Tag: distress

Spiritually and Emotionally Overwhelmed

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality BlogLeave a comment
Gethsemane – His Will, by Lucy Dickens

I lift up my eyes to the hills—
    from where will my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
    who made heaven and earth. (Psalm 121:1-2, NRSV)

“You can’t calm the storm, so stop trying. What you can do is calm yourself. The storm will pass.” – Timber Hawkeye

Even Jesus got overwhelmed.

He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:37-39, New International Version)

Jesus was so spiritually and emotionally overwhelmed, he felt so bad, that depression and grief were a powerful part of his experience in the garden as he anticipated facing his horrendous death.

Yes, Jesus became grieved and depressed. Not only did he express such emotions in prayer, but he also told his feelings to his disciples. I personally don’t know of any leader – either in the world or in the church – that would ever admit such a thing to his/her parishioners, employees, or constituents.

Christ confessed that his very soul was encircled with grief-stricken depression. The weight of the emotion was so heavy that Jesus felt as though he was being crushed to death.

“It is one thing for Jesus to feel this way; but should a leader tell his followers he feels this way? Isn’t a part of effective leadership keeping fears from followers? But if Jesus having depression has already taught us it is acceptable, at times, to be depressed, then Jesus talking about his depression teaches that it is acceptable, at times, for leaders to tell followers the bad state of their souls.” – Frederick Dale Bruner, The Church Book: Matthew 13-28

If Jesus needed human companionship and the ability to bear his soul, then how much more do his followers need to do so? And especially the clerics who are ordained to his ministry?

Becoming overwhelmed is a universal human experience:

May my prayer come before you;
    turn your ear to my cry.

I am overwhelmed with troubles
    and my life draws near to death.
I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
    I am like one without strength. (Psalm 88:2-4, New International Version)

We may become overwhelmed by being devastated or feeling overpowered by a confluence of circumstances all at once. To be overwhelmed is to experience several big emotions all at once – including an awful feeling of estrangement from God and/or others.

Whenever complicated grief, relational distance, traumatic experiences, and too many responsibilities come together, they create a perfect storm which can leave us stuck, lonely, and chronically tired.

There are times when it seems as if every time we turn around, there’s another big shoe that drops. We might end up dealing with so many large circumstances and important situations happening at the same time, that we become spiritually and emotionally overwhelmed with it all.

Although it’s easy to become overwhelmed, it’s hard to get over those big, troubled feelings. Yet, we can do it. We can initially calm ourselves enough to function.

Yet, we also need to understand that the emotional array surrounding our difficult circumstances will take more than a few minutes and a few breathing exercises to overcome; it could take weeks, months, even longer.

What’s more, going forward, there will always be a need to listen to our bodies, be attentive to our feelings, and remain in touch with our gut instincts.

We could use some helpful habits to serve us well, whenever we sense the tug toward that sinking feeling of becoming spiritually and emotionally overwhelmed:

  • Sit with your emotions, especially the grief. That is, acknowledge your feelings, and actually let yourself feel them, and express them in positive ways that don’t damage others or their property.
  • Identify and list your current stressors. Then, prioritize them as to which you will work on first. Avoid multi-tasking. Breaking down your life into manageable pieces, done over time with patience, is a healthy way of approaching the behemoth in front of you.
  • Write out your experiences. Keep a daily journal. Focus on expressing both your emotions and your gratitude. The act of writing in and of itself is a powerful means of bringing health, wholeness, and some sort of sense to your situations.
  • Create art. Learn a musical instrument, write your own poetry, sculpt, or paint. Let any anger and frustration come out through your art, rather than coming out sideways onto others through verbal violence.
  • Discover new or alternative spiritual practices, i.e. mindfulness, meditation, Reiki, aromatherapy, breath prayers, etc. Crazy new circumstances you’ve never experienced before may require some seemingly new or strange practices you’ve never tried before.
  • Change the story you are telling yourself. Look for parts of your experience within your control. Learn from the past. Consider what you might do differently in the future in similar situations. In other words, let your story not be one big nasty carbuncle on your soul; allow it to be a companion that teaches you.
  • Consider having a comfort animal. Caring for a pet fosters emotional healing. This one addition to your life could change it immeasurably for good.
  • Engage your inner critic. Face the judgment you may be giving yourself and replace it with grace. Work on dropping the ego and becoming your true self. And there is perhaps no better way of this happening than facing your inner critic.
  • Exercise. Pay attention to where you carry stress in your body. Find an enjoyable way of moving your body.
  • Connect with others. Join a group of like-minded people, such as a faith community or a volunteer organization. Tell your story to another trusted person, such as a friend, therapist, or pastor.
  • Find your identity. Most spiritual traditions take a high view of humanity as having intrinsic worth. As for me, I know to whom I belong: God. Having my identity firmly in Christ – and not in my abilities, or the lack of them – makes all the difference.

