Overwhelmed . . . by God

Do not fret . . .
Trust in the LORD, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
Delight yourself also in the LORD,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
. . . (Psalm 37: 1-4, excerpts)

There are days (sometimes weeks) in my life where it all seems overwhelming. Whether I blame a lack of time with Jesus, or ever-shifting hormones, or not enough sleep the night before, that overwhelmed feeling is a weight I carry through the day, burdensome, sapping my strength and my joy.

This morning, recognizing that I’d had several days in a row where life felt like more than I could handle, I cried out to God about it. What came to mind were these words "Do not fret." Admittedly, I had been fretting about something, turning it over and over in my mind, instead of turning it over to my Lord. And I knew that those three words came straight from God’s own Word. I was preparing to run out for the morning, so I opened my Bible on the table to Psalm 37. I figured that when I cam home, I could listen more to what God was saying to me.

After I dropped off my sons and ran my errands, I returned home. Instead of heading straight for my Bible, I switched on the computer, hoping to "quickly" take care of some emails and announcements that had to go out. But the internet wasn’t working (and neither was the tech support’s advice) and before I knew it, I'd wasted an hour. I gave up, overwhelmed yet again! And then I remembered my open Bible on the sunroom table.

Reminding God of how much I needed His help (like He needed reminding!), I went to the table, sat down and began reading.

"Do not fret . . ." it began. And, as I read on: "Trust in the Lord and do good . . ."

I think I'm trusting you, God, but it’s the "do good" part, I prayed. I am weary; I feel overwhelmed with my responsibilities and the challenges in my life right now. You know all too well how weak I am! How can I find the strength to persevere in doing the good You’ve given me to do? (Ephesians 2:10)

I continued reading, and in the next line, God answered my question: "Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness."

There it is: Feeding on Your faithfulness is what gives me the strength I need to do good! Then I asked, What exactly is your faithfulness, God, so I can chew on it awhile? And I knew this answer from years of listening to His Word: He is faithful in loving His children perfectly always, without turning away or holding back (1 John 3:1). He is faithful to fulfill every promise He's made in Jesus (2 Corinthians 1:20). He is faithful to do good in my life, making me more like Jesus step by step (Romans 8:28-29). Even when that process feels painful or overwhelming or sad.

Then in the next verse, God made it crystal clear: "Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."

Delighting in You means finding my joy in You,  giving my heart and mind fully into Your hands -- not giving my thoughts to worrying! You ARE my joy, Lord; don't let me ever forget it! With Your loving, ageless hands, You are shaping my heart so that what You desire for me becomes what I desire for myself.

As I look to God for all I need, my heart becomes more like Jesus’ heart, and I can gladly do what He's given me to do, by His strength!

And suddenly, instead of being overwhelmed by my life, I am overwhelmed by my glorious God.