Refreshing Overwhelmtion

I must say, I am not sure that I have felt this overwhelmed in a while. I mean I can remember back to Junior year and Senior year at Bethel and writing papers that would end up being 20 and 30 pages long. I think that, as a staff, the NMC Student Ministries Staff is pretty busy and overwhelmed to a point as well.

However, I know for myself, I am so refreshed and excited about this season and I can't contain my pure excitement and energy that I am finding every day that I plow through this season. Sure, there is some stress and my days are long and filled with a ton of stuff, but I have no words to describe how energized I feel when I get up in the morning; each day. I think that this is a lesson in something that God is teaching me right now and that has to do with a bit of a continuum that is worth sharing.

In life, we have a bunch of things that we are given the opportunity to participate in or come behind, whatever word you want to use to emphasize the fact that we can commit to a bunch of different things if we want to. Some of those things are "bad things" that we just don't do, or realize that there is no way that we could possibly accomplish. Like selling weed as an occupation. As a general rule, we would probably say that we would never do that because of the negative that comes out of that. Some things are "good things." Things that are helpful and positive in our lives. Like working in a church or a non-profit. What we do for these organizations aids many people and blesses them in ways that they may have never, otherwise, have been able to experience. However, then we come to the "God-things." These are "good things" on steroids. They are the things that God has created us to do and has given us the talents and abilities to accomplish. Like packing everything up and moving to Mexico a year after moving into a new lake house, simply because God tapped you on the shoulder (Thanks for the example Eastons!).

Now, how, you may be asking, does this have to do with me being overwhelmed? I guess, I am just completely convinced that when we find ourselves dead on the side of the road (or our favorite couch) and completely exhausted, all...the...time, feeling burnt out and completely thrashed from the circumstances that exist in our lives, we need to consider these different "things" with great wisdom and courage. What things are we doing that are "good things?" What are we doing that are "bad things?" What are the things in my life that are "God things?" I say we need to consider these things because when we are doing the things that God has created us for, those things refresh us; they continue to give us energy and strength to continue to push through to the end; to see the final result accomplished. "God things" are things that God has placed in our lives for us to accomplish and it is these things that He will continue to give us strength and energy in order to see us accomplish those things.

I am confident that He is molding me and my life to what He wants and what is best for me to experience "God things." I believe that He can do the same for you.

May we be refreshed and energized by our willingness to obey His will so that we may know Him more. May we recognize His strength when we are weak.

¹²I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ¹³I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
-Phillipians 4:12-13