Our limitations, screw-ups, diseases, disorders, and disasters need not define our lives. There is no shame in admitting when we are full of sorrow, in the throes of grief, experiencing depression, or living in an awful situation.

Taking Jesus as an example, we have the courage to face stressful adversity and become the people we were always meant to become.

May the places of darkness within you be turned towards the light. And may you know divine shelter and healing blessing when you are called to stand in the place of pain. Amen.

An Advent Message of Suffering and Deliverance (Micah 4:8-13)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment
The Prophet Micah Exhorts the Israelites, by Gustave Doré, 1866

As for you, Jerusalem,
    the citadel of God’s people,
your royal might and power
    will come back to you again.
The kingship will be restored
    to my precious Jerusalem.

But why are you now screaming in terror?
    Have you no king to lead you?
Have your wise people all died?
    Pain has gripped you like a woman in childbirth.
Writhe and groan like a woman in labor,
    you people of Jerusalem,
for now you must leave this city
    to live in the open country.
You will soon be sent in exile
    to distant Babylon.
But the Lord will rescue you there;
    he will redeem you from the grip of your enemies.

Now many nations have gathered against you.
    “Let her be desecrated,” they say.
    “Let us see the destruction of Jerusalem.”
But they do not know the Lord’s thoughts
    or understand his plan.
These nations don’t know
    that he is gathering them together
to be beaten and trampled
    like sheaves of grain on a threshing floor.
“Rise up and crush the nations, O Jerusalem!”
    says the Lord.
“For I will give you iron horns and bronze hooves,
    so you can trample many nations to pieces.
You will present their stolen riches to the Lord,
    their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.” (New Living Translation)

A lot of people don’t understand much about the Bible, especially many parts of what some call the Old or First Testament of it. It seems to them like it’s all either nonsense or gobbledygook.

I am not exaggerating when I say that I have read the entire Bible not once, but hundreds of times. And there are still many places within Holy Scripture which are an enigma to me.

Part of the reason the Bible can seem so difficult is that, at times, the perspective being written about is so expansive, so large, and so wide that it nearly defies human comprehension.

The Bible reveals a God who is so transcendent that the Lord is able to see the past, the present, and the future all at once, because God is actually above everything, including time.

None of this talk on my part is meant to discourage anyone from reading scripture. Rather, it’s meant to encourage you to keep on reading it, listening to it, talking about it, and exploring its contents.

Instead of a being an impossible puzzle we cannot put together, the Bible is, instead, a deep treasure trove of knowledge, wisdom, and insight into the human condition and the human purpose for being on this earth.

The reason the biblical prophets came along – and included into the canon of Holy Scripture – is that they called people back to their original purpose for being here in the first place.

In every prophetic book, the culture, the society, the religion, and the politics of a people had strayed so far from their reason for existing, that it took what seems to us as extreme language in order to get them back on track.

There were some cases so bad that the prophet’s message to people was inevitable doom. And yet, even then, there was a nugget of grace, showing us that no matter how terrible things may get, the arm of God is not too short to pull the faithful from the brink of annihilation.

Examining the Book of Micah, there is nothing easy about it. The prophet wrote at a time when Assyrian power was dominate, and about to swallow up the northern kingdom of Israel. Yet, he spoke directly to Jerusalem in the southern kingdom of Judah.

Much like a woman in labor and about to give birth, Jerusalem’s cry of suffering will be transformed into a cry of deliverance and freedom.

