Have you ever felt overwhelmed?
If you have, my friends, then you are TOTALLY not alone. These past couple of weeks have been completely overwhelming- I have felt as if I am constantly stressing about something. It has been as if my seemingly fuller and fuller days would engulf me and even if there was nothing really to do, I was stuck in this cycle of stress, unable to properly experience peace or rest as my mind continued to race… Does this sound familiar?
WELL… in the middle of this there was one day where I was sitting in one of my very much cherished free periods and I just happened to be ignoring the many essays I had to complete… so I was reading my Bible. (Side note- take your Bible with you everywhere- there’s something about cutting off from the world for a little bit during the day to listen to a bit of instrumental worship music and read your Bible- your secret ninja life manual- that is just so refreshing)
Anyway, as I was reading and word vomiting everything I was feeling into my journal, a thought popped into my head. It was:
“God is never going to give you more than you can handle”
Which was totally what I needed to hear, however, I do want to add something to this:
God is never going to give you more than you can handle, or more than you can handle with Him.
Simple right? God will never give us more than we can handle with Him because He is a caring Father. He does not want to push us past our breaking point, but rather for us to be stretched by our situations- for us to “enlarge our tents” (Isaiah 54:2). The fact is, the prospect of being stretched by a situation is quite daunting… causing most of us to react out of fear and try to do things our own way. I have learnt recently that this will get me nowhere… so when it comes to it, the best thing I have found to do is to rely on the fact that God knows what He is doing and when I do feel in over my head, I declare the name of Jesus into my situation because His name is more powerful than anything.
Okay I have a slightly silly example. Is it just me or can being home alone at night be the scariest thing ever? Probably just me… but every time this does happen, and I am freaking out conjuring up images of men wearing mafia outfits hiding behind the next corner, I do something which would probably weird out some random mafia serial killer guy to the point that he probably wouldn’t kill me. I say the name of Jesus over and over again, or sing “What A Beautiful Name” and because of the power that His name holds, I am instantly engulfed in His peace. (Even if it was me just being dramatic)
Anyway, back to my free period… So, another simple yet powerful word (or image) that popped into my head while chilling with Jesus at school was that:
When I can no longer handle the weight of my situation, and when I take up a posture of surrender, laying my burdens at the feet of Jesus, I can give it ALL to Him. Nothing overwhelms our Father, therefore it is at that moment that my faithful, compassionate King can step in and lift all the weight off of me. It says in Matthew 5:3 in the Message:
“You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and His rule”
This means that when we are at the end of our rope, when we reach that fine line between dealing with something and breaking point, THAT is when God steps in, allowing us to collapse, maybe exhausted, into His warm embrace, and into His immeasurable peace.
One of my favourite lines from the song “Have It All” by Bethel captures this perfectly. It says:
“Oh the peace that comes, when I’m broken and undone”
When we give Him our anxiety and let go of trying to solve the situation ourselves, that previously all encompassing anxiety can be replaced by stillness. And the peace that can be found after the surrender, in the quiet place with Jesus… Is beautiful beyond description… and seriously a little bit of Heaven on Earth (On Earth as it is in Heaven- Matthew 6:10).
Here’s a summary of what I just said:
- He’s never going to give you more than you can handle with Him.
- Don’t run away from a season of stretching.
- Declare His Name into your situation.
- And He comes in the surrender.
So my friends, if you feel overwhelmed… just know that He has got you, and that He knows what He’s doing. Allow your feeling of being overwhelmed to be overwhelmed by the overwhelming peace of the Prince of peace… If that makes sense 😉
Love
Matilda xo
PS. If you have anything you would like me to write about specifically, please DM me and I’ll see what I can do. x
Rhythms of Grace 
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