Overcoming or Surviving

Sometimes the biggest threat to my ability to handle everyday stress are the small things. What about you? Are you overcoming or just surviving?

 

 

2MefromHim Devotional

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33

Sometimes making it through the day without a major meltdown constitutes overcoming. There are days it seems as if the entire world lands at my doorstep like a gigantic boulder threatening to crush me underneath. Panic, inadequacy, guilt, and the inability to focus can make me feel defeated, useless, and paralyzed.

When I allow circumstances overwhelm me, I fail to recognize the Lord’s hand in my life. Taking time to calm down allows me to recognize how God carries me in His protective arms. Rather than laughing at my befuddled attempts to prevail over chaos, Jesus longs to help me navigate whatever turbulent waters threaten to drown me, but He waits for me to ask.

One of my dearest friends tells me, “Breathe Jesus. Slow down and breathe Jesus.” When I concentrate on the Lord, pray for His help to focus, and take time to read His word in the midst of my struggles, God is there. The urgency of the moment should not snatch me from Jesus’ side, but draw me closer like a child clings to His father’s hand. Psalm 121:2 reminds me that “My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”

In John 10:27 and 28, Jesus says, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.” Jesus enables me to triumph instead of tremble when I listen to Him rather than to the world, the clock, the calendar, and the enemy. Nothing can defeat me when the Lord of the universe holds my hand.

It is easy to think of overcoming in terms of catastrophic illness, death, natural disasters, war, and dark struggles with sin. However, failing to allow the mountainous tasks screaming for my attention to panic me is just as important. My faith often seems to be tested the most by the small daily struggles, the times when my attitude says: “I’ve got this one, Lord. You take care of the big stuff.”

Slow down. Breathe Jesus. Triumph through God’s power instead of flailing in the quicksand of stress. Overcome. Don’t simply survive.

© Norma Gail Thurston Holtman, January 21, 2016

About the author:

Norma Gail is the author of the Christy Award nominated contemporary Christian romance, Land of My Dreams. A women’s Bible study leader for over 21 years, her devotionals and poetry have appeared at ChristianDevotions.us, the Stitches Thru Time blog, and in “The Secret Place.” She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America, and the New Mexico Christian Novelists. Norma is a former RN who lives in the mountains of New Mexico with her husband of 40 years. They have two adult children.

Connect with Norma:

Website: www.normagail.org

Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/Norma-Gail/e/B00ILHXBAK/

Book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQbZIoC_JSE

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Book Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Land-My-Dreams-Norma-Gail/dp/1941103170

Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas Bookstore: http://store.lpcbooks.com/product/land-of-my-dreams/