3 Questions to Help You Navigate Overwhelm
Can I be honest?
I don’t always feel that I have strength for the battles that I face. There are things that come at me – at all of us, I’m sure – that threaten to overwhelm, that make me feel small as they tower over me.
There are days when my lips want to utter the doom-riddled words, “I just can’t do it anymore….”
And whether the “it” you feel you can no longer carry is an empty marriage, a struggling child, an ailing parent or a career that seems to be moving backward instead of forward, I want you to know that you are not alone and that we all struggle at times. The nice, palatable images we all see on social media aren’t the whole story. None of us smile all the time. There are tears and disappointments and genuine struggles in everyone’s life.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m a firm believer that you and I are stronger than we realize, we can handle everything that the Lord brings our way. I also know that the Lord loves to redeem the things life throws at us by making us stronger, by stretching us up to our full stature in Him. He wants to show Himself strong in us and make us into the warriors He sees in us.
That’s why it is so important when I am feeling that all-too-familiar overwhelm to do my level best to evaluate it as soon as possible. I’m an introspective person by nature, so self-evaluation is commonplace for me (sometimes too common place). But even if you have a personality for whom this is foreign territory, these questions should be able to get you started thinking and evaluating the situation you’re facing.
With a heart ready to be as honest as we can, we can sort our hearts out with these questions and begin the process of navigating our overwhelm.
1. Am I allowing the Lord to strengthen me? We run to many things for strength. Some of those things can get us by for a time, but unless our foundation is set on Jesus and allowing Him to restore our souls, those things will let us down every time. Jesus is where our strength is found.
God is gracious to us. He will strengthen us often through the words of a friend, through the arms of a spouse or child wrapped around us in comfort, through the kindness of a stranger. But He longs for us to run first and foremost to Him. He will carry your burdens. It is His delight to display His loving kindness to us. Let Him restore your soul, let Him teach and train you for the battle, let Him make your burdens light.
Finding strength in the Lord can be one of those things that Christians talk about, but never lift the veil to display what it actually looks like to have the Lord strengthen us.
For practical tools including the four main ways I strengthen myself in the Lord, access that FREE RESOURCE by clicking HERE!
There are days when my lips want to utter the doom-riddled words, “I just can’t do it anymore….” And whether the “it” you feel you can't carry is an empty marriage, a struggling child, an ailing parent or a career that seems to be moving backward instead of forward, know that you are not alone. We all struggle. It is so important when I am feeling overwhelm to evaluate it as soon as possible. Read more!
2. Am I looking too far ahead, imagining the worst-case scenario, and not taking things a day at a time? Oh, this is a big one for me! My mind can race ahead and get on the hamster wheel of worry with just a whisper of potential concern. But as Jesus reminded us in Matthew 6:34, “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
We have enough to do in this very day that is before us without running ahead to borrow trouble from tomorrow! Let’s just all take a moment and breathe in the breath of life that has been loaned to us today and not waste our much-needed energy with things that may never happen. A recent study said that 85% of what people worry about never comes to call. Why are we wasting so much mental and emotional strength on phantoms of fear? And when we consider how much illness can be attributed to stress, we realize we really aren’t doing ourselves any favors with all this unmerited concern.
If I’m struggling with overwhelm, it could be that I am biting off more than I can chew in this moment. Perhaps I need to work my way through a huge goal, small task by small task. I don’t need to worry about how I’ll do all or the steps of the journey, just the ones set before me today.
I used to think I was planning ahead by worrying, but the truth is, I was walking outside the grace of God for my day-to-day life. God is under no obligation to give me strength for what I imagine is ahead, but He does promise to care for my daily needs and to give grace that is sufficient for me.
I used to think I was planning ahead by worrying, but the truth is, I was walking outside the grace of God for my day-to-day life. I need to only deal with what God has called me to do TODAY! Anything else will lead to the dreaded OVERWHELM that characterizes too many of our lives. Come read the “3 Questions to Help You Navigate Overwhelm” and learn how to extricate yourself from nagging overwhelm. #ChristianBlog
3. Am I taking on more than the Lord has called me to do? There are some people who adopted a double portion of responsibility and determination. We make sure things get done and done correctly.
I’ve learned to progressive degrees throughout my life (and I’m still learning new things this week) that sometimes it is better to have things done by others than to have them done my way. My Hubs enjoys doing dishes. Does he do them the way I do? Does he load that dishwasher so that everything fits? Absolutely NOT! But the dishes get done and, if I can keep my mouth shut, they get done without my intervention.
When my daughters were little it was important to let them have little tasks that would one day grow into bigger tasks that would produce responsible adults. Did the bed look well made by that 4-year-old? Nope. Could I have cleaned that bathroom myself—better, more completely and without any complaints? Of course! But the goal of parenting is to work your way out of a job, right?
More importantly, God will not give me strength to do things He has told me to let someone else handle. Did you catch that? If I am looking at a mountain and feeling overwhelmed by it, maybe it’s because it’s not my mountain. Maybe it has been assigned to another person and they have the grace to handle it.
Whether you’re an entrepreneur whose budding business is requiring them to relinquish the reins in some areas or you’re a parent overstepping or a person who frequently finds themselves over committed and over stretched, evaluate what your task is—your God-assigned task and do only that. Allow others the amazing gift of trying and failing and succeeding without feeling you are responsible for making the world go ‘round.
If you’ve asked yourself these three questions and honestly evaluated your situation and your heart, you will begin to realize that if you turn your gaze to the Lord, if you take each moment as it comes and if you stay in your lane and do only what you should, you do, indeed, have the strength you need.
Having examined your heart, you can stand in faith for the strength to face the battle. You have the ability to see your Heavenly Father’s perspective on your situation and let Him give you His strength. You can say no to tomorrow’s troubles that come knocking on your mind and you can turn over whatever isn’t your assignment to those who need to step up. You do not fight alone, and you don’t need to have strength in yourself. The Lord is your strength and your victory!
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
If you’d like to read more about being kind to yourself, read the blog titled, “Disappointing Yourself” by clicking HERE!
Don’t forget to pick up the FREE RESOURCE, “4 Ways to Strengthen Yourself in the Lord” by clicking HERE!