Overwhelmed

Overwhelmed.

Have you ever felt that way?

Maybe you are overwhelmed by the many things clamoring for your attention. As a single mom, you have kids needing your attention. Or bills that need to be paid. Or everyone you know and love experiencing pain. Or you just feel like there’s not enough of you to go around.

Oh, how I have been there! So many years of single-parenting, only one of me and three of them. Too many bills and not enough paycheck. Another activity, another event to attend. Trying to figure out how to split myself into three people to be all things to my children.

Or, even now. Wanting to be the wife my husband deserves and still be available for my adult children all while balancing a job and home duties and trying to build a business.

Or even the pain. Overwhelmed by the pain and exhaustion of an unwanted and unexpected divorce. Overwhelmed by the devastation of betrayal. Overwhelmed by starting over in your forties. Overwhelmed by trying to navigate the devastation and destruction that life sometimes brings because we live in a fallen and broken—very broken—world.

But what about the beautiful overwhelmed?

Overwhelmed by the goodness of God.

Overwhelmed by the faithfulness of God.

Overwhelmed by the presence of God.

Overwhelmed by answered prayers.

Overwhelmed by the grace of God.

Overwhelmed by your own sin which somehow makes you more aware of His holiness.

Overwhelmed by His mercy.

Overwhelmed that He would send His Son to die for you.

There’s definitely a good kind of overwhelmed.

It’s so easy for us to get lost in the bad kind of overwhelmed. After all, I think that’s part of the human nature. We let this life pull us down, and we lose our focus on God, on His character, on His work in our lives.

That’s where we must recognize our sinfulness, our failures. That’s where we must pause and bring our minds back to the place of stability. That’s where we must learn to fix our thoughts on Him so we experience His perfect peace.

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Isaiah 26:3

You know, I used to be really good at focusing my thoughts on Him. In this season of life, I struggle. I don’t know if it’s menopause brain or thyroid brain or my own failures, but sometimes I just can’t get my mind to cooperate with my heart. I do know there are things I can do to help bring my mind back to Him, but it requires lots of time and energy.

God tells us to draw near to Him and He will draw near to us (James 4:8). But, it does require action on our part. I guess we could use Newton’s Third Law of Motion to understand how God responds to us. If we draw near to Him—reach out and pull Him close—He will respond by coming closer. If we distance ourselves, He allows us to wander.

But He always responds to a heart that seeks to be aligned with Him.

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:1-2

When we offer ourselves to God, when we truly worship Him with all of our being, when we choose to live in holiness rather than the way this world calls us, then we are transformed. It’s not something we do, but rather something God does in us.

But how do we do these things? Through our conscious choices.

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. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:6-9

Do you see what He’s calling us to? He’s calling us to pray instead of worrying. He’s calling us to fix our thoughts on things that are lovely and noble and true and right and excellent and praiseworthy. He’s calling us to practice all we learn from His word.

But how do we do that?

We must be in the Word. We can’t practice His word if we don’t know it. We must make it a daily practice to saturate our minds with the Word of God. Make it the first thing you do in the morning. Make it the last thing you do at night. Find ways to incorporate His word into your everyday life. Smart phones actually make this very possible when we use our phones properly. (They can also make it very difficult if we want to be honest.)

We must actively choose what goes into our minds. One thing I have done for over a decade is praise music. It’s the only thing that plays in my car. It plays in my house all the time. I try to keep it playing on my phone when I’m cleaning house or working out. It simply helps control what goes in, which puts me in a position to allow God to transform my mind.

We must find those ways where we connect with God best. God created us all different. What works for me may not be what works for you. For me, an early morning walk and prayer time are the best thing I can do. I know people who prefer evenings for their time with God. Some people like to sit in silence with a book and a journal. It’s not about how you choose to meet with God but that you choose to meet with Him.

Today, I am overwhelmed. Today, I see God’s hand. Today, I have the opportunity to get a glimpse into the work He has been doing behind the scenes for many years—and I hear Him telling me that He’s not finished! I don’t deserve His goodness and His grace, but He has chosen to pour it out on me.

What is my response? It’s to fall at His feet with gratitude, to get a fresh view of His love for me. It is to be overwhelmed by the truth that the God of the universe love me.

And I pray you, too, get to be overwhelmed.