Overwhelmed

For all my “focusing” I did last year, I feel so unfocused as this new year looms. And if I’m being honest, I’m overwhelmed.

Overwhelmed with all the things I know need to change this year. Overwhelmed with all the things that need to be done. Overwhelmed with my family, our church, our country, our businesses, our livelihood, our slowly- slipping freedoms. Overwhelmed with things that only God knows.

I didn’t want a word for this year. I didn’t want a New Year’s blog post.

But I was listening to this song again by The Mylon Hayes Family, “Overwhelming”. (Song at the end of the post) And it talks about how God is so good it’s overwhelming. And the Lord spoke to my heart and said, ‘Why don’t you be overwhelmed by Me?’

I looked up the world overwhelm in the dictionary and my Strong’s Bible app. Here’s what I found:

Overwhelm:

1. Defeat completely. This is what the world, stress, expectations, etc do to me.
2. Give too much of a thing to someone. This is what the Lord does to me. He has given me so very much and all of it is undeserved.
3. Be too strong for; overpower. This is what His goodness should do to my heart. “You’re so good, it’s overwhelming.

So then I looked up references in the Bible that mention overwhelm. And one of my favorites came up. Psalm 61:2 From the ends of the earth will I cry into thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

But the Lord compelled me to keep searching until I came to the heading above Psalm 102.

A prayer of the afflicted, when He is overwhelmed, and poureth out His complaint before the Lord.

I started reading and what a blessing it was to see these chapters with new eyes. In verses 1-11 we see The Lonely Soul. (This psalm is anonymous, so I don’t know for sure if it was David. But we can still see how God laid the order of it down in scripture.) In verses 18-22 we see The Loving Savior. By the time we get to chapter 103, we see The Lifted Spirit.

You know why David’s spirit was lifted? Because He became overwhelmed at the goodness of God. That “loving Savior” was right in the middle of the pain in Psalm 102 and the praise in Psalm 103.

But if you’re like me, you’ve grown accustomed to being so blessed, it’s no longer overwhelming. And what a shame! That my heart can become so cold. How it breaks the Father’s heart and how it should mine as well!

So how do we become overwhelmed again by our loving Savior?

O – O my soul, BLESS the Lord. Vs.1
V – Vastness of His BENEFITS. Vs.2
(How could something so vast be easily forgotten? But David said, ‘Let me not forget’.)
E – Enumerated BLESSINGS. Vs. 3-5a
(Who forgiveth, who healeth, who redeemeth, who crowneth, who satisfieth)
R – Renewed strength as He lifts our BURDENS. Vs. 5b
(The reference is given to Isaiah 40:31, But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles;)
W – {His} Ways, whether known or unknown are always BEST. Vs. 7
H – Heavens are high; there are no BOUNDS to His greatness. Vs. 11
E – East from West, my sins are BLOTTED out. Vs. 12
L – Like a Father has compassion for His BELOVED. Vs. 13-14
M – Mercy is BESTOWED. Vs. 17
(Not just on me, but on my children, and grandchildren, and great grandchildren if we only fear the Lord!)

So this year, moment by moment, what if we were so overwhelmed by God that we couldn’t be overwhelmed by anything else? Pour your heart out. Reverently let the Savior hear your complaint. But stay long enough to be enveloped in His presence and allow His goodness to overwhelm all your afflictions. Bless the Lord, O my soul!

Because He’s so good, it’s overwhelming.

I asked a very talented someone (Jana Wisher) to make me a printable bookmark that I could keep in my Bible at Psalm 103. She did an absolutely wonderful job, and she allowed me to offer it to you! So if you’d like a free printable, just click the link underneath the photo, download it to your computer and print it out. You can follow Jana on Instagram @Veritydesigns_

And the song can be listened to here:
“Overwhelming”
Written by Kennedy Hayes/Rebecca J. Peck (I think!)