Lord, I Can’t Handle This

Are you tired and worn out? Tired of battling on your own? Maybe you’re at a place in your life where everything is just too overwhelming, and you feel close to giving up. You’re losing hope, and your efforts just don’t seem to help at all. It feels as if you’ve tried everything possible.

The Lord promises to give you rest and to refresh your soul, but there’s a condition to His promise: ‘Come to Me’.

Sometimes this verse just doesn’t make sense, because you know the Lord, and feel as if you’re trusting Him in your situation. But the world we live in shouts out daily that you should be able to do things on your own; that you need to be self-sufficient and assertive. When you don’t succeed, you feel like a failure. You’re disappointed in yourself, and beat yourself up about everything that you didn’t get right again. It’s a vicious cycle of self-condemnation and guilt. But this isn’t the Lord’s way.

When we’re battling, the enemy thrives on our vulnerability, and subtly shifts our focus just a little from the truth of God’s Word. He uses what’s good, and turns it into something that can have a negative effect on our situation and our relationship with the Lord. The example I’m specifically referring to is the use of social media for motivation and inspirational messages. This in itself can be very helpful and I’m not saying that it doesn’t serve a purpose, but it shouldn’t take the place of God’s Word and His ability to help us. When our focus is on other people and what they’re saying to inspire us, we’re beginning to rely on external motivation. The burden then falls on us to achieve the same as others, and in the end we become very harsh taskmasters to ourselves.

If this is where you are today, just begin by admitting to the Lord that your situation is too big for you, and that you desperately need His help. Just be vulnerable before Him, and invite Him to show you the way forward. Get back to the basics, and trust His Word firstly for wisdom and guidance. Ask Him for promises from His Word, and then meditate on what He’s saying to you. He longs to be kind to you, and lift the burden from your shoulders, but you need to ask Him first, and acknowledge your need for Him to show you the way. You’re then placing your trust in His ability, and the motivation you receive will be internal. He has already given you all you need to succeed. He sent the Holy Spirit to be your Helper. ‘Don’t you realise that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God?’ (1 Corinthians 6:19, NLT).

‘“My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness”. So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me’ (2 Corinthians 12:9, NLT).