Words Not In God's Vocabulary - Overwhelmed

 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%204:35-41&version=NIV

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+32:17&version=NIV1984

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+91:14&version=NIV

Overwhelmed.  Ever been there?  Chances are you have.  I know that I have.  Many times.  More times than I can count.  More times than I care to remember.  What does it mean to be overwhelmed?  It means to temporarily lose control.  Control of the situation.  Control of oneself.  In my own mind I liken being overwhelmed to a huge wave.  The wave washes over me completely and unexpectedly.  I never saw it coming.  Or at least I didn’t think it was going to overtake me this quickly.  As it does, I find myself fighting just to survive.  Nothing more.  Nothing less.

Depending upon the person and the situation, it doesn’t take much to overwhelm us.  I picture a stay-at-home mom with 3 small children.  Two of them are fighting with each other. The third, a baby, is crying at the top of its lungs.  Meanwhile, the phone is ringing, someone’s at the door, and the toilet is overflowing.  Yeah, that’s what I would call overwhelming.  Another person works at a place that is seriously under-staffed.  Too much to do.  Not enough time to do it in.  Of course, overtime is out of the question.  So its do the work of two people.  Breaks are optional.  So, too, is lunch.  Boss breathing down your neck.  Thankless customers to serve.  Yeah, that has overwhelming written all over it as well.  Then there are things like cancer.  Alzheimer’s.  Accidents.  These by themselves have the potential to overwhelm anyone and everyone.

Unfortunately, this time of year also has the potential to overwhelm people.  Life is already hectic enough for us, then the holiday season arrives.  The season has enough activities to keep a retired person busy.  Let alone a person who already more than they can handle.  There are gifts to purchase and wrap.  Decorations, inside and out, to put up.  Food to bake.  Christmas cards to address and send out.  Plays, choir concerts and office parties to attend.  Whew!  I’m getting overwhelmed just writing about all this!

The good news is that God never gets overwhelmed.  Ever.  With 6 billion people to care for, with millions of prayers coming to His ears every second, with all the conflict and chaos in this world, God doesn’t even break a sweat.  Ever.  In fact, every day is like every other day for God.  Always in control.  Always.  Everything going according to His plan.  Always.  Able to sit back and take it all in.  And enjoy it.  Always.

How does God do it?  He’s God, that’s how.  He is unlimited in every facet of His being.  So He has an unlimited capacity to guide.  Strengthen.  Encourage.  Comfort.  Love.  Dispense justice.  And He can do it all at the same time.  Yet it doesn’t tire Him in the least.  And we wonder why some people want to become God?  Certainly there is a lot of upside to it! 

As humans, when we are overwhelmed, we immediately look for help.  I know that I do.  This help could be in the form of assistance from others.  Or escape from the pressure.  Or just plain old stability and sanity returning.  The amazing thing about God is that He provides all 3 of these things to us!  He is always standing by, ready and willing to help, at the utterance of a simple prayer.  He is the One who can provide us with an escape from all the pressure.  From the craziness of life.  And He can be the stabilizing force in our lives.  Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever.  Is that a life-preserver when we’re about to go under or what?

While I wish that I never became overwhelmed (like this is never going to happen again!) the next best thing is to never being overwhelmed is to know Someone who is never overwhelmed.  Someone who can help us when we are.  Someone who will always be there for us.  Of course, that Someone is God!  What great comfort I take in the fact that He is never overwhelmed.  I can always come to Him, no matter how badly I am floundering, knowing that He has everything under control.  That with a simple command He can cause the angry sea to become instantly calm.  Or that He can lift me out from the billowing waves, and put me in a place of safety and security. 

What a great God we have.  A God who is never overwhelmed.  A God who can help those who are.

Lord, I thank you that in all the times that I have been overwhelmed in my life, You have never failed me.  Not once.  Even when the outcome seemed uncertain.  At least to me.  Every time You came to my rescue.  I thank you that Your Word tells me that when I place my hope in You I will never be disappointed.  You are mighty to save!  In Jesus’ name, Amen.