Overwhelmed

Overwhelmed:

It is incredibly easy to become overwhelmed in life. In our super-sonic, crazy, frenetic, zero-margin age and culture(s) most of us are just one hiccup from losing it. When we leave work and find a flat tire on our car or a dead battery - the universal response is, “Seriously!? Like I needed this TODAY!” As if tomorrow would be a better day for a flat or dead battery? Never mind when the really difficult stuff hits the fan; like when our kid is diagnosed with cancer or we lose a beloved family member or friend.

Since I started this blog in October of 2015 it seems like the number of problems our family has experience in life has increased exponentially. Since January, when I started working as a pastor at a local church, things have really gone off the rails: Hurt kids, travel, adjusting to new schedules, not spending as much time with my family, car problems, my Mom coughing up blood, and today we had another bomb dropped on us...

In the grand scheme of things - none of these are crippling, but when these kinds of things just keep coming around the corner it can make joy in life seem like a distant memory if you let it.

The point of today’s blog is not a personal pity-party. I’m not trying to get anyone to feel sorry for me. If you feel led to pray for our family - then those prayers are much appreciated, but what I want to do is to encourage YOU!

Satan’s schemes are nothing new, but they’re incredibly effective - that’s why he continues using them. He wants us to feel overwhelmed. He wants us to focus on those GIGANTIC waves in the distance and the water coming in over the sides of the boat. He does NOT want us to focus on the fact that Jesus is right here with us! He doesn’t want us to realize that often times those waves will never reach us. Satan wants to sow seeds of panic, frustration, and fear because it causes us to take our eyes off God. When we focus on anything more than we do on God - that’s called idolatry.

God allows Satan to do his thing - NOT so that God can see what’s in our hearts, but so that WE can see what is in there. We can wax eloquent about faith all day long, but when those waves begin to rise and it looks like you’re going to need that surgery… lose your job or promotion… lose your kids in a custody battle… or when that relationship falls to pieces… where is our faith then? When those times come is God still sovereign? Is the LORD still God Almighty? Or do we scramble to reconnect with that long-lost attorney friend? Do we spend hours scouring the internet for answers? Do we exhaust all our contacts and resources first -or- do we pray?

There is no praise or worship that is worthy of God until it has been tested and purified in the refiner’s fire - until all the dross is removed. That kind of testing only comes in tragic and crushing circumstances. It is only then that God can reveal what is in our hearts.

Are you in a season of tragic and crushing circumstances? God is not unaware, disconnected, or impotent. Trust in Him. Allow God to do something miraculous so that your faith in Him can blossom and that relationship grow until it trumps every fleeting concern that Satan ever uses in a pathetic effort to sow seeds of doubt, insecurity, and fear.

I keep my eyes always on the Lord.

   With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

-Psalm 16:8

Blessings,

-Kevin