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.

Faith relies on facts not feelings

 

The past few weeks I’ve struggled with up/down emotions concerning my responsibilities. Some days they are challenging but doable. Other days I feel totally overwhelmed and want to sleep all day. This is a new experience for me. For years, I have felt confident in taking on most things, but God is working in me to remove self-confidence and rely on Him only. For this, He used a month of trauma.

Today’s devotional expresses it this way: “It is all very well, perhaps, to rejoice in God’s promises or in the revelations He may have granted us or in the experiences we may have realized; but to rejoice in the Promiser himself—Him alone—is the crowning point of Christian life. This is the only place we can know the peace which passes all understanding and where nothing can disturb.”

This is difficult to describe, but as I read the rest of it, the lights came on. That sense of God being enough is wonderful, but if that sense is not there, that indicates that I have been relying on my feelings or view about Him and that is not what “God is enough” means.

The author of the devotional puts it this way: sometimes what satisfies us is not the Lord but our own feelings about the Lord. Usually we are not conscious of this, but our feelings fail, we think it is the Lord who has failed. At that, despair easily follows. Of course, this is foolish, yet it is such a common experience, that very few realize what has happened.

An illustration likens the Christian experience to a train. Fact is the engine pulling it. Faith is the the coal car that fuels the engine, and feelings are the caboose that trails along behind. Although it trails, the caboose is important – it is where the train crew lives.

However, it does not work to put faith or the caboose in the lead. When that happens, the facts are not the main source of living. As long as faith and feelings are solid, all is okay, but once they take a dip (and they often do) facts need to be put in place. This has never been a problem for me until this past while. And like the devotion says, I couldn’t figure out what was going on so prayed that God would show me, and He did. My caboose was taking the lead.

This past few weeks I’ve had three big projects happening, plus being very ill, plus two deaths, plus no ladies prayer time or small group Bible study meetings (leader is on holidays) and I’ve stayed home too much. The family of God needs each other to keep on track, to be fact-checkers for one another. This devotional reminded me of these verses:

But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end. (Psalm 73:16–17)

My struggle is not the same as the psalm’s author who was concerned about the prosperity of the wicked, but the solution is similar; he sought discernment in the place where the people of God gather to worship. I need Christian fellowship, not coffee and cookies but sharing truth about God. Truth is the facts that pull the train. Too much time alone opens the door to other visitors, like burdens, difficult experiences, emotional issues, etc.

PRAY: Knowing that You have not abandoned me even when I feel as if You have is important Lord. Having other Christians remind me that You are here, or even me being the one who does the reminding for them is the way to keep that fact engine pulling my faith and keeping my feelings square with the facts. Thank You Jesus for being the way and the TRUTH and my life. This is going to be a good day! (Later: and it was!)

Protection from being overwhelmed

 

Yesterday someone told me that everyone she talks to is overwhelmed. I nodded for I was feeling like that also. My to-do list was too big and interruptions added to my stress. For the psalmist, it was persecution. For others it is concerns in family and friends. Many things can make us feel unable to go on, or wanting to run away:

My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen upon me. Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me. And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest; (Psalm 55:4–6)

For me, I want to dump the list and read a book or have a nap. Others say their escape is ‘clean the house’ or ‘go shopping’ but the better remark was from a person who quoted this verse:

From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. (Psalm 61:2)

This made me think about the causes of feeling overwhelmed. Obviously, it is an attack from the enemy who wants to immobilize us with discouragement and get us so battle-weary that we want to stop and run away. One biblical example is Elijah the prophet.

After a confrontation with the prophets of the god Baal, Queen Jezebel threatened to kill him and he ran for his life.

Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. He ran from Mount Carmel into the wilderness of Beersheba, where he sat down under a juniper tree; and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, ‘It is enough; now, O Lord, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers’”  . . . . “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Thy covenant, torn down Thine altars and killed Thy prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away” (1 Kings 19:1–10)

Several factors caused his emotional state. The first was the victory. It was huge and important, even dramatic. That event must have filled him with elation yet he was no doubt exhausted. This is like most pastors say, the Monday after a God-blessed Sunday worship service is a wipe-out for them. I’ve noted it too, that when God does something wonderful to answer a prayer or surprise me with a great blessing, I’m often emotionally high yet totally exhausted afterwards. I need to take time to rest and be thankful.

Second, Elijah ran to Beersheba from Mount Carmel, a distance of about 95 miles. If he were not exhausted from the emotions of his victory, he would certainly be physically spent from that escape run. Filling our days with more physical work than we can handle and fatigue will be overwhelming, particularly if I add unnecessary tasks to to-do list that come from fear and are not given to me from the Lord.

Another problem for this prophet is that he thought no one cared and that he was alone in his zeal for the Lord. Looking at church problems, the successes of the enemy, and the worldliness that seems to be seeping into the Kingdom will do that if I’m not determined to seek out good news. My prayer lists alone can make me feel overwhelmed. The only way to lift that load is praying with faith and keeping my spiritual armor on, including the helmet of salvation. I also need to connect with others who are faithful to the Lord.

His helmet is my confidence in God’s blessings. For a time after his great victory, Elijah became emotionally, physically, and spiritually spent, and overwhelmed with self-pity as he felt utterly alone. At this, God gave him instructions about what to do next, then told him: “Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.” (1 Kings 19:18)

This was the Lord’s way of urging this man to put on “the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17) and get back in the battle. He needed to know that God had not abandoned him, then focus on what’s next, because that “helmet of salvation” was his protection from despair.

PRAY: Jesus, thank You for reminding me repeatedly that all I have in You is enough. You will never leave me or forsake me, and all Your purposes will be accomplished in my life, even in the trials that come. (Hebrews 13:5 and Romans 8:28) Your character never changes and Your promises are irrevocable!

PONDER: When I feel overwhelmed, check what I do or overdo that adds to the problem. Also read and rely on God’s promises in Isaiah 40:29–31 and Galatians 6:9.