But we aren’t talking about something that will happen in a few days or even a few years; the prophet was giving the people a panoramic sweep of centuries.

Eventually, the Babylonians come, take the people out of the city into exile to Babylon. It is a cry of pain. Micah was speaking about events which would not occur for another two hundred years.

Yet, at the same time, Micah was talking about his own present generation of people in Israel and Judah. What the people were doing, at that time, was leading to a future of great pain. And there would be a great crying out for salvation from it.

Injustice always creates a state of distress for some, while the ones perpetrating the unjust ways become wealthy on the backs of others who are miserable.

Babylon represented both the place of punishment and of liberation. Out of the exilic darkness, a new age bursts into the light.

Born into a time where many people were longing for God’s deliverance, centuries after the destruction of Jerusalem, after the exile and return to Judea, and after the days of the Maccabees, Jesus subversively entered human history.

Despite all of the human sin, the degradation and oppression of others, the injustice and abuse extant in the world, grace comes in the shape of a baby; mercy enters the world in the form of a child.

The God whom all things depend upon, became dependent, needing a mother to clean him up after a filled first-century diaper. Few people knew at the time that this little baby would be the one to clean up a massive spiritual and metaphorical diaper, full of the world’s nasty stinky injustice.

Presently, it is clear that the nations do not know they will be beaten and trampled – that all who are now in power will be answering to that subversive child born two millennia ago.

Each life may be a mere speck in the scope of history, and yet, at the same time, each life is precious enough to warrant attention from the One who stands above all time.

How you live makes a difference. How you are, matters.

God of both judgment and grace, we pray for all nations, that they may live in unity, peace, and concord; and that all people may know justice, and enjoy perfect freedom. Embrace the most vulnerable members of our society; end the growing disparity between the rich and poor; and grant us courage to strive for economic justice, so that all might know your mercy, and not your wrath. Amen.

With God In the Dark (Psalm 3)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
By Unknown Artist

Lord, I have so many enemies!
    So many are standing against me.
So many are talking about me:
    “Even God won’t help him.”
But you, Lord, are my shield!
    You are my glory!
    You are the one who restores me.
I cry out loud to the Lord,
    and he answers me from his holy mountain.
I lie down, sleep, and wake up
    because the Lord helps me.
I won’t be afraid of thousands of people
    surrounding me on all sides.

Stand up, Lord!
    Save me, my God!
In fact, hit all my enemies on the jaw;
    shatter the teeth of the wicked!
Rescue comes from the Lord!
    May your blessing be on your people! (Common English Bible)

I don’t like cockeye arrogant people. It irks me when a person believes that their way is the only way. Such persons within the church tend to think God is always on their side. Their pride leads them to believe that God won’t help anyone who differs from them.

That sort of arrogance causes the proud person to become a self-appointed judge of all things. So, they have no problem believing that they are God’s instrument of judgment toward those who don’t agree with them.

Ironically, in their delusion, enemies of God actually believe they are on God’s side.

These were the sort of persons that opposed the psalmist, King David. They thought they knew better about how to reign over a kingdom than David did. So, David prayed with a lot of flavor for God to disprove the arrogant assertions of his enemies.

David rightly asserted that trust has its foundation in God, and not in the beliefs of humans. He discerned that God is his shield and protection against the foe. David believed that the power of God can repel any attack, as well as restore anyone to any position, as God sees fit.

The contrast in the psalm is between humble David and his proud enemies. David was the sort of person who called on God when he was in trouble. David’s enemies were the kind of people who first formed their own opinions and laid their own plans, then told God to bless what they came up with.

That’s not only the difference between humility and pride; it is also the difference between wisdom and foolishness, intelligence and stupidity.

Whatever David’s opponents would do is no match for the protective encircling presence of God around him. Although proud enemies are like wild animals with powerful jaws, God can snatch anyone out of their teeth.

Even though David’s enemies advanced against him with arrogant self-confidence, God can rescue anyone from any army. No plan formed against the godly person shall succeed. The Lord can deliver one from any and every situation.

With God, one’s fear is mitigated by faith; and sleep eventually comes with a relaxing trust in the Lord. The faithful Christian arises with a prayer in their heart saying:

Almighty God, everlasting Father, you have brought me in safety to this new day. Preserve me with your mighty power, that I may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity. And in all I do today, direct me to the fulfillment of Your purposes, through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.

The godly understand that the Lord never slumbers nor sleeps. God is ever-present with needed watch-care. And so, we declare along with the psalmist:

I look to the hills!
    Where will I find help?
It will come from the Lord,
    who created heaven and earth.

The Lord is your protector,
and he won’t go to sleep
    or let you stumble.
The protector of Israel
doesn’t doze
    or ever get drowsy.

The Lord is your protector,
there at your right side
    to shade you from the sun.
You won’t be harmed
by the sun during the day
    or by the moon at night.

The Lord will protect you
and keep you safe
    from all dangers.
The Lord will protect you
now and always
    wherever you go. (Psalm 121, CEV)

Even though the believer may become burdened with distress and adversity, without any sign of relief, they never cease to cry out and call upon God. They trust in God’s promises. They support themselves with their knowledge of God. They endure and persevere through all things.

In the end, the faithful will realize blessing and goodness. The unfaithful and arrogant won’t.

Perhaps you have been tossing and turning every night. If you sleep at all, your dreams are nightmares. During the day you might have the wherewithal to resist doubt and distress. But at night, your defenses are down, and waves of anxiety come upon you like a bunch of unwanted thugs.

In your disquieted state, make your repose to God. There is no shame in discouragement and defeat, for all the godly will suffer in some way. You shall ultimately prove victorious over all your fears, because of your reliance upon the Lord.

Whereas the ungodly puffed up person relies upon themselves, they shall be overcome by the smallest of perils. They do not realize that the routines of prayer, mindfulness, self-awareness, and the singing of hymns regulate and regimen the mind, even when unwanted situations persist for days, weeks, months, or even years at a time.

The unfaithful don’t understand that consistent rhythms of faithfulness done day after day, despite one’s circumstances, leads to a good life.

This liturgy of life in communing with God perhaps happens best at night.

On my bed I remember you;
    I think of you through the watches of the night. (Psalm 63:6, NIV)

In the night, Lord, I remember your name,
    that I may keep your law. (Psalm 119:55, NIV)

If you are a night owl, then use the time after everyone is in bed to take advantage of the quiet time with God. Your faith can be and is being forged in those dark hours after sunset. Allow yourself to fall asleep in God’s protective hands.

If you are a morning person, arise before the dawn and let the unhindered time when everyone else is sleeping bring you close to God in prayer and devotion. Let the coming of the day be shaped by the consistent discipline of scripture reading and contemplative prayer.

I rise before dawn and cry for help;
    I have put my hope in your word. (Psalm 119:147, NIV)

May the dark hours be to you blessing and honor. May the glory and power of God be seen, even in the night. For God sees you, and is with you, now and forever. Amen.

Hold Onto Faith (Job 26:1-14)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Job, by Gonzalo Carrasco (1860-1936)

Then Job replied:

“How you have helped the powerless!
    How you have saved the arm that is feeble!
What advice you have offered to one without wisdom!
    And what great insight you have displayed!
Who has helped you utter these words?
    And whose spirit spoke from your mouth?

“The dead are in deep anguish,
    those beneath the waters and all that live in them.
The realm of the dead is naked before God;
    Destruction lies uncovered.
He spreads out the northern skies over empty space;
    he suspends the earth over nothing.
He wraps up the waters in his clouds,
    yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.
He covers the face of the full moon,
    spreading his clouds over it.
He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters
    for a boundary between light and darkness.
The pillars of the heavens quake,
    aghast at his rebuke.
By his power he churned up the sea;
    by his wisdom he cut Rahab to pieces.
By his breath the skies became fair;
    his hand pierced the gliding serpent.
And these are but the outer fringe of his works;
    how faint the whisper we hear of him!
    Who then can understand the thunder of his power?” (New International Version)

Sarcasm is a form of criticism. Criticism is a form of anger. Job was angry at his “friends.” Namely, because they had proved themselves to be not very good companions.

Job needed comfort and consolation, not hellfire sermons about his being sinful. Because, in fact, he had not sinned. His intense pain and suffering were not a punishment from God, as the prologue to the story of Job makes clear. (Job 1:1-22)

But neither Job nor his friends knew what was going on behind the scenes in the cosmic court of heaven.

Job only knew he was getting a lot of undeserved tragedy. And Job’s friends only knew that he was suffering terribly.

Job didn’t know how to interpret his situation. Job’s friends misinterpreted his situation as condemnation from the Lord.

Thus, Job became exasperated and angry. Job’s friends became the ignoramuses of ancient history.

Job was certainly no ignoramus. He knew what it meant to be right with God – which was why he was so doggone confused and confounded as to why he felt abandoned by God. Job knew his suffering wasn’t a result of unfaithfulness.

The biblical character Job came face to face with the reality that good people suffer, too.

The friends of Job kept reiterating how unworthy and sinful people are; and that Job must be especially sinful to be experiencing such trouble. And, of course, Job found this line of reasoning asinine.

The majesty of God, as Job understood it, is much greater and higher than his supposed friends could ever imagine. The dead know this better than anyone. Job himself was nearly dead, and so, he seems to see some things more clearly from his perspective of abject suffering.

Job’s observations of creation are profound reflections of God’s greatness and sovereignty in the world. His faith rested firmly with God alone, as Creator and Sustainer of the universe. So, he looked beyond the water and the clouds to heaven above.

Even in the realms we humans cannot see, God has authority and power over angelic beings. We cannot fathom the breadth and depth and extent of God’s reach and knowledge of all things. Indeed, humanity only observes a mere fraction of God’s rule and reign. And we barely know anything in comparison to God’s wisdom and knowledge.

In other words, our incredible God is so mighty and wondrous that it is incomprehensible to us.

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
    How unsearchable his judgments,
    and his paths beyond tracing out! (Romans 11:33, NIV)

God is big, to the point that only the fringes of God’s robe can fit inside the temple:

I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. (Isaiah 6:1, NIV)

Although Job was flummoxed as to why God was silent and allowed suffering to happen, Job nevertheless had a majestic view of God which remained intact.

And, what’s more, Job seems to have gained an even more expansive view of God through his awful experience of suffering in both body and soul. In other words, Job got to know God better, and not for worse, because of his terrible situation.

Satan certainly meant to upend Job and cause him to renounce his faith; but God meant it all, ironically, for good.

Even though Job’s words about God appear similar to the words of his friends, they come from a very different place.

It’s one thing to talk of God’s majesty, sovereignty, and power when everything is going okay for you in your life. But it is an altogether different thing whenever your life has unraveled and distress is what you eat for breakfast.

To affirm God’s inherent power and goodness, smack in the middle of grinding hardship and ill health – and truly mean it – is the genuine article of faith.

Authentic faith is resilient and gains strength when tested and tried. Bogus faith crumbles like burnt toast when it is put through the fire.

True faith is always connected to hope and love. False faith evaporates and becomes nihilistic and hateful in the face of hellish circumstances.

Real faith perseveres through suffering, knowing that God is good, no matter what. Skin deep faith is herky-jerky, vacillating between confidence and doubt.

The only way for faith to be shown as real or fake is in the crucible of suffering. How we handle the adverse situations of life demonstrates where our faith is truly placed.

Satan’s statement to God was that Job’s faith would be shown to be a mere façade because God had blessed him with health, wealth, and family.

Satan was wrong. God was right. However, we may wonder about what Job thought of all this, once the suffering subsided.

I don’t know about Job. I can only speak for myself. I won’t list the long litany of trials and tribulations I have personally encountered in my life, and those I am facing presently. Yet, I will say that each of my experiences have taught me something important about God; and those hard experiences have changed and strengthened my faith in ways I could not have imagined.

Although I would never want to go through all of the past adversity again, I would not change a thing in my life. Because each of my experiences were formative in making me the person I am today – full of robust faith in God and confident in the Lord, no matter the circumstances.

Strengthen us, O Lord, by your grace, so that through your mighty power we may overcome all spiritual enemies, and with pure hearts serve you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.