Sometimes the struggles of life take us under and sweep us away into unknown depths we’ve never experienced. How do you deal with overwhelm?

You want to be strong, have faith, and smile through the storm, but tears, unknowns, and difficult scenarios bombard your mind faster than your faith can respond. 

We all have those seasons. For some it’s the loss of a loved one who seemed to hold the family together, for others it’s separation in a relationship that held on for years. Perhaps it’s the words of a doctor that swirl inside your heart until you cannot handle another word.

When life finally begins to unravel, it seems there’s no turning back. The downhill spiral feels impossible to reverse. 

Overwhelm and How to Deal With It

It’s hard to know what to do when you’re in this place. The normal things you want to enjoy feel more like an obligation than enjoyable, yet the days roll on and you desperately desire a moment of rest and relief. 

When you wake up and the struggles of life still sit heavy on your chest, where do you turn? How do you move forward? And where do you find the strength to press on?

I know you expect the typical “Christian” answer – “Stand up and put one foot in front of the other.” What if I said, “Don’t get up”? 

Sometimes when we try so hard to move on from the things that weigh us down, we really end up running away from reality. We don’t realize it until we are exhausted from fighting against everything that is happening in our lives. 

Rather than running, let’s sit. Let’s rest. Let’s get on our knees and let God know we believe He is our only strength. As long as we try to fight this life in our own strength we will buckle beneath the weight every time. 

I’m not strong enough to walk through the trials of life alone and neither are you.

We don’t have to be strong enough.

When we realize our true strength, hope, and peace comes from Jesus, the load doesn’t change, but how we carry it does.

This doesn’t mean we are jolted to our feet with a smile plastered on our face through every up and down of life, but it gives us grace to walk when we feel like we can’t take one more step. It gives us mercy to fall when our strength is completely gone. It gives us comfort to cry when our hearts physically hurt from the woes of this world.

Whatever you’re going through today, you don’t have to be strong enough. God moves mountains, speaks and the wind obeys, and He holds the power to strengthen your heart when it feels like every bit of strength you’ve ever held is gone.

Sometimes in the weakest moments of life is when you will experience God’s overwhelming power the most.

“Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.” Psalm 61:1-3 (KJV)

As long we continue in our own strength we will wrestle and worry. When we give way to God’s power, we will learn His ways and see His works. As we seek Him more, we will know Him more and find the strength we need.

If tears fall, let them. 

If your heart hurts, let God hear your need. 

If He doesn’t answer, stay put and listen. Don’t run. He is there when the winds are overpowering and water is rising and He won’t leave when the conditions threaten to destroy everything normal. 

He stays. He comforts. He gives peace and calms trembling hearts.

You’re not in this alone. Have you experienced a season of unknowns? Have you ever felt like your strength was gone? Share how God sustained you during these times in the comments. Let’s help others be encouraged and inspired to rest when life brings unrest.

Love & Blessings,