Have you ever had one of those days (or seasons) where you just are stressed out? Overwhelmed? Fearful? Anxious? Unfortunately I’ve had many seasons like that. The other day I was feeling these exact things. Nothing huge was happening, just all of these little things were piling one on top of one another. I felt like Peter sinking in the sea. You know the story- he is on the boat with his friends, and sees Jesus walking on water (say what!?) towards him. He gets so excited to see Jesus, he steps out of the boat and begins to walk on water (for real?) towards Him. Then all of a sudden he realizes where he is—on the water—and starts to sink and drown, overcome with fear and doubt.
I have days where I’m looking at Jesus and am full of hope and confidence. No matter what, I know we’ll be okay because He’s our mighty God and is with us. And then all of a sudden, I’ll take my eyes off Jesus and the worries of this world take me down. Fears of the unknown. Our future. Our needs. Stress of doing something I’m not good at doing, of something I’ve never done before. Overwhelmed with trials in my life.
Oh man. How easily I can sink when I take my eyes off of Jesus and put them on the circumstances around me. When I try to be in control. When I try to do things my way—which really is just by worry and stress.
I can even process this all out in the morning, journal, and remind myself of who God is, and then go right back into my day, worried.
God promises us that He is with us. He is God of peace. He is peace. He gives peace. All the time.
But we have to look to Him. We have to look to the source. To trust. To believe. To think on Him. Trust takes activity. It takes effort. We can’t just believe it and go on without Him. We have to preach to ourselves. Not listen to ourselves—that never works. We have to tell ourselves the truth—all throughout the day.
And the truth is that God is in control. He is mighty. He is able. He knows us intimately. He knows our every need. He will provide for His children- period. He is wise and good. Often He puts us in a place where we have to rely on Him, look to Him, and not ourselves. Praise Jesus! I’m so thankful that He puts me in situations where I have to rely on Him, and not myself—because that draws me close to my Jesus. And wouldn’t I much rather be intimate with my Savior than sinking in the ocean trying to save myself? (or figure things out myself, trust in myself…it never works.)
Beloved, God is with us- in the calm, and the storm. He reaches out. He is here to Help. To be our Savior, our Provider, our God. If you’re feeling overwhelmed today, I pray that the Lord of Peace will give you peace today and always. He is with you. Keep looking to Him.
“Now may the LORD of peace Himself give you peace at all times in every way. The LORD be with you all.”|| 2 Thessalonians 3:16
I’m a boy, I love your blogs! Throughout the last months it was (and is still) the same with me – I’m stressed and everything I do feels like giving up. I hope I’ll remember this blog. Peace.
Amen! Soo good! So blessed by you! COME ON GIRL! God Bless you!
Alyssa,
Thank you so much for posting this! I honestly feel like I’ve been going through some depression (which is not often) so when it hits me, it hits me hard. It’s like you said, sometime we focus on the little things and rely on our own understanding which at the long run, simply does not work. Everyday is a battle and everyday has worries of its own but whenever I see posts like these or just little messages whether it be via FB, youtube, through a friend, or even a stranger, it makes me want to work harder on my relationship with Jesus. He truly is wonderful! May God continue to bless you and your family and this is a little off topic, but congratulations on your marriage! I follow Jeff on FB and YouTube as well, I’m a big fan of both of you 🙂 you guys are a great example for todays generation so please don’t ever give up! Well, thank you once again and GBU!
Love, Daisy Parra
Alyssa,
This post describes exactly how I’ve been feeling this week. It really encouraged me. Thank you!
Thanks for this post. It definitely speaks to me right now. I’m graduating from school soon and I have internnships and things I’m applying for. Student loans an a career to figure out or carve out. Still no romance with a man of God in my life. A lot to worry about but God allows me to breathe easy some how…here I am in class worrying about the cute guy next to me… hah! Defnitely needed this…God bless
Thank you for posting this! It was very encouraging to just remember that He is our peace. He is in control even when we try to do things in our own strength. He is in control even when our world is chaos. He is peace. Thank you again. God bless!
Thank you for posting this! It was very encouraging to just remember that He is our peace. He is in control even when we try to do things in our own strength. He is in control even when our world is chaos. He is peace. Thank you again. God bless!
thank you so much for speaking these truths this morning! it is exactly what i needed to be reminded of.
Amen!
God knew that I needed to hear this this week. A total encouragement. Papa is Provider.
Wow! This was exactly what I needed to hear. God’s timing is so perfect it even scares me at times haha. I love your blog Alyssa, I’m always checking for new posts. 🙂 May God continue to Bless you through your writing and your many gifts and continue to use you as a vessel for His Kingdom. You are such a Blessing Sister <3
I love your blogs, simply amazing.
i am so thankful for everytime you write these. it always applies to my life. thank You Jesus! And you Alyssa!! 🙂
Thank you for this, Alyssa. I needed this. God bless.
Wow, praise God. This is exactly what I’ve been going through these past couple of days and this is exactly what God has been teaching me. He’s been teaching me about trusting in Him and believing in Him. Trusting in His promises and trusting in His guidance. I’ll be honest, it’s not easy, but I have to constantly remind myself of these things. That He is faithful, good, loving, and takes care of me. Thank you for the reminder and encouragement. God Bless. 🙂
Alyssa,
Thank you so much for this post. I’m a junior in high school and I’ve dealt with incredible anxiety for some time now. With the uncertainty of school, sports, final exams and college, I find myself questioning the sovereignty and control of the Lord.
What a great reminder that I can’t just rely on what I believe, because I believe in His goodness, yet I’m still anxious. I need to act in trusting Him. Thank you again for the encouragement!
Thank you for this reminder to keep my eyes on Jesus!
So so so sooooo needed to read this, thank you for these blogs <3
Sincerely,
Katie