Overwhelmed
Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing; I have come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. I am weary with my crying; My throat is dry; My eyes fail while I wait for my God. ~ Psalms 69:1-3
I remember a time when I was completely overwhelmed, feeling like I was in over my head with all the responsibilities I was juggling. It felt like I was trying to be the magician with spinning plates, balancing each one on poles while the slightest mess up threatened to bring everything crashing down. My energy was drained, and my spirit felt dry, as though I’d cried out until my voice was hoarse and my hope was wearing thin.
Then, in a moment of revelation, I realized I didn’t have to hold everything together on my own. God, who invites me to cast my burdens onto Him, was right there, waiting for me to reach out and let go of the weights I was never meant to carry alone. I realized that not only could I hand over my troubles to Him, but I could also trust Him to empower me with His grace to accomplish the things He has called me to.
Sometimes, when we feel stretched to the limit, it can be easy to think we’ve taken on too much or that we’re failing in some way. But those moments of overwhelm can also be opportunities to lean into God’s strength, to give Him the entrance into those stressful times to fill in the gaps where we are lacking. His grace is always sufficient, even when our own strength falls short.
Here are some examples of what you can do to turn your stressful times over to your Father to get His help and strength.
Cry out honestly like David did in Psalm 69. Start by pouring your heart out to God. Let Him know what you’re feeling and thinking, even if it’s messy. Talk to Him about the areas where you feel burdened or lacking, and invite Him into those struggles.
Surrender what you can’t control by releasing the responsibilities or worries you’re holding onto into His hands. Ask yourself if there are things you’re carrying that God hasn’t called you to bear alone. Let go of those burdens to Him in prayer, trusting that He will take care of what you cannot.
Ask for His grace to strengthen you because God promises to provide grace for what He’s called us to do. Pray for His empowering presence to fill the areas where you feel stretched or overwhelmed and believe that He will sustain you with the strength you need.
Take practical steps to rest often, when we’re overwhelmed. Sometimes we neglect physical and emotional rest. Make time to recharge—spend a few minutes reading God’s Word, worshipping, or simply sitting in silence with Him. Psalm 69:13 reminds us to wait on His timing, so give yourself permission to pause.
Seek support from your community by reaching out to trusted friends or mentors who can pray with you and encourage you. Just as God is with us, He places people in our lives to help us carry our burdens. Let others lift you up when you’re feeling weak.
Focus on today instead of worrying about everything at once. Keep your attention on what God has placed in front of you today. Matthew 6:34 says, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” Ask God for guidance and strength for just this day, trusting that He will be with you again tomorrow and give you what you need now and then.
Today I want to encourage you when you are feeling overwhelmed, remember that God doesn’t expect you to handle everything alone. Like David, who felt overwhelmed yet ultimately found refuge in God, you can rest in His faithfulness, too. He sees your struggles, He hears your cries, and He is more than able to carry you through each moment with grace. Let go of your worries, lean into His strength, and trust Him to empower you no matter what you have to carry in every season of your life.
Today’s scripture reading: Psalms 69
1 Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck.
2 I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing; I have come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.
3 I am weary with my crying; My throat is dry; My eyes fail while I wait for my God.
4 Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head; They are mighty who would destroy me, being my enemies wrongfully; Though I have stolen nothing, I still must restore it.
5 O God, You know my foolishness; And my sins are not hidden from You.
6 Let not those who wait for You, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed because of me; Let not those who seek You be confounded because of me, O God of Israel.
7 Because for Your sake I have borne reproach; Shame has covered my face.
8 I have become a stranger to my brothers, and an alien to my mother’s children;
9 Because zeal for Your house has eaten me up, and the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.
10 When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting, that became my reproach.
11 I also made sackcloth my garment; I became a byword to them.
12 Those who sit in the gate speak against me, and I am the song of the drunkards.
13 But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord, in the acceptable time; O God, in the multitude of Your mercy, hear me in the truth of Your salvation.
14 Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink; Let me be delivered from those who hate me, and out of the deep waters.
15 Let not the floodwater overflow me, nor let the deep swallow me up; And let not the pit shut its mouth on me.
16 Hear me, O Lord, for Your lovingkindness is good; Turn to me according to the multitude of Your tender mercies.
17 And do not hide Your face from Your servant, for I am in trouble; Hear me speedily.
18 Draw near to my soul, and redeem it; Deliver me because of my enemies.
19 You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor; My adversaries are all before You.
20 Reproach has broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness; I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none; And for comforters, but I found none.
21 They also gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
22 Let their table become a snare before them, and their well-being a trap.
23 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see; And make their loins shake continually.
24 Pour out Your indignation upon them, and let Your wrathful anger take hold of them.
25 Let their dwelling place be desolate; Let no one live in their tents.
26 For they persecute the ones You have struck, and talk of the grief of those You have wounded.
27 Add iniquity to their iniquity, and let them not come into Your righteousness.
28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.
29 But I am poor and sorrowful; Let Your salvation, O God, set me up on high.
30 I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving.
31 This also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bull, which has horns and hooves.
32 The humble shall see this and be glad; And you who seek God, your hearts shall live.
33 For the Lord hears the poor, and does not despise His prisoners.
34 Let heaven and earth praise Him, the seas and everything that moves in them.
35 For God will save Zion and build the cities of Judah, that they may dwell there and possess it.
36 Also, the descendants of His servants shall inherit it, and those who love His name shall dwell in it.
The Daily Dose 