Feeling Overwhelmed?

Have you been feeling overwhelmed lately? Have you been experiencing a constant feeling of being weary or overburdened? Life can be very demanding and stressful. Some of us are facing job stress, financial stress, and constant mental stress. To top it all off, we are in the midst of a global pandemic with no end in sight. It is easy to feel overwhelmed. I believe one of the enemy’s greatest strategies during this season is to make God’s people feel completely overwhelmed. He wants you to feel swamped, overburdened and constant pressure. John 10:10 says “The thief comes only to steal and to kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly”. Jesus came so that we could live a full and satisfying life, not a life filled with stress and a constant feeling of being overwhelmed. Let me share with you three things that you can do when you find yourself overwhelmed:

First, you have to pause to evaluate what is causing you to feel overwhelmed. Take a moment to really think about what you have to do. How much of what's making you feel overwhelmed is even within your control? The issues that you can fix and change, fix and change them, the issues that you can’t fix and change belong to the Lord. They are out of your control. You need to turn those issues over to God and leave them there! 1 Peter 5:7 teaches us to cast our cares on the Lord. To cast our cares on the Lord means that we literally “throw” our cares and concerns to him. Jesus tells us to throw all of our cares on him because he can handle our problems way better than we can. He cares for you.

Secondly, you have to lean on God to carry your burdens. You must rely on his strength. It is natural for us to want to do things in our own strength but this only wears us down and causes more stress and exhaustion. Often times we carry responsibilities that God never intended for us to carry. Jesus desires to carry our load. He desires that we rely on his strength. Maybe you feel like you have no strength left. That's ok! God has an unlimited supply of strength and his strength is available to you and his strength will carry you through when you find yourself overwhelmed.

Lastly, you have to repurpose your thoughts with the Word of God. We spend so much time thinking about “what if”. In fact, anticipatory anxiety is defined as the fear and worry around bad things that can happen. Penn State University did a study and found that 91% of what we are worried and anxious about won’t even happen. We often overwhelm ourselves with fictious thoughts that weigh us down. Philippians 4:8 teaches us to think about things that are good, true, right, pure, excellent and praiseworthy. Keep your mind on these things! Staying rooted in the Word of God is the ultimate antidote to feeling overwhelmed. God has sent you a helper in the form of the Holy Spirit who is there to remind us that help is always available. The choice is yours. Will you take control of your feelings and emotions by staying rooted in the word of God? I pray that you will. I pray that God releases a spirit of peace, strength and refreshing over you. Stay rooted friends!

Verse of the Week:

"Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."

Matthew 11:28 NLT