October 2, 2026
I don’t know about you, but it always seems like during the month of December, I feel overwhelmed! I think this year it seems more prevalent than in years past. There are so many things that are factoring into my feeling overwhelmed.
Let me list a few for you – finances, family, job duties, buying gifts, sickness, insurance changes, Wayne has another surgery next week, crazy schedule at Christmas, and I could go on and on because that is life. However, when I look at my grandchildren, they are not overwhelmed at all – they are overjoyed!
They are so excited about Christmas and all the activities that Christmas brings. They do not even realize or comprehend the word overwhelmed. All they see is the fun, food, fellowship, and festivities that Christmas brings.
I was thinking about the difference in what they are seeing and what I am feeling. God immediately convicted me. I honestly know that He does not want us to be overwhelmed. Just for fun, I looked up other words for overwhelm. I found crush, extinguish, drown, and swamp. Basically, I can identify with all of those words. When I am overwhelmed, I feel like my spirit is crushed, my joy has been extinguished, and my faith is drowning in the swamp!
Again, I know that is not how God wants me to operate. I looked up words that represent the opposite of overwhelm, and I found raise, peaceful, contented, rescue, and reinvigorate. Talk about being convicted! I really started pondering on those words, and God just spoke directly to my heart.
I started thinking about Mary, the mother of Jesus. I am sure she would have been justified if she had been overwhelmed at knowing she was a virgin and then an angel telling her she was going to carry a child, and not just any child but our Savior. But Mary’s response was one of faith, trust, and joy. She was peaceful, content, and joyful when she said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” She trusted God and was able to see beyond her circumstances to something much better and actually much greater.
The question I have to ask is, am I able to see beyond my circumstances (finances, job, schedule, family life) to something better and greater? Am I overjoyed or feeling overwhelmed and allowing that to extinguish my joy?
I also thought about Daniel and the lion's den. Daniel continued to pray to God even though there was a law saying that if you did, you would be thrown into a lion's den. I am sure Daniel would have been justified if he had been overwhelmed knowing he was being placed in a den with hungry, roaring lions and a stone was being placed over the entrance of the den. But God rescued Daniel. He had an angel close the lions’ mouths so that Daniel was not hurt physically, nor was his spirit crushed. He had not one injury on his body after a night closed in with the lions. Daniel trusted that God would rescue him, and He did!
The question I have to ask is, am I able to trust that God can rescue me from my fears, hurts, and life’s ups and downs? Am I overjoyed or feeling overwhelmed and allowing that to crush my spirit?
I also thought about Moses and the Red Sea. When the Israelites were terrified seeing the Egyptians marching after them, they were sure they were going to die. They questioned Moses, "Why did you bring us here to die?" I am sure Moses could have been justified in being overwhelmed, knowing he had all these people who were sure they were going to die, trapped between the Egyptians and the sea. But Moses told them, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” God drove the sea back with a strong wind, divided the waters, and the Israelites passed through on dry ground. The water then flowed freely when the Egyptians tried to cross, so not one of them survived. God not only rescued the Israelites, but He also increased their faith as he saved them from drowning.
The question I have to ask is my faith in God strong enough and steadfast enough to sustain me? Am I overjoyed or feeling overwhelmed and allowing my faith to drown?
Maybe you are not struggling with being overwhelmed, but then again, maybe you are. If you are, won’t you join me in praying that we can turn our feelings of being overwhelmed into actions of being overjoyed? Believe me when I say I know it is a daily, sometimes minute-by-minute, struggle. I always seem to start my days, weeks, and years off on a positive note, but somehow ending them that way becomes a little harder.
Let’s end strongly. Let’s encourage each other. Let’s spread joy knowing we have the greatest gift in our Savior that we could ever want or need! Let’s strive to be a living example of being overjoyed with Jesus! Let’s be like my grandchildren and enjoy the fun, food, fellowship, and festivities of everyday life, knowing that beyond our daily circumstances God has something so much better and greater in store!
If you see me smiling, it’s because I’m overjoyed over the love I have been blessed with by my Heavenly Father, my family, my friends, and the simple lessons my grandchildren teach me daily. Let’s start each of these last days in December of 2025 counting our blessings, increasing our joy, lifting our spirits, rescuing our faith, and loving on others!
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Jill Johnson finds spiritual applications in her everyday experiences as a wife, mother, grandmother, and Georgian. Jill is retired from the Georgia Baptist Mission Board and is available to speak to your church's women's gatherings. Reach her at jjohnson@gabaptist.org.
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