From Overwhelmed to Fruitful

      By Fern Horst

"He that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him." (John 8:29)

At times life becomes overwhelming. Sometimes because it is so busy and full of activity, and other times because of the lack thereof. As singles we can struggle with both. Without a partner to help shoulder the load we can find ourselves overwhelmed with what needs to be done. At other times, we are overwhelmed with the quiet and stillness. In either case, it's easy to focus on being overwhelmed rather than on why we are here in the first place.

God designed us each uniquely and placed us here at this time in history because of the purpose He had mind for us. "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10)

But what happens when we feel overwhelmed? When we don't feel up to the task of being all that we should be? When we feel too busy to have time to focus on Him, or when we feel we don't have the partnership we need to accomplish anything?

The first thing is to realize that we are not alone. Jesus said, "He who sent me is with me," meaning His Heavenly Father. That same Heavenly Father who sent Jesus, sent us also, and is with us in the form of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus went back to heaven He promised that He would not leave His followers alone, but that He would send the Holy Spirit, whom He called the Comforter. "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever." (John 14:16)

Second is to realize that not only is the Holy Spirit with us, He also equips us. "His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue." (II Peter 1:3) One of the main ways we gain that power and knowledge is through Scripture. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God…that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." (II Timothy 3:16a, 17)

Our enemy, Satan, would love nothing better than for us to lose focus of the fact that God has a purpose for us. If he can't prevent us from accepting God's great gift of salvation, he'd at least like to render us ineffective in God's Kingdom work. We must make a continual choice to resist Satan's temptations to live only for ourselves, or to wallow our lives away in self pity

Today, let's make the choice to rise above the busyness and activity that doesn't produce fruit for eternity. Let's make the choice to rise above the loneliness that paralyzes us. And let's ask God to show us each moment what He wants us to do, or how He wants us to handle the tasks in front of us. After all, we have His promise of His continual and constant presence, and His promise to equip us for all that He asks us to do.

"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:6)

© 2008 Fern Horst

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