Our favorite youth thing of the year… DNow! We had a great weekend with a great group. We have never had such an awesome group of kids, ever. They make us even more grateful our jobs. We have such a sweet group of seniors that are so close to my heart… I love them like my own and am going to be a puddle of the floor come Senior Sunday.
We watched a video series about being overwhelmed. All of my girls have stressed to me how much they worry. It is sad to think about the pressures they face these days.
Going through these lessons with our youth… is always going through a lesson for myself also. In our first session together he talked about signs of being overwhelmed. Ask yourself these ten questions: Are busy and tired words I use to describe myself? Am I always in a hurry? Does my schedule make me stressed and anxious? How am I sleeping? Do I blame other people for my feeling overwhelmed? Do I say that this is only a “season” of life? Do I show less compassion to others? Am I losing hope? Am I withdrawing from family and friends? When was the last time I genuinely had fun?
At the time, I was experiencing most of these “signs”. It was almost funny how spot on everything was…. almost. I wasn’t even aware of these overwhelming tendencies in my life. Compared to the people I love most, I thought I was super chill. This weekend was God telling me not to let the enemy use these tendencies to push me off an emotional cliff. I have to fight for peace in my life!
In Matthew 26:36-46 when Jesus goes to Gethsemane to pray before his crucifixion, He is understandably overwhelmed. In fact, the Bible says He was crushed with grief…. overwhelmed with sorrow… swallowed up with sadness.
We’ve all been to a deeply painful place where we feel like we’ll never recover, but even in the every day where we don’t even think we are overwhelmed the same lesson applies… Look at what Jesus did. He prayed! This is a small but mighty step that can not be ignored. We desperately need prayer…. Deep conversations with God where we can be honest, get things off our chest, and let go.
Jesus also asked his close friends to pray for him. He didn’t try to carry this heavy burden all alone. Close Christian friends are so important in my life. I hope you have those special people in your life. Knowing that I have dear friends that pray for me daily is one of the greatest blessings of my life.
This first crucial step to overcoming the overwhelming is simple: We must pray!
Next we have to acknowledge what we’re good at, and what we should let go. Don’t put too much on your plate…. If we stack all our plates too high, eventually everything will come crashing down. All our responsibilities accumulate to increase our stress level. Sometimes we just need to say “no”. Perfectionists and people-pleasers have a hard time with this. When you’re both, like me, it’s especially exhausting. When you finally learn how to prioritize and give only what you can of yourself, the freedom of letting go is amazing.
Lastly, we have to deny our fears and transform our minds. Fear always plays a part in my life… I learned a long time ago that I will always have them. I just have to deny their power over me and give every worry to God. Looking to Him first will always make things better. He will carry you through whatever you are facing. Then when you are ready… dig into His word and further transform your mind by learning about Him.
So are you overwhelmed?
PRAY… LET GO… DENY YOUR FEARS… TRANSFORM YOUR MIND
Boom!
Thank you God and thank you Disciple Now.
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