3 Things to Remember When You Feel Overwhelmed

Three Things to Remember When You Feel Overwhelmed _640x361 by Vince Wilcox

If it’s not one crisis, it’s another…right? Money problems. Challenges with our kids—or our parents. Health issues. Work issues. Addiction issues. Disease. Depression. Dementia. Any of those hitting home?

No one is immune to the vicissitudes of life. Lest we think that our faith will exempt us from problems, Jesus himself said, “In this world you will have trouble (John 16:33).” The apostle Paul recites a litany of personal woes: “Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers" (2 Corinthians 11:24-26).

I’ll bet that many of you have your own list of problems—possibly as daunting as Paul’s. So how are we to apply our faith to our circumstances? Here are three things to remember when you feel overwhelmed:

Remember that the important struggles of life are primarily spiritual ones that manifest themselves in our physical world. This isn’t to say, as the ancient Platonists did, that the physical world is nothing, and the spiritual reality is everything. No. The Bible records that Jesus, the divine logos, took the form of his creation in order to fully redeem his creation. The physical world isn’t inherently bad; rather, it’s impossibly broken. It’s so broken that we can’t fix it by ourselves. Jesus, by his unmerited love, did for us what we could never accomplish ourselves. Christ paid the eternal price to heal and restore us, then calls each of us to become his image-bearers who embody and extend his healing and restoration to our world.

The ignorance, selfishness, and destruction that we face has a demonic source: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12).”
Remember that—whatever our circumstances—we can live in the confidence that Jesus’ death redeems us and that his resurrection promises the redemption of all things. Many believe the world is winding down—that whatever energy the universe had at creation will be expended until all is cold and dark. Watching the evening news, it would be tempting to concede that the world will just get worse until evil and death ultimately prevail, and the world will go out—as T.S Eliot postulated—with a whimper.

In contrast, John the Revelator shouts, “Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’ for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:1-4).

We’re not just followers of a great teacher; rather, we’re children of a loving Father who will keep every promise he’s ever made to us. Our confidence is not in our own strength to hold on to him, but rather in his strength to hold on to us.

If we're wise, we’ll remember to face these struggles with spiritual resources provided by God rather than simply wrestling with them in our own strength. To be honest with you, I’m writing this because I need to read it. I consider myself a fairly competent person, but too often I find myself leaning on my own insight and abilities before turning to the Lord as a “last resort.”

In actuality, I need to view every challenge as an opportunity for God to sanctify my heart and renew my mind. I need to avail myself of the powerful and particular spiritual resources we find listed in Ephesians 6:
- Biblical truth to keep my spiritual pants up (6:14)
- God’s righteousness to guard my heart (6:14)
- Spiritual footwear to propel me toward gospel opportunities (6:15)
- An invincible faith that repels attack (6:16)
- A mind safeguarded by authentic salvation (6:17)
- God’s Word cutting through the falsehood that pervades our world (6:17), and
- Fervent, Spirit-led prayer that transforms my life and the lives of those around me (6:18).

I love how Eugene Peterson paraphrases part of Ephesians 6:13-18 in The Message: “Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet.”

All of us get overwhelmed. But far too few of us avail ourselves of the confidence and spiritual armor the Lord graciously provides.

Am I the only person to needs to be reminded of these truths?

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