“Cease striving and know that I am God…I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10
Some of life’s troubles are harder to deal with than others. At times, it seems like the world is collapsing in on us. And our response can actually intensify the adversity. We act as if our life is a puzzle God’s trying to figure out. But as Christians we have an inward assurance of hope, giving us all we need to deal with the outward. So, how should we respond when life seems overwhelming?
“Cease striving.” The first step is simply to be still. Instead of struggling with the problem we need to quiet our hearts and minds before the Lord. The biggest challenge is that we live in an age of noise, and a lot of that noise is anti-God and anti-Scripture. It’s hard to hear the Lord clearly until we get still and tune out the noise.
“Know that I am God.” Next, we need to admit our own inadequacy. In other words, we can’t but God can. As believers, we have the sufficiency of God’s grace to give us hope and help. Paul reminds us that God is most victorious when we are most vulnerable. “And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
“I will be exalted.” Finally, we need to take time to worship God in the midst of the storm. We tend to reserve praise and thanksgiving for after He’s seen us through a difficult time. But an important part of trusting God for the present is remembering what He’s done in the past. The psalmist knew what God could do by reflecting on what God had already done (v8).
What problem is causing you to struggle? You can’t fully realize the abundance available in Christ until you get still and quiet before the Lord. He’s already supplied everything you need inwardly when life seems overwhelming outwardly. Remember, our hope is not in changing our circumstances but in having an unchanging Savior. And the more grateful you are for what He’s already done, the more mindful you’ll be about what He is doing now.