let’s pray…

no doubt there are people reading this who are overwhelmed.  you may be overwhelmed by fatigue – you’re really tired.  you may be overwhelmed by loneliness and there’s an ache inside your heart.  or any other number of things that could be overwhelming.  regardless.  let go of control, let other people help, let GOD give you strength.

if you will do these three things, you will find yourself developing the attitude of micah.  micah was an old testament prophet and he went through a period of despair and he said this: micah 7.1 & 7 (msg),   i’m overwhelmed with sorrow, sunk in a swamp of despair.  but me, i’m not giving up.  i’m sticking around to see what GOD will do.  i’m waiting for GOD to make things right.

let’s pray,

FATHER, i pray for those here on the front porch today who feel overwhelmed.  overwhelmed with responsibilities, time demands, deadlines, weighed down by worries, plagued by problems.  help them to experience new strength and energy today.

now you pray this prayer in your heart, in your mind.  “FATHER, i know i need to stop trying to control the uncontrollable.  it’s a waste of time.  so right now, once again, i’m letting go.  i’m asking you to take charge of the situation and take control of my life.  JESUS, i need you in my life.  forgive me for all the times i act like it all depends on me.  it doesn’t.  help me to let go of my pride and allow other people to help me.  i want to be connected to your family so i can receive support and i can give it to others.  help me to remember to praise you and to think about your word when i feel overwhelmed.  in JESUS’ name I pray.  amen.” 

just a thought from the front porch…

it creates incredible energy…

one of the great promises you want to hold on to when you’re overwhelmed is isaiah 4.2 (tev), when you pass through deep waters, I will be with you.  your troubles will not overwhelm you.  when you pass through the fire you will not be burned.  the hard trials that come will not hurt you.  in your own strength you may drown, when that flood comes.  but not in GOD’s strength.

where do you get that kind of strength?  where do you find strength when you’re overwhelmed?

well for one, you find it by praising GOD for HIS goodness.  there is enormous power in praise.  it creates incredible energy.  get your eyes off the problem and on to the solution.  off the circumstance and on to the SAVIOR.

try this.  it works, when you’re overwhelmed.  in the middle of an overwhelming feeling, stop and praise GOD for HIS goodness to you.

mary, JESUS mother did that.  in luke  1.46-47 (nlt) she said, oh, how i praise the LORD.  how i rejoice in GOD my SAVIOR.

just a thought from the front porch…

finding a partner like that…

so many today are so overwhelmed  with life.  maybe you are. 

look at what mary did when she heard that she was to become the mother of JESUS.  luke 1.39 (niv),  mary didn’t waste a minute.  she got up and traveled to a town in judah in the hill country straight to zachariah’s house and she greeted elizabeth.  elizabeth was her cousin.  but that’s not important.  what is important is what elizabeth was. 

one, she was a very GODly woman.  she was married to a priest, zachariah.  she was a very GODly woman so she could pray for mary.  that was a good thing.

second, she was an older woman.  an elder woman so she had a lot more life experience and she could give wise advise to mary.

third, she was also pregnant.  in fact, elizabeth was pregnant with her own miracle pregnancy.  she and her husband had been childless all throughout life and right at the end, GOD made her pregnant through her husband (this wasn’t a virgin birth) and she was carrying JESUS’ cousin, john the baptist.  it was a miracle pregnancy.  she was six months pregnant.

so not only was she wise and older and GODly but she was just a little bit further ahead than mary.  mary was brand new pregnant.  elizabeth is six months pregnant and she can help her younger cousin to go through this situation.

here’s the point, when you’re overwhelmed you need to find an elizabeth.  you need an elizabeth in your life.  what is an elizabeth?  here’s what you look for:

first, a strong believer.  find somebody who is a strong believer, who can be your spiritual partner, your mentor, your co associate through life. 

two, probably somebody a little bit older than you.  they’ve had a little bit more of life experience than you’ve had.

find somebody who’s just a little bit further along than you are.  they don’t have to be perfect.  in fact, you’ll never find a spiritual partner or mentor.  you find somebody whose just a little bit further along than you are and they can help you out. 

everybody needs a partner like that.

just a thought from the front porch…

you don’t need to go it alone…

we have been looking here on the porch at mary the mother of JESUS and some things she did when she heard that she was told by an angel that she was going to be the mother of JESUS.  she was overwhelmed.  she was but she did some things that helped her during this situation.  one of them was she let others help her out.

now this is the opposite of what we tend to do.  when people tend to get overwhelmed they start withdrawing from relationships.  they start pulling back.  they isolate themselves.  they say leave me alone.  i don’t want to be around anybody.  i don’t want to be near anybody.  let me cry in my beer.  let me hunker in a bunker.  i see it all the time.  people start to get a big problem in their life and they start pulling out of church.  they start pulling out of their friendships, backing away from the very thing they need the most in a crisis – other people.  they need other people.

just a thought from the front porch…

the first secret of peace…

mary the mother of JESUS was overwhelmed when the angel told her that she was going to be the mother of the SON of GOD.  but she shows us through this time how to handle overwhelming situations in our own lives.

notice what she said when the angel said, “GOD will do this.”  luke 1.38 (nlt),  mary responded, “i am the LORD’s servant.  i am willing to accept whatever HE wants.  [hear the submission, the attitude of surrender: i am willing to accept whatever HE wants.]  may everything you have said come true.”

this is the first secret of peace.  i don’t care what overwhelms you.  the first secret of peace is let go.  let go of control.  let GOD handle it.  mary says, “i’m giving up control.  i yield to GOD.  i surrender to HIS will.  i give it up.”  there’s a word for that.  it’s called faith.  she’s showing faith.  she’s saying, “ok, GOD.  i don’t know how you’re going to do it but i trust you to do it.”  that’s a hard thing to do.

