overwhelmed Archives - Sharla Fritz

Sharla Fritz

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Grace for the Overwhelmed

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Are you feeling overwhelmed? Drowning in despair? Floundering in mountains of tasks, duties, and responsibilities?

Find grace for your life in Psalm 3.

Just a little background about this psalm.

The book of Psalms is divided into five “books” or divisions. Psalm 3 is, of course, part of Book 1 (Psalms 1-41). This first book of Psalms is sometimes called the Yahweh Psalter because Yahweh is the name for God that is used most often in this section. Most of the psalms in the “Yahweh Psalter” were written by David.

Scholars have classified the psalms into several categories including: wisdom psalms, hymns, and laments. Psalm 3 is described at a psalm of individual lament. Characteristics of lament psalms are: they often begin with an invocation such as, “Oh, Lord” and they contain a plea for help.

But what I love about this psalm is that it gives hope to the overwhelmed.

David himself was overwhelmed by his enemies when he wrote the psalm. It was written when almost the whole nation of Israel rose up against him–including his own son Absalom.

It’s no wonder he cries out in despair:

O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me, many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God. (Psalm 3:1-2)

Don’t you love it that we can call out to God whenever we feel beaten down and crushed by life? Yes, the world may doubt that God can help, but we who know the Lord are confident of His help.

And that is what David says next:

But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy hill. (Psalm 3:3-4)

David doesn’t stay in lament mode for long. He quickly acknowledges God’s protection and blessing. He reminds himself that Yahweh hears his prayers.

David is so confident of the Lord’s help, that he goes to sleep:

I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around. (Psalm 3:5-6)

God wants us to be so sure of His strength and love that we can rest in Him. Even though thousands of people (or dozens of problems) are against us, we don’t have to be afraid if God is on our side.

Arise, O Lord! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked. Salvation belongs to the Lord; your blessing be on your people! (Psalm 3:7-8)

In the end, David call out to God again. He reminds himself that God is the one who saves.

I have to admit that when I’m feeling overwhelmed, I don’t always turn to God first.

I often try to fix things myself. I read more self-help books about time management. I look up information on getting organized–thinking that will help overcome my problems.

Psalm 3 reminds me that God is the “lifter of my head”–the one who gives victory. He is my shield–a Protector against my troubles. He is my Savior.

Yahweh is always available to listen. He longs for me to come to Him for help. Share on XWhen I turn to Him the Lord gives rest even in the midst of the chaos.

Are you feeling overwhelmed? Turn to the Lord for help.

Next step: David laments about his many enemies. What or who are the enemies in your life? Difficult people? A multitude of bills? Overwhelming schedule? Write a list and then take it to God. Ask Him for wisdom and power to conquer the foes. Find rest in Him.

When You’re Feeling Overwhelmed: Do One Thing

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Feeling overwhelmed? You have too many responsibilities on your calendar. Too many events in your schedule. Too many projects on your desk. It seems like you can’t even do one thing.

These days most of us have our schedules so packed full that we feel overwhelmed, stressed, and burdened.

That’s when Jesus’ words in Matthew almost make us laugh:

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30.

We think: But Jesus, You don’t know my schedule. Don’t you see that my calendar has no slots for rest? My burden does not feel light.

At the beginning of this summer I was feeling overwhelmed. I had so many responsibilities and so many things that I wanted to do that there simply wasn’t enough time in the day to do it all. I was trying to pack 36 hours of activities into a 24-hour day and it wasn’t working. Every day I wrote down a long, detailed to-do list. But every day I felt defeated because I was never able to check off everything on my list.

One morning in June I took spent some time with Jesus at a park. I took a lawn chair, my Bible, a few good books, and my journal. As I journaled about my sense of drowning in my to-do list I felt God ask me to write down everything I felt I needed to do. The list was long. There were writing responsibilities, church duties, family needs.

As I looked at the list, I realized that many of the things on the list were things that I felt a responsibility to do, but no one had given me that duty. I was taking on a burden that God had not really intended me to carry. Jesus’ burden is light, but Sharla’s backpack of chores is a bag of bricks.

As I prayed over this list, God seemed to whisper a solution.

What if every day you asked Me the one thing I wanted you to do? What if you joyfully and wholeheartedly worked on that task that day in My power? If there is more time available you could work on other items on your list, but if I directed You to rest or concentrate on relationships you would follow My lead. Then your burden would be light. Your work load easy.

I have to admit that I am still struggling to put this into practice. My days are still too full. But step by step I am learning the power of one thing.

Following Christ.

Next step: Take a moment right now and ask Jesus, “What is the one thing You want me to do today?” Make a plan to accomplish that one thing as soon as possible, asking Him for the strength to complete that task.

To learn more about focusing on one thing avoiding distraction, check out my book Distracted: Finding Faith-Focus Habits for a Frenzied World.

Feeling Overwhelmed? Build in Whitespace

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The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. I attended a writers’ retreat in Door County, WI where I walked in the woods, typed on my computer, and laughed and talked with writer friends. Then I visited my mother for a few days, came home, did some laundry and repacked my suitcase. I left the next morning for Indianapolis where I attended a conference and a board meeting.

Those nine days were jam-packed. Filled with learning and working. Crammed with laughter and conversation. But there was very little whitespace.

What is whitespace?

