Overwhelmed?

You are probably overwhelmed. The world is crazy. Life is crazy. It’s hard to get your mind wrapped around it all. It’s hard to know what to do next. It’s hard to focus on anything because you are focused on everything. How many times does your phone buzz every hour? Just listing all the activities and ministries you are involved in can be stressful. Maybe you can’t even list them all? You are overwhelmed with life.

Now, let’s look at another option. Maybe you didn’t realize there is an alternative to being overwhelmed with life? There is! We can be overwhelmed with God. God said, “Be still and know that I am God, I will be exalted in the earth!” (Ps. 46:10 ESV). The CSB translates the opening word as “stop your fighting.” The Hebrew word (הַרְפּ֣וּ) can mean to “sink” or “relax” (BDB). This word is also used to describe how God will not grow slack or leave us and our covenant (Deut. 4:31, 31:6, 8; Jos. 1:5; Ps. 138:5). God will not abandon or relax his dedication to his covenant people, but his covenant people are to relax their dedication to the world.

I hope you know how it feels to relax. When you close your eyes and release the tension in your muscles. You might feel like you are sinking (הַרְפּ֣וּ) down in your chair? This is what God has told us to do. Stop your fighting with the world (הַרְפּ֣וּ) and know he is God and that he will be exalted among the nations and in the earth (Ps. 46:10).

Instead of being overwhelmed with life, we can be overwhelmed with God’s glory. Remember the way people in the Bible responded when they were confronted with God? They were overwhelmed. They fell to the ground. They feared for their life because they were so close to God. They were overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with glory. Overwhelmed with God.

D. L. D.