let’s admit it.  in the group that is reading this blog today many of you are control freaks.  you have this innate desire to control everything around you because you know you’d make it better.  if everybody else would just let you rule the world everything would be perfect.  and if everybody in your family would do it your way, your business would do it your way, life would be grand.  so you have this need to control.  and when you look at things that you can’t control or hear of things you can’t control, it just bugs you to no end!  because you have this need to control.

there’s a verse in the bible just for you.  GOD put it there just for you.  it’s proverbs 3.5 (msg), trust GOD from the bottom of your heart.  don’t try to figure out everything on your own.  does that sound familiar?  i don’t have to figure everything out.  that’s one of the most important lessons in life.  i don’t have to figure everything out.  in fact if you try to figure out GOD you’re going to be severely frustrated because GOD cannot be figured out.  HE’s much bigger than your brain can handle.  and every time you try to figure out why GOD does what HE does you’re going to be disappointed and frustrated because GOD is not figureoutable!  you’ve got to let it go.

just a thought from the front porch…

“no way!” or “wow! how?”...

we are looking here on the porch at the fact that many people today are overwhelmed in their lives.  they are but there were people in the bible who were also overwhelmed .  one of them was mary the mother of JESUS when at the age of thirteen or fourteen she was told by an angel that she was going to be the mother of JESUS.  in luke 1.29 (nlt) it says she was confused and disturbed.  in other words, she was overwhelmed.   now this story of mary does give us some insight into how to handle being overwhelmed.  the first thing i do is what mary did and it’s this, let go of my need to control the situation.

the fact is most of life is out of your control and most of life you can’t figure out.  the bible calls life  “a mystery.”  GOD not only glories in revealing things but the bible says GOD glories in concealing things.  GOD intentionally doesn’t tell us certain things about life.  why?  to force us to rely on HIM, to depend on HIM.  so there’s some things you’re just not ever going to figure out.  you have to let go of your need to control it. 

in luke 1.34 and 37 (nlt) mary asked the angel after she heard this big news, but how?  “but how can i have a baby?  i am a virgin.”  the angel replied, “nothing’s impossible with GOD.” 

this is a typical reaction when we feel overwhelmed.  but how?  we say “but how?”  how in the world am i going to get it all done on time?  how in the world am i going to make that payment?  how in the world am i going to solve that problem?  how in the world am i going to get that person to love me again?”  we ask the “but how?” question.

mary did not doubt what GOD had said to the angel.  she was just puzzled.  she didn’t say when the angel said, “you’re going to be the mother of the SON of GOD.”  she didn’t go, “no way!”  she said, “wow!  how?”  there’s a difference between “no way!” and “wow!  how?”  mary’s going, “how could a virgin have a baby?”  good question.  people are still asking that one 2000 years later.  we’re still going, “how did that happen?” 

the angels’ response is not to give a detailed explanation of how this is going to happen.  he just says, “is anything too hard for GOD?”  no.  GOD can do anything.  HE can do everything.  so don’t sweat it.  just let go of your need to control the situation. 

here’s the principle: whatever is bugging you in your life right now and it’s bugging you because you can’t control it, you need to understand that although it’s out of your control it’s not out of GOD’s control.  when mary understood this she stopped worrying and she started trusting.  she relaxed.

just a thought from the front porch…

when you’re overwhelmed…

i thought we would take a break from our look at the nt book of james in the bible and look at being overwhelmed.  isaiah in chapter 38 of his ot book in the last part of verse 14 (njb) said, LORD, i am overwhelmed.  please come to my help.  and maybe that is where you are.

mary in the nt was also overwhelmed.  luke 1.26-30 (nlt), GOD sent the angel gabriel to a virgin named mary.  she was engaged to be married to a man named joseph.  gabriel appeared to her and said, “greetings, favored woman.  the LORD is with you.”  confused and disturbed mary tried to think of what the angel could mean.  “don’t be frightened, mary,” the angel told her, “for GOD has decided to bless you.” 

she’s just a thirteen, maybe fourteen year old girl who the bible says is understandably confused and disturbed.  without a doubt mary was overwhelmed when the angel came to her and told her this news.  but the angel said, “mary, you’re going to be blessed.”  here’s the principle: we usually feel overwhelmed right before we’re going to be blessed.  so if you’re feeling overwhelmed in any area congratulations you’re about to be blessed.

now this story of mary gives us some insight into how to handle being overwhelmed.  what do you do when you’re overwhelmed?  you do what mary did.  i don’t care if you’re overwhelmed by debt, overwhelmed by fatigue, overwhelmed by stress, overwhelmed by responsibilities.  you do the same things that mary did when she got overwhelming news.  a little hint: you do the exact opposite of what you feel like doing. 

the first thing i do is what mary did and it’s this, let go of my need to control the situation.

typically the more out of control we feel, the more overwhelmed we feel, the more we redouble our efforts.  we try to control it more.  we hyper control.  we micromanage.  we use force, we use willpower to try to make it work. 

we do that all the time.  parents do this with their kids as they start growing up and start showing the first examples of independence.  they say, “we’re not going to let that get out of control so we’re going to nip it in the bud right now!  we’re going to push it down.  we’re going to put them on restriction.  we’re not going to let this get any bigger.  we’re going to control it right now!!”

so much of the stress in your life is caused by this desire to micromanage everything, to control everything, to be the manager of the universe.  the more you try, the harder you try to control the things that are uncontrolled in your life the more overwhelmed you feel. 

just a thought from the front porch…