“When Life Becomes Overwhelming”
By
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
OPENING: - Life can be wonderful, full of excitement, joy, and happiness when things are going well. But when circumstances change in an instant life can make you feel overwhelmed. When everyday life happens, we experience some level of frustration, anxiety, and pain. We can be shocked when we see senseless acts of violence or natural disasters. We can become frustrated, filled with emotions, suffer with stress, cry, get upset, etc. we have all been there at some point and time. No one is immune to the stressful, overwhelming, devasting realities of life.
When we look at the war in Israel and Palestine, see the mass shooting like in Maine, Florida, North Carolina and others. When we see and hear the political conundrum our government is in it can make us feel overwhelmed.
Last week Acapulco was hit by a category 5 hurricane and just a few hours later it was hit by a 4.4 magnitude earthquake. I saw the interview of one lady saying how her family lost everything their house was destroyed and she didn’t know what they were going to do, life suddenly became overwhelming.
Sometimes we feel overwhelmed because it is a result of taking on too much. Maybe it is the loss of a loved one, or a serious illness, or a spouse has been unfaithful, or maybe it is the added pressure of caring for elderly parents. Sometimes you can become overwhelmed when everything is normal, and you really don’t see any reason why you would feel this way. The question remains the same “What do you do when life becomes overwhelming”.
Prayer: -
Scripture: - Psalm 61:1-3 Hear my cry, O God, attend unto my prayer. From the ends of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For thou hast been a shelter for me a strong tower from the enemy.
Definition: - Overwhelmed is defined as being buried or drowned beneath the weight of considerable mass.
Let me first say with the utmost clarity, it’s O.K. to sometimes feel overwhelmed, simply says you are human. It does not say that your faith is weak, it does not mean that you are not saved, it has nothing to do with salvation at all, it simply says I can’t do this by myself, and Lord I need help. UNDERSTAND – Desperate Cries Create Divine Deliverance.
Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane prayed “Father if it be thy will let this cup pass from me” because His spirit was willing, but the flesh is weak. He literally, in the flesh, was overwhelmed with what he was about to face and His cry produced something miraculous. WATCH THIS: - Luke 22:43 says, “And there appeared an angel unto Him from heaven, strengthening him”. That’s divine deliverance answering a desperate cry.
Job was one that definitely was overwhelmed. A man of great wealth and prestige suffered the ultimate catastrophes in life, loosing his family, his fortune, and even his health yet he never stopped giving God the glory even when his wife said unto him just curse God and die, he held on praising God even in the midst of losing everything. When God delivered him, He gave him double of what he had before.
Ruth’s life became overwhelming when she lost her father-in-law, brother-in-law, and her husband. She was childless, husbandless, a widow that had no means of survival and no doubt felt unloved. She made a choice to honor her commitment to Naomi her mother-in-law and follow her. Her story teaches us that when life doesn’t make sense, the best thing to do is to focus on others which is what she did by helping Naomi her mother-in-law and in so doing God blessed her with a devoted husband, a son, a sense of belong, and most of all she was Loved.
Then there is David who knows about being overwhelmed. He was relentlessly pursued by King Saul, the loss of his son with Bathsheba, Absalom is son plotting to overthrow him, and a plethora of other issues in his life. Yet he cried unto the Lord. Psalm 34:4 says, “I sought the Lord, and he delivered me from all my fears”. Again desperate cries bring divine deliverance.
What to do when Overwhelmed!
The 1st thing to do when we feel overwhelmed is to acknowledge that you are overwhelmed. 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you”. Cry out for help be like David and say Hear my cry Oh Lord attend unto my prayer. None of us are so spiritual, so saved, so holy, so close to Jesus that we don’t need help. Peter when he was sinking after having walked on water cried out Lord save me. Remember the definition of overwhelmed is a feeling of drowning, so cry out LORD HELP. You said you will not put no more upon us than we can bare.
Understand, it is unhealthy spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically to try to handle it alone. What happens spiritually you are saying, I can handle this by myself, and you find yourself secluding yourself and separating yourself from people when the Bible says where there is unity there is strength. Realize the devil desires to separate you from others to destroy you. Just like the lions in a hunt they will separate one gazelle from the pack and once they are able to do that then they can attack and kill it. When we try to handle it ourselves, when we don’t cast our cares upon Him that is what will happen to us spiritually and the devil will destroy you. Emotionally it can cause a nervous breakdown, Mentally, it will cause depression, anxiety, which could lead to suicidal ideations and even suicide. Physically, High blood pressure will develop which could lead to stroke and even death. So, when you feel overwhelmed, cry out O Zion because it is the desperate cry that brings divine deliverance and cast all your cares upon Him because He careth for you.
The 2nd thing to do is once you have cried out in desperation and cast all your care upon Him then rest. Psalm 116:7 says, “Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee”. This means to abandon anxiety, don’t hold on to it, let it go and resume the perfect tranquility, peace, comfort that comes from trusting in God. This is how God has designed for us to live in a place where our souls are at rest, not worried, not anxious, not frantic. Amidst the turmoil, trial, challenges of this world and life we can rest in the Love of God knowing that He has dealt bountifully with you. Bountifully means to have done good, to have bestowed, to recompense, and reward. Remember God is a God of Peace and He gives peace that passeth all understanding, the wonderful thing about peace is that peace is a fruit of the spirit. Jesus said in Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened”. If we continue to verses 9-11 we see it says, “Or what man is there of you, whom if his sons ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give goof things to them that ask him:. Ask God for peace and He will give it to you.
There is an old saying that goes we don’t have problems, we have opportunities. Being overwhelmed presents us with an opportunity to turn our attention towards God and to His Word and realizing that feeling overwhelmed is just a temporary issue. Yes, it is o.k. to feel overwhelmed at times, the issues of life will make us feel that way, but we can also know that if we keep our focus of Jesus, if we cry out to Him in desperation, if we cast all our cares upon Him we will experience Divine Deliverance.
No matter how heavy the cross my seem, how sever the trial is, or how weak you may feel you have to understand that if you totally surrender all to Jesus, He will carry you through. When you cast all our cares upon Him, He will mend your broken heart, He will lift the heavy burden, He will restore the joy, He will give rest and peace that passeth all understanding. He will give us strength and the armor of God to fight another day.
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
