Beth was the queen of volunteers. Everyone knew that if something was needed, all you need to do was ask Beth. She wore so many hats that she lost the count. Beth was responsible for the church nursery, taught Sunday school classes, served as a room mother at school, and volunteered to help with events for her children’s soccer team. She helped out with baby showers, wedding showers, birthday events, and made efforts to send cards to sick people. This was in addition to keeping up with her family’s laundry, house cleaning, meals and bills. Her marriage appears to have further lowered her prioritization list, with no self-care present.
Beth was overwhelmed. It was all hitting the fans and she couldn’t keep up, so she felt her health was beginning to fade. She was beginning to feel discouraged and depressed, but she had no motivation to do so. It was a friend who finally told her something that caught her attention. She said that God did not expect her to be everything for everyone, because God was his job. He didn’t expect us to solve the world’s problems. Because that was his job. It was difficult to internalize her in her overwhelming state, but the truth slowly began to make meaning.
God does not expect perfection from us, nor does he expect us to carry only the load of expectations of life.
Here is a biblical poem that speaks this truth.
Philippians 4:6-7:
“Don’t worry about anything, but in all circumstances, by prayer and petition, present your demands to God, along with Thanksgiving, and God’s peace beyond all understanding, protects your heart and your heart of Christ Jesus.”
Promise: God knows that this world is a tough place. He never planned it that way, but when sin entered the garden it brought something that would forever cause stress in our lives. But God knew we would struggle in His wisdom and foresight. He cares so much for us that if we just bring our hearts to him, he will make himself available to help us. He hopes to present our petition on Thanksgiving as we believe he can. He listens and intervene on our behalf.
Prayer: Father, help me to abandon you all my burdens. Give me your peace that covers all my worries and protects my heart. You understand my burden and I will give you all it.
Exodus 14:14:
“The Lord will fight for you; you are only still.”
Promise: The battles we face in this world were our own, never ourselves. We have no wisdom or power to fight or manage our lives. But God knows the enemies we face and how we become the worst enemy to allow the world to overwhelm us. All we need to do is go before the Lord, surrender to him, listen to his instructions and wisdom, and make him fight for us.
Prayer: Father, remember that I am not strong outside of you. The battles I face on Earth are too strong for me to fight, but you can fight them. Remember, I don’t fight alone, you fight for me. I have to make you God and stop and stay still.
Exodus 3:14
God told Moses, “I am me.”
Promise: What we face on earth is diverse and we feel that we must be everything for everyone. But that is not possible in our terrestrial form. Too often we stand behind God’s work and try to do His work, rather than letting God be him. We need to remember that God can be everything for each and every one of us. Whatever we need, he has, and anyone who needs him, he is.
Prayer: Father, I will open my eyes and meet you with all your dignity and power. I’m trying to be everything to everyone, so please help me not to overwhelm me. Remember that you are everything we need.
Isaiah 41:10:
“Because I am with you, because I am your God, and I am with you. I will strengthen you.
Promise: Fear is an enemy that can destroy us from within. It comes for so many different reasons. We can suffer from fear of being rejected, fear of not being sufficient, fear of failure. Sometimes we try to compensate by working for those fears. Because God loves us, and he is our God. We don’t have to work to earn his love. He understands our feelings and gives us wisdom to strengthen us when we are weak, guide us, guide us, win our lives.
Prayer: Father, I need to remember that I am not walking this path alone. You did so no matter how old you felt no one understood. You are with me and my God.
Poem 61:2-3:
“I call you as my heart grows faintly from the edge of the earth I call you, leading me to a rock higher than me.
Promise: God is everywhere and our shelter. A shelter is where you can protect and find protection when things become overwhelming and dangerous. To the extent they could not stand it, God provided us with a safe place for us to go.
Prayer: Father, I remember wherever you go and whatever you do today. I can’t go anywhere on earth that you will not listen to my prayers. When I’m scared, you are my hideout, and when I get weak, you are my strength.
Psalm 142:3:
“You knew my way when my mind was overwhelmed within me.”
Promise: God knows that we will be overwhelmed even if no one else knows. We hide overwhelmed feelings from everyone around us, but God knows nonetheless. He knows our past, he has seen why we are overwhelmed and we have seen the way. The fact that he knows and understands is comforting.
Prayer: Father, it is comforting to know that you understand what I am going through. When I’m overwhelmed and tired, and when things pass me and I want to give up, you know. I can rest on the fact that God who created the universe knows not only my name, but everything I am experiencing.
Psalm 18:16-19:
“He reached out from high and grabbed me. He pulled me out of the deep water. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, my mighty enemy.
Promise: God has not come into contact with us. He understands everything from the mundane events of this world to the shattering experiences of life that we experience. He understands because he even sees him from high places. There is nothing so difficult for him, and he promises to provide a rescue.
Prayer: Father, thank you for being there when things in life try to take over me. When I get to the lowest, you look at me. There is nothing more powerful than you, there is no one, and all I need to do is scream and you will save me.
Psalm 34:17-18:
“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them. He will save them from all their troubles. The Lord will approach the broken ones, and will save those who have been crushed by their spirit.”
Promise: God even hears faint cries for help. When we break, he draws nearby. As our spirits are crushed and we try to give up, he approaches. All we have to do is shout at him, believing that he is faithful.
Prayer: Father, help me remember that you love me enough to watch over me. All I have to do is scream at you. Help me not to be independent enough to suffer alone. You understand my thoughts, my anxiety, and my broken heart better than anyone else. So don’t forget to call you today.
Matthew 11:28-30:
“All those who come to me, tired and burdened, and I will give you a rest, and I will take my yoke to you, and learn from me. I am kind and humble.
Promise: We must go to him to get the rest that God offers us. It’s not too difficult to endure for him to ask us to do. He is our support, wisdom, strength and protection, so his burden is light. He instructs us to navigate life experiences. All we have to do is go to him and trust his loyalty.
Prayer: Father, thank you for being a God who gives you rest. I know your burden is lighter and when I feel overwhelmed, it may be a sign that I need to reevaluate my priorities. Give me wisdom when I appreciate what I do because I know you are not the God who overwhelms us.
1 Peter 5:7
“I’ll throw all your worries at him because he cares about you.”
Promise: Casting means throwing as hard as possible and letting go. Don’t open your hands to throw a rock and release it, yet it is in your hands. The same goes for our anxiety and worries. The most challenging part is letting them go. But letting go is trusting the person you are throwing, and God has proven that if we give it all to him, we can do whatever we need.
Prayer: Father, thank you for taking care of me. Like a good father, you care, so please understand that I can give you all my care and concerns. You are not too busy ignoring me, but when I cast anxiety on you, I need to learn to let go. Please help me do this.
Photo Credit: ©gettyimages/fizkes
Dr. Cindy Collier, a retired educator and psychologist in 35 years, is currently a mission director, speaker, female Bible teacher and writer. She is featured in Crosswalk’s Bible Study Tools and is the author of two educational books: Special Educator’s Toolkit and The Data Collection Toolkit. She is a survivor of an abusive marriage controlled by addiction, pornography and mental illness. Cindy uses her testimony and shares the testimony of other women, praises God on her website, cindycollier.org and her social media site.