In her book, Finding Spiritual Whitespace, author Bonnie Gray defines whitespace like this:

In art, whitespace is often referred to as “negative space.” It’s the space on the page absent of marks or images. We might consider the space as “blank,” but to the artist, whitespace holds beauty. It is the key element of design that gives balance to a composition, transforming a cluttered collection of objects into an aesthetic expression of what we do see.

She goes on to say:

My soul isn’t designed to be cluttered. It longs for space to taste beauty. To breathe. It’s always wanted what God intended for me.

My soul was designed for spiritual rest: spiritual whitespace.

We all need whitespace in our lives. Space for the soul to breathe. Time to connect with God and enjoy the gifts He’s given.

You might wonder, but how can I find this whitespace? My life is exactly as you described. It’s jam-packed with work, volunteer responsibilities, and family obligations. There simply is no whitespace!

I understand. And my words are not meant to drive you to book a guilt trip on the next train out.

Whitespace is a place of grace, not duty.

Start by remembering that Jesus longs to spend time with you. He desires to give you the peace and strength you need in your overwhelmed life. Come to Him to receive His grace, and not to check off one more thing on your overfilled to-do list.

Here are a few practical ideas to find whitespace, even in a busy season:

  • Get up fifteen minutes early to read Scripture and a devotion. Pray over your schedule for the day and ask Christ to be with you in every moment.
  • Or go to bed fifteen minutes early. Before going to sleep, review your day and thank God for His help and presence. Read a psalm and rest in God’s love and protection.
  • Set a timer to go off every hour. When you hear the buzz or the beep, pause for a few moments. Listen to a Christian song. Meditate on a Scripture that reminds you of Christ’s unfailing love.
  • Schedule some downtime. Because I knew my schedule was going to be overwhelmed for those nine days, I purposely created some whitespace before and after the hectic time. I set aside an afternoon on both ends to rest and read.

Jesus invited His disciples to experience whitespace when He said:

Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest awhile.” (Mark 6:31)

He invites you to do the same.

Create whitespace for your soul to connect with Jesus. Even if it is only for a few minutes in a busy day, come away and rest awhile.

Next step: Choose one of the four ideas above to create a little whitespace in your life this week. Which one works best for you?

If you would like to learn more about avoiding distractions and living a focused life, check out my new book Distracted: Finding Faith-Focus Habits for a Frenzied World on Amazon.

The ebook is only $3.99!

Inside you will find 16 Faith-Focus Habits that will help you:

  • find focus by connecting to God 
  • truly pay attention to what is essential
  • prioritize your day
  • find focus in your work
  • make important choices
  • defeat the distractions of technology
  • find rest in our hectic world

Three Steps to Come Out From Under the Pile of Shoulds

The pile of the things I “should” do is daunting. The “shoulds” overwhelm me.

Today I should finish writing a chapter for my new book, finish a project for an organization I’m a part of, clean my disaster of a basement, harvest beans in my garden, and finish this blog post.

In addition, experts tell me that every day I should exercise for thirty minutes, eat at least five fruits and vegetables, avoid saturated fat, consume 25 grams of fiber. To be prepared for emergencies I should have an emergency kit in my basement, store gallons of water, and have a crank radio. In order to get ahead,I really should make thousands of connections on social media, pay attention to my stock portfolio, hire style experts, improve my public speaking…

It’s overwhelming just to list all the things I should do.

The other day I was reading the story in the Bible where Jesus comes to Martha’s house for dinner. I know. You’ve heard this story before. We are all supposed to be more like Mary and less like Martha. Yada. Yada.

But read the story again and notice the highlighted word.

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things,but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

(Luke 10:38-42 NIV 1984)

When I noticed that little word, I had a lightbulb moment: Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.

Martha felt she should make a big dinner for Jesus. She thought she should be in the kitchen.

But who told her she should be doing these things?

It wasn’t Jesus.

Jesus obviously didn’t order Martha to prepare a meal–He commends the sister who is not in the kitchen. Did someone else tell her she had to take responsibility for the meal? Martha probably had servants to whom she could have delegated the work.

Yet she felt she should prepare the meal.

Often when I’m feeling overwhelmed it’s because of the many “shoulds” in my life. I should keep my home in perfect order. I should have an impressive job. I should be helping more people. I start to feel buried under the piles of things I should be doing.

Who told me I should do all those things? Perhaps God commanded some of the things I need to do. But it just might be that I am the one who placed too many shoulds on my plate. I said yes to too many responsibilities. I took on too many tasks.

When I’m feeling overwhelmed, I have to take a good look at the nitwit who said “yes” too often. I have to accept the responsibility for being overcommitted.

When you’re overwhelmed and overcommitted try doing these three things to get out from under that pile of “shoulds”:

  1. Ask yourself, “Who is telling me I should do this?’ God didn’t tell Martha she had to make a meal for Him. He wanted her to spend some time with Him instead. Too many times I am doing what I think I need to do or what some expert thinks I need to do and neglecting what God wants me to do.
  2. Sit at Jesus feet. This is what Jesus desired for Martha. It’s what He desires for us. Take time to listen to Him. Don’t jump into tasks that were not meant for you.
  3. Ask Jesus, “What do you want me to do?” Ignore the nagging voice in your head. Ignore the experts. Find out what God wants you to do.

Come out from under the pile of “shoulds.”

Next step: Make a list of all the things that you feel you should do today. For each item, ask yourself, “Who is telling me I should do this?” Then prayerfully take them to Christ and ask Him, “What do You want me to do?” In this process, you may discover that some things need to be removed from your list.