Overwhelmed? Ha! That can sometimes be an understatement.
We may get overwhelmed by the demands of work, children’s activities, home chores, serving others, church, Christmas parties and shopping (!), and on and on. Yes, you see items on this list we often inundate ourselves with that are truly “good things”. But…are you with me? Whew!
In Psalm 142:3a we read David’s prayer (his cry) to God, “When I am overwhelmed, You alone know the way I should turn.” Now, David’s situation was a bit different from ours (he was in a cave running from his enemies), but still he was, and we get, overwhelmed. Yep, God is looking down on us saying, “My child, you are running yourself ragged. Breathe. Just breathe. Call on Me and allow Me, your Lord, to help you, and show you the way to go.”
Why do we do this to ourselves? Are we trying to please others, fill an empty place within us, receive glory from others, enjoy being in the center of it all, just like to stay busy, or feel that we NEED to do it all?
Later in Psalm 142:5 we read, “Lord, I cry out to you for help: ‘You are my place of safety. You are all I need in life.’” (v 5) Repeat…”You (Lord) are all I need in life.” When we focus on God and His place in our life (first!) it sort of calms us down and makes us prioritize things. We just may realize that we can’t, and don’t need to, do it all. Trust in Him. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (four translations here)
I just thought of a perfect example of a very recent time I should have felt besieged. This past Saturday we hosted our annual “Cajun Christmas” party. The event was scheduled to take place at 6:00pm. Now, let’s back up a week. While hanging Christmas lights on the outside of the house, my eldest son, Hunter, stepped (not fell) through our roof. It has been time for a new roof for a long, long time. Now was the time to act. The project wasn’t completed before the party, even though the contractor tried his best. The deeper he got into the project the more damage he found on our old home that needed repairing. He knew we had a party on Saturday and made sure the place was cleaned up and no work was to be done on the day of the party. Well, one section of our roof is a flat roof over the sun/game room. The one worker that was working on that section thought that he was coming back on Saturday to do more work, but the boss man informed him not to due to our party. Little did we know, rain happened. What? It hadn’t rained in months, and now it decides to rain. Ugh. Well, my son’s girlfriend was sitting on the couch in the sunroom when the rain started and said, “Uh, Mrs. Stephanie, your roof is leaking.” Yikes! One leak right on the pool table. Wait…there goes another, and another, and another. We had about a dozen leaks in that room. Beach towels and pots to the rescue. Luckily, the boss man got in contact with his employee and he rushed right over to asses and take care of the situation. May I remind you that the party was to take place at 6:00pm. This all started around 4:00pm. Yes, I was flustered at first, but then counted it all joy when the family swung in to action. Then, God sent one of our dear family friends over early to help with any last minute preparations. God knew we needed help. Thanks to God and the Jones’! I could have felt overwhelmed, but turned to God and just breathed.
Do you need to step back and breathe from the feeling or season of overwhelmingness? Turn to and trust in Him. God’s got this.
Overwhelmed? Ha! That can sometimes be an understatement.
