Thoughts of a College Pastor

Sometimes when I look at my to-do list I get a little overwhelmed.

Sometimes when I think about money I get a little overwhelmed.

Sometimes when I think about the future I get a little overwhelmed.

Anyone else?

When things get busy, crazy, fast paced…

or…

When things start to go south, the bottom of things fall out or suffering comes…

People ask me how I’m doing and my response is…“I’m feeling overwhelmed.”

Where does that come from? Why do I feel weighed down? Why do I feel like I might not make it another day?

and…

Where does it lead me?

This is what I’ve been thinking about lately…this feeling of being overwhelmed comes from a place of control. My desire to control whatever situation I face. To control the outcome. To orchestrate the outcome. I feel like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders…and…if I don’t produce, come through, show up, perform…then everything will fall apart.

This leads me to a place of anxiety and worry. Always worried about tomorrow. Always worried that the whole deal might collapse. Never being able to live today because the shadow of tomorrow has broken the horizon.

If I’m really honest this is where I become god. I become the one in charge. I become the one that everyone turns to. And if I perform and produce then maybe I’ll even receive some praise & worship.

As I was starting to read through the Gospels again a word jumped off the page at me in Matthew 2v10 :: [When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.]

I paused and thought about my response to most circumstances and situations. My response is usually a feeling of being overwhelmed and not over-joyed.

What is the difference between me and these men who were hiking across the mountains and dessert to find a baby?

I think the difference is found in the first 5 words of that verse :: [When they saw the star...]

Their eyes weren’t focused on the mountains or dry places that surrounded them. Their eyes were focused on one thing and one thing only…that star. And because they were locked on that star…their response to the current circumstance was being over-joyed.

The bottom line is this…when I am overwhelmed it’s because my eyes are on everything but the star. My eyes are on the lack of money. My eyes are on the plans for the future. My eyes are on the next deadline. My eyes