Overwhelmed? God’s Got You: Thoughts from Psalm 139

The summer is a busy time for my family. My husband is a pastor, and we have a camp meeting for two weeks in June. Then we have a small window to unpack and recover (though, honestly, my kids come home sick from camp meeting every year so far) before my husband’s yearly mission trip (another two weeks) begins.

Sunrise over the ocean with text overlay: Overwhelmed? God's Got You: Thoughts from Psalm 139

I usually take the kid/s on a trip to see family during that time, so that we get a bit of a vacation, even if it has to be without my husband. Then we all get back home for a few days before we are expected at my husband’s August ministerial meetings for 4-5 days.

When we get home from that, the summer is pretty much over and my husband is back to the school year schedule, teaching a few classes, leading prayer groups and Bible studies at our local church schools, and all the rest of the responsibilities that go along with being a youth pastor.

This year, our summer has been further complicated by the (much needed) bathroom renovation we’ve taken on. It hasn’t gone according to plan, and our home has remained a construction zone for much longer than we would like.

It feels like too much

Lately, it’s easy for me to find myself feeling overwhelmed.

It’s the constant dust and unsettled feeling of renovation.

It’s having our family separated for longer than we like.

It’s the constant press of things to do: work, chores, family time vs. keeping the lawn mowed and the flower bed weeded.

It’s having to pack up for the next thing before we’ve unpacked from the last.

I’m sorry to say it, but I went to sleep last night more stressed about all the things I’ve left undone than thankful for what I’ve been given.

God defeats overwhelm

This morning, though, I woke up with a song stuck in my head. It’s really a beautiful song; I’ve loved it since I sang it in my high school choir. It’s called Wings of the Dawn, and the chorus was what was looping around in my brain when I reluctantly entered consciousness way too early this morning.

“And if I rise on wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”

You may recognize the words; they’re from Psalm 139:9-10.

In spite of the fact that I have risen well before the dawn this morning, I’m feeling a lot better as I tap these words out on my phone in the dark of my room.

God is with me. Where I am, He is. He loves me, he’s holding me in His hand, and my problems (no matter how huge or how trivial) are his problems.

Sunrise over the ocean with text overlay: God is with me. Where I am, He is. He loves me. He's holding me in His hand, and my problems (no matter how huge or how trivial) are His problems
He sees my partially tiled, unpainted, toilet-free bathroom and He’s got me.

He sees my half-unpacked suitcases and my piles of laundry and He’s got me.

He knows my weeds are taller than my flowers and He’s got me.

He understands that we need some quality family time, and He’s got that, too.

It falls to me to ask Him for help, and then simply to trust Him to care for me.

Even here, His hand will hold me fast.


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