Some days, I want to bury my face in my pillow and not get out of bed. “Life is too hard,” I say. “I can’t do it.”
I feel as if I’m drowning in a tsunami of needs. Adult children who need help. Aging parents with health concerns. Personnel shortages at work. Ministry needs. Volunteer opportunities. I want to do good things for good people, but there just isn’t enough of me to go around.
I’m overwhelmed.
This realization, I’ve discovered, is the first step toward a solution.
If you struggle with feeling overwhelmed, consider these three truths, found in (of all places) the book of Numbers.
3 Truths When You Feel Overwhelmed
1. Take heart. Even godly people feel overwhelmed.
Consider Moses. Tasked with leading more than a million Israelites through the wilderness to the Promised Land, Moses was the CEO, CFO, and CMO of the greatest mobilization project in history. It’s not surprising that he eventually reached the end of his ability to handle his responsibilities.
Overwhelmed by the needs of the people and their constant complaining, he lost it. Numbers 11 records his meltdown:
“Why have you brought such trouble on your servant? Why are you angry with me, and why do you burden me with all these people? Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth so you should tell me, ‘Carry them at your breast, as a nursing mother carries a baby,’ to the land that you swore to give their ancestors?” (vv. 11–12)
It went downhill from there.
“Where can I get meat to give all these people? For they are weeping to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ I can’t carry all these people by myself. They are too much for me. If you are going to treat me like this, please kill me right now if I have found favor with you, and don’t let me see my misery anymore.” (vv. 13–15)
I don’t normally identify with Moses, but in this instance? Oh yes. A thousand times yes.
Overwhelmed by a job that had grown beyond his ability to handle, he had reached his breaking point. Thankfully, he had the good sense and spiritual maturity to bring his needs to the Lord.
2. God will provide help, but we must accept it.
When Moses cried out to God, God provided what he needed to lighten his load.
Listen to how God, in His kindness, responded to Moses:
“Bring me seventy men from Israel known to you as elders and officers of the people. Take them to the tent of meeting and have them stand there with you. Then I will come down and speak with you there. I will take some of the Spirit who is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you bear the burden of the people, so that you do not have to bear it by yourself.” (vv. 16–17)
God didn’t absolve Moses of his responsibility. He still had to work—and work hard—but God provided others to help him. Moses could have gotten prideful, felt threatened, or rejected the help God provided. Instead, he received it as a gift.
When Moses set up the legal and judicial system for the Israelites, he appointed those seventy heavenly helpers to share the load.
I’ve never had a team of seventy show up at my front door, but I’ve seen God provide assistance in unexpected ways and from unexpected sources when I cry out to Him. When He does, I must humbly and gratefully accept the help He sends.
3. We can learn to delegate wisely.
Sometimes, we’re the only person who can handle a responsibility (marriage, parenting, etc.), but not always. And not in every area. Wise people learn to ask themselves, “Is this a responsibility only I can fulfill, or can someone else help?”
Based on the answer, we can prayerfully delegate some of the tasks that fill our plates to overflowing. Allowing others to help in the less-essential areas helps us say no to those things that drain time and energy from our primary callings. You’re the only mother your child has, but there are others who can serve on that committee, volunteer for that ministry, or coach that sports team.
We must also take into account our season of life. Our days will look different if we’re in the years of active parenting, intense caregiving, or poor health. Young parents should have different priorities than empty nesters. Retired people have more free time than young marrieds. As the challenges of life ebb and flow, we must adjust the tasks we allow to fill our days.
Rest in His Strength
I’m grateful that the Bible records both the best moments and the worst moments of some of the heroes of our faith. These accounts provide instruction for what to avoid and guidance for what to imitate.
In the account I affectionately call “Moses’s Mighty Meltdown,” I learned that even godly people sometimes feel overwhelmed. This can be a good thing if it prompts us to re-evaluate our commitments and determine if we’re spending our best time and energy on what matters most in God’s eyes. He invites us to cry out to Him for help and enables us to accept it humbly. And He’ll help us delegate while providing the strength to do what only we can do.
I’m grateful that when God calls us to a relationship, a ministry, or a job, He promises to provide everything we need to accomplish it.
Are you feeling overwhelmed?
That’s a good thing.
Go to Him. Seek His direction. Obey what He tells you to do. Delegate when necessary.
Then rest in the strength only He can provide.
He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)
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