04. Living Overwhelmed?

Friend, are you living overwhelmed? How many times have you heard the words, "I'm overwhelmed" recently? How many times have you voiced or thought them yourself? Friend, if you're feeling this way, you are not alone. Many people, including me, are right there with you.

Are we living overwhelmed? Maybe we are, but we don't have to keep living that way. I believe we can choose differently.

Sadly, I've had much experience with living overwhelmed in my years. So much so, I've learned a way to diagnose it. I share this simple way in the episode, and it has to do with asking myself some questions when I begin to feel stressed, overwhelmed, or out of sorts. I ask myself questions such as: What's causing me to feel this way? Why am I stressed, or overwhelmed, or feeling out of sorts? What's creating these overwhelming feelings?

Then I try to dig a bit deeper to find the cause by narrowing my questions down a little farther.

• Is it what's going on around me? (My environment, the world, people around me?)
• Is it what's going on in me? (Internal agitation, sin, not using my time/resources wisely?
• Have I said yes to too much? (Taking on more than I'm called to do?)
• Is my schedule too full? (Does something need to go?)
• Why am I not filled with peace? (Pray, ask God)

It all leads to one big question at the end.

What needs to change?

Because if we're feeling overwhelmed and stressed, it's an indication something needs to change. What needs to change in my environment? What needs to change with my resources or time? Is there something that needs to change in my schedule? What will give me peace?

I believe we will receive the answer we are seeking. Do you know what needs to change for you? What happens when we don't know?

I suggest asking God.

When I don't know what needs to change, I pray and ask God to show me. Because He knows. He knows me better than I know myself, after all, He created me. I share a recent story as an example of this very thing.

The thing is, God will show us what to do or what change needs to be made when we ask. He won't leave us to figure it out on our own. God will guide us to the answer. And when the answer comes, we can trust Him to help us many any changes and that He will give us His peace again.

Is living overwhelmed His best for us? I don't think it is. Can we change the way we're living? I believe we can. And it all comes down to our choices.

We can choose how we live the lives God has given us.

Will we choose to live overwhelmed or will we choose to live full of God's peace? It may not be easy to change the way we're living, but I believe we can do it with His help. Living overwhelmed does not have to be our way of life. 

Links in this episode:

Isaiah 26:3 VOICE

5 Ways to Stop Living Overwhelmed printable on my Resources page

Encouragement for Real Life Community Facebook group

Thanks for being here. It's a joy to do life with you, friend. God bless you.

Julie