Feeling Overwhelmed?

I first wrote this post on June 2, 2009. At that time I had no idea what turns my own life would take. I am now more than ever convinced that our ONLY hope is to keep our eyes FIXED on Jesus.
These are interesting days we live in right now. In my life, and I know of many others, there is trouble on every side. We feel concern about the direction of our country, our families and even our churches. The stories of people murdering their entire families because of financial or other problems seem to be increasing. How can we make it through this time? Can we actually have peace and joy? I believe absolutely that the person who believes on the Lord can have both peace and joy during this time. Acts 16:31 in the Amplified Bible says this:"And they answered, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ [give yourself up to Him, take yourself out of your own keeping and entrust yourself into His keeping] and you will be saved, [and this applies both to] you and you household as well." Believing isn't just thinking about something; in this verse it means to entrust yourself to Jesus. What better place to be in this life right now? Does that mean your problems immediately go away? No, but it does mean that you are no longer the one fighting all the battles. If you entrust yourself to Jesus and decide to do only what He says, it takes the pressure of having to "figure everything out" off of you.

I know that this concept is easier for me to write about than it is to apply to my life, but we have to remind ourselves of what God requires of us. He doesn't require that we navigate this life on our own and make perfect choices at every turn. He requires that we love Him with everything we have and everything we are and love others as Christ loved us. I have always loved King David from scripture. He messed up majorly several times in his life. He was put on the run for his life several times in his life. But yet, in all of this, he is called a man after God's heart. Those facts alone give me hope. I still have an opportunity to be called a woman after God's heart. Based on my feelings, it is not a surprise that I often turn to the Psalms when I need a special Word from the Lord.

So, when writing about feeling overwhelmed, my thoughts turn to Psalm 42 and 43. David asks (KJV) "Why art thou cast down O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of His countenance." I encourage you to read the entirety of chapters 42 and 43 because David lays out how to handle being cast down which I interpret to be overwhelmed. One thing he goes on to mention in verse 6 "O my God, my soul is cast down within me; therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar.' So when life overwhelmed David, He remembered all that God had done. This causes God to become bigger in your mind, and the problems can't help but become smaller. When you have a big God, there is no problem that can overwhelm you.

I am reminded of the father in the New Testament who came to Jesus for healing for his son. Mark 9 records the story where Jesus says to him in verse 23 (Amplified) "And Jesus said, [You say to Me], If You can do anything? [Why,] all things can be (are possible) to him who believes!" The reply is something that I know would be my response. "At once the father of the boy gave [an eager, piercing, inarticulate] cry with tears, and he said, I believe! [Constantly] help my weakness of faith!" In the King James it says "I believe, help thou my unbelief." It's okay to say that to God. He knows it already, so we might as well be honest with Him.

My encouragement is to find faith building Scriptures, music, sermons and keep them near to you. I was talking with someone last night, and I said, when all else fails use distraction. If you can't seem to break out of the overwhelmed feeling, distract yourself. I have found though that I have to be careful about my distractions; making sure that they are contributing to my spiritual life. There is so much else today competing for that place in my heart and soul, I am more careful than ever with what I fill my time.

An Open Letter

I want to take this opportunity to say thank you to the person/persons called "Servants of the Lord." For everyone else, let me explain.
On Wednesday, December 23, Fedex delivered an envelope addressed to my husband and me. When we opened it, there was a Christmas card inside. Inside the Christmas card were two money orders. The card read, "Chris and Sharon After praying, this is how the Lord led. God bless."
I was stunned, and burst into tears. I felt so humbled that someone would do this, and grateful to the Lord. Not to mention that this is the second financial blessing God has provided to us. Immediately, the Lord brought to my mind the many times both my husband and I have blessed others. I felt like God was showing me that He knows, and He leads and directs. There have been many years, especially at Christmas, that we have blessed others financially. While that wasn't the case this year; God knew what a blessing like this would mean to us.
This person/persons made it clear that they did not want their identity to be discovered, so I respect your wishes. I will admit, I wanted to figure it out for a time, but then laid that thought to rest. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
This incident has not only affected my life, but also my children's lives. When I showed them the card, they were blown away. When I began to talk to them about other times when God had led us to bless others in a similar way, they began to see that this can be a way of life. We hadn't always told our kids the stories when we blessed other people, but the older ones are teenagers and this has made an impression on their lives. They can see God at work in specific ways and meeting needs before they arise.
This has been a difficult holiday season for us. We lost a dear friend, and my daughter lost her great-grandmother. Through all of that, God has remained faithful. And He always will be faithful!
As this New Year opens, I encourage you to be sensitive to the leading of the Lord. You never know how your obedience will bless others.