, friends, church, all situations, will be done by Him — I just need to rest, abide, continue in Christ, turning away from this sense of clutter into the freedom of faith — meaning I trust Him regarding all that is making me feel overwhelmed. He says this…

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. (Isaiah 43:2)

… and because He is able to protect me and be with me, I do not need to feel overwhelmed.

PRAY: Jesus, help me get out of Your to-do list and tackle only the things that I’m to do, starting with worship and giving thanks to You for being with me and with those on my ‘concern’ list. You are able and You love them even more than I do. May You grant grace and peace, and enable me to carry on.

Gone but still here . . .

I’ve moved 32 times. The first was in childhood. We moved from a little house in my grandfather’s yard to a new home my built on their own place four miles away. The last time was from a large house with too much yard to a condo bungalow seven minutes away.

Moving has its perks. Now we enjoy no garden work or snow shoveling. The downside is leaving people. Sometimes our friends had a farewell party for us, but one time, after just arriving, one person introduced us to her friends with, “Don’t get to know these people too well because they will be moving soon.” That hurt.

I can understand how the disciples felt when Jesus told them He was going away. However, He wasn’t leaving with many of the emotions I’ve experienced. He knew He would return and take His friends home with Him.

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also . . . .” (John 14:1–4)

The disciples didn’t understand. Their focus was on Him leaving and not the rest of what He said. He explained further, that the Holy Spirit would be with them . . .

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. (John 14:16–20)

This unity of believers with the Lord God who saved them and lives in them was too much for their minds to grasp. His statements made no sense and seemed impossible. How could He leave and at the same time be with them? How could they see Him but no one else could?

When we moved, some of our friends were glad for us. They realized our move meant a good opportunity and even though we would be missed, they were happy for us. Jesus told the disciples that His move was not a bad thing. He wanted them to rejoice about it and not be taken by surprise when it happened.

You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. (John 14:28–29)

Here is where my moves lose resemblance to what Jesus was doing. He was not moving from Jerusalem to another place; He was moving from this earth to heaven. He would no longer walk with them in person. His route would involve death. A cross and a tomb, a brief time of resurrection and then He would ascend into heaven. No moving van, no suitcases. Death would take Him from where He was to where He was going. For the disciples, this was not good news — until later, after it happened.

I try to imagine what they were going through and how Jesus was thinking. This was traumatic for they had not grasped that He would die much less rise from the tomb and appear to them. His move was not like our relocations. His return was not like ours (we moved to the same place five times). What Jesus told them was impossible in their thinking. Yet it happened. Paul described it in a nutshell:

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. (1 Corinthians 15:3–8)

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Jesus, I know now what the disciples eventually realized. You left this earth by death but came back to life and are here, never to leave or forsake Your people. You are alive and made real in my heart by the power of the Holy Spirit. I know Your presence. I know Your voice and Your love. I also know that there will be at least one more move for me — from here to there, to be with You forever — a wonderful thought for this sunny spring day!

Never Alone

Most mornings I ask the Lord to speak to my need for the day. Most mornings I do not feel particularly needy, but have learned that the day will bring it. Problems and challenges will present themselves. I will need to make decisions or do something for which I have neither ability or knowledge. This morning, He gives me this passage.

And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:17–20)

Sunday’s sermon included this passage with a focus on the command to make disciples. Most Christians are focused on “making believers” as the pastor said, but we cannot make others believe. We can only help those who do believe become learners (disciples) of the ways of Jesus by teaching them what He has taught us.

The section of this passage that catches my attention is the last statement Jesus makes. He is with us always. (The “you” is plural.) The Revised Versions says, “Lo, I am with you all the days.”

This means today, an ordinary Wednesday, Jesus walks by my side. My schedule includes household tasks like doing the laundry and cleaning several rooms. I hope for a few minutes to work on a small quilt that I’m creating for a competition. I’ve a book to finish for Book Club and some calls to make. In all these ordinary things, Jesus is with me. 

F. B. Meyer writes about all the days. He says, “In winter days, when joys are fled; in sunless days, when the clouds return again and again after rain; in days of sickness and pain; in days of temptation and perplexity, as much as in days when the heart is as full of joy as the woodlands in spring are full of song. That day never comes when the Lord Jesus is not at the side of His saints. Lover and friend may stand afar, but He walks with them through the fires; He fords with them the rivers; He stands by them when face to face with the lion. We can never be alone. We must always add His resources to our own when making our calculations.”

And it is also his last statement that catches my attention. Whether greatly challenged or merely ordinary, the Lord Jesus Christ makes my home His home, my chores His chores. He has my back. He offers His help. Nothing is too big for Him, nor too small. He is pleased to be with me in the great and in the ordinary. Because this is so, I can depend on Him regardless, even find that His strength can turn the smallest daily tasks into an act of worship.

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Lord, the biggest task of today might be nothing to the normal person, but it is important enough for You to offer Your presence, even Your grace and assistance that I might do it for the glory of God. May I worship You without doubting, even in washing and folding socks, even in deciding what to toss and what to keep. You are here for me as I sew and read. I particularly need You in all interactions with family and friends. As I carry out today’s plan, may all that I do be with Your resources — just as certainly as You are by my side as I do it.

To Live is Christ — who is always available

Billy Graham once said that when you feel lonely in a crowded room that is God crooking His finger at you and saying, “Come here.”

In the ancient world, if anyone tried to enter the presence of a king without being invited, they risked their lives. Many kings did not tolerate such boldness and lopped off their heads. But approaching the King of kings is different. The writer of Hebrews puts it this way:

Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 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. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14–16)

God the Son humbled Himself and became a man that He might experience life as we do. He sympathizes with our struggles and is approachable because of it. He invites me to come boldly into His presence anytime I wish. All those who put their faith in Him do not have to fear what He will do or say when bringing concerns and requests. He has compassion for His people and will listen.

The psalmist didn’t know about the sacrifice of Christ. He had the sacrificial system of a slain lamb to atone for his sin. While it was not all it could be, if a sacrifice was brought in faith, God accepted it. The Old Testament believers had God’s promise of a coming Messiah. Because they believed Him, He counted their faith as righteousness.

Before Christ came, God’s people experienced Holy Spirit power at times, but did not enjoy the constant indwelling of the Holy Spirit nor the presence of God in the same way as the saints of today. However, I can still identify with whoever wrote this psalm:

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? (Psalm 42:1–2)

Sometimes I thirst for God. Sometimes I wonder when I can meet with Him. Do I need an invitation like those who approached ancient kings? Do I have to wait until I feel a void in my heart or a time of need before I can come boldly to Him?

For much of my Christian life, prayer was like that. I prayed because there were needs to pray about. But somewhere along the way, God opened my understanding to realize that I can meet with Him and talk to Him anytime and about anything. I don’t need an appointment or a set time. I don’t need a list or a sense of urgency. He is with me 24/7 and ready to speak and listen, or just be there. My soul does not need to be cast down or upset or confused because my Lord promised to never leave me or forsake me. Therefore my hope is in Jesus Christ and I will praise Him, my Savior and my God, forever.