OVERWHELMED

Taking It All In

On the way to work today I heard the song Overwhelmed. It is the song I chose for today's blog for obvious reasons. Even now as I am listening to it again there so much visualization in this song. Please follow the link at the upper left of this page when you are done reading. Just close your eyes and listen. Let the images overwhelm you.

Sometimes we are overwhelmed by life's struggles, problems, and the news of the day. It is one reason why I don't turn on the TV. I don't want to feel overwhelmed by those things. On the other hand, to be overwhelmed by God and everything He has done and continues to do is somehow reassuring, uplifting and liberating.

I think of the power that it took to create the earth, the universe, all the diverse things on this little planet, then create man in His image. That leads me to think about how life is sustained here by God. It is the perfect environment for everything that lives here, not only to live, but thrive and populate the earth with each of it's kind. The scope is sometimes too much to grasp.

I've been camping in the mountains, driving through the desert, hiking in a forest, floating on a river, and flying in an airplane. The majesty of our God is evident in every created thing. Nothing is in existence without Him, even the man-made things exist because God created us in His image. This means we have the ability to create, to reason, to think and design. We use math, language, art, and science to make this world a better place. All of that comes from God. It can't exist without Him.

That isn't the most overwhelming thing to me. Imagine Jesus willingly giving up heaven to become one of us to take our place and pay for every single wrong and evil deed done by all men and women. My sin is bad enough, but compound that by billions of people over generations! It is an overwhelming though. So much so that it causes me to break down and cry at times. I cry for what he suffered. I cry for those who reject him. Do they really understand that there is no other way to be restored to God? Have I not explained it? Have I been too quiet? The Bible says that all will have the opportunity, but not all will receive the gift. Are we sharing it enough?

We are blessed to be the Children of God. There is NOTHING we did to earn it. There is NOTHING we can do. This was ALL God. He planned it from the beginning when sin entered the world. He planned every stage of this story and he even inspired men to write it all down so we could know what the plan was. It is so simple and so perfect in it's design. It is overwhelming to think that it was all done out of love.

Love is the strongest emotion. When you are in love it causes you to do strange and sometimes foolish things. It makes your heart swell and gives you a spring in your step. It comforts & consoles you when you're down. It is what we all search for. Some have even given their life so that others could live. That is the greatest love.

The Bible says that the faith of a child is all it takes to understand salvation. Why is that? I believe it is because children love unconditionally. They are trusting and haven't spent years being disappointed and overwhelmed with the hate. They believe because their hearts are open to love. Adults are more guarded. They don't want to trust anyone or anything. How sad that they are so overwhelmed by the things of this world that they can't see God's love is the most overwhelming and amazing thing they could ever experience.

Imagine Jesus standing with open arms welcoming each of us with a hug. Can you see it? Talk about overwhelming! He hugs me every day, in little ways. I know when a certain song comes on the radio, that he did it just for me. A full moon in the night sky that takes my breath away. Or even the sound of the frogs at night. These are all reminders of him. That is a hug in my book. I know it sounds crazy, but I get the same feeling from these little things that I do from a physical hug from someone. It makes me smile. Sometimes it makes me laugh uncontrollably.

The greatest thing about love is that it is healing. When you realize how much God loves you, it heals the wounds in your heart and begins to take that hard heart and make it new again. You find yourself forgiving more, complaining less, and being overwhelmed by the little things you overlooked before.

Turn off the TV and let God overwhelm you. He will, guaranteed.

Psalm 37:4 "Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart."

Philippians 2:6-11

"Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."