“Hear my cry, O God;
Attend to my prayer.
From the end of the earth I will cry to You,
When my heart is overwhelmed;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” Psalm 61:1-2
Know why I was overwhelmed one day? And why I have been overwhelmed so very many times? And why I still can get overwhelmed easily if I’m not careful? Two reasons.
First, I took on more than the Lord gave me that day. Rather than seek, hear, and obey Him, I sought Him partly, heard Him partly, and obeyed Him partly. And partly took on stuff the Lord didn’t give me to do that day.
Second, I got caught up in and focused on my circumstances rather than stayed focused on the Lord and His Word. The more I focused on my circumstances, and the less on God, the bigger my circumstances seemed to grow. Oh, how overwhelmed I became!
Friend, the ideal way to live each and every day of our lives is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, to live for the Lord Jesus Christ, and, in so doing, to seek God, to hear God, to obey God, to look to God, to focus on God, to look to His Word, to focus on His Word, to live by His Spirit according to His Word, and to go forth in His strength for His glory.
When we find ourselves overwhelmed as I did that day, instead of pushing forward in the flesh and continuing to take on and get consumed with what isn’t God’s will, we need to stop, breathe, seek the Lord, hear Him, obey Him, and press on as He by His Spirit leads us forth.
If we have taken on what isn’t His will, we need to humble ourselves and let it go. And, if our hearts and minds are consumed with our circumstances instead of with Christ, we need to turn our focus to Jesus and be consumed with Him instead.