When Life Overwhelms You

It’s spring! And I’m glad.

But suddenly there is so much to do!

My husband and I tilled the garden, which, my muscles kicked back the next day, so I didn’t get it planted. Then it began to rain.

And rain.

And rain.

Our region has been hit with flooding. And we personally had three days of flooding in our basement that took time and energy.

But somehow or other, the weeds decided to have a mega growth spurt.  And they aren’t offering to pull themselves. So now the dilemma: do I pull the weeds that are screaming at me every time I see them, or plant the garden before it’s too late.

Well, even though this should be a no-brainer, I pulled a bunch of weeds yesterday, and ended up so exhausted today that I couldn’t concentrate on the sermon in church, and I needed to take a nap when I got home.

And all of the above does not take into account the need for spring cleaning, the taxiing of two teenagers to and from school every day, plus all the other things that are involved in the parenting of teens. It also doesn’t take into account the care that my parents need, as my dad doesn’t drive anymore at age 88, and my mom has dementia, and I am the only sibling that lives in the same town as them.

Okay, I’ll stop there. I think you get the picture. Plus, the reason for my writing this is not to bog you down with my problems but to lift you up with the hope that God is still with us in the nitty-gritty and in the overwhelming situations of life.

Sometimes we just have to do life one day at a time. And that’s okay.

That actually reminds me of something Jesus said when He was on this earth, living in the nitty-gritty of an overwhelming life, surrounded by crowds that constantly demanded His attention.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew 6:33,34 NKJV

Something interesting I just found in looking for this verse is that in Young’s Literal Translation, the first part of verse 33 is rendered “seek ye first the reign of God”.

The reign of God?  Where? In what way?  What does that look like?

I believe that in our place of being overwhelmed, it starts by our humbling ourselves before our almighty God, and saying a prayer that goes something like this:

“Lord God,  You are the King of all.  You are strong and powerful.  But You are not some impersonal force out there.  Rather, You care about everyone.  You care about me.

You care about all the things that are going on in my life.  You care that I just can’t do it all.  I believe it, Lord.  I believe You want to help me, that You are just waiting for me to acknowledge my need for You and for Your help.

Lord, HELP me!  Please.  I need You.  I need Your strength and guidance and wisdom.  I need You to remind me to put You first in everything.  I need You to wake me up earlier in the morning with a desire to spend more time with You.  I want You to be the Ruler of my life, too.  I need Your direction for each day.  What should I do first?  What can wait till later?  Show me the way, Lord.  Please.  I surrender to You.

You are God alone.  My King.  My God.  Please help me and hold me and give me peace as things swirl around me.  Carry me when I can’t walk anymore.  Hold my hand in the darkness, and keep me from stumbling and falling.  Fill me with Your Spirit and renew my strength.  Remind me of the hope I have in You and of all I have to be grateful for.  You have been so good to me.

Thank You, Lord.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen.”

I hope that if you are walking through overwhelming situations in your life, you will be able to pray this as well.  Add your own particulars, and just cast all your burdens before Him.

God is good.  Even in the overwhelming times.  Even when darkness surrounds us.

God loves us.  Even when we’ve gotten ourselves in deeper by making wrong decisions.

God is all-wise.  He knows how to guide us around or over the roadblocks in our lives.

Do you believe it?  Tell Him you do.

If you feel comfortable doing so, please leave a comment below letting me know how this spoke to you.  I’d love to hear from you!  🙂

And if you know someone else who might be helped by it, please share this with them using the share buttons below.

Thanks so much for taking the time to visit this blog.  I know your time is valuable.  I hope that this has been an encouragement to you.  The Lord bless you.

Linking up with fellow bloggers at:

Spiritual Sundays,  Dance with Jesus

Faith ‘n Friends,  Grace & Truth,  Faith on Fire

Tune In Thursday,  Warriors of the Word

Grace Moments,  Heart Encouragement,  Chasing Community

Coffee for your Heart,  Writer Wednesday,  Sitting Among Friends

Testimony Tuesday

Soul Survival,  Glimpses,  Moments of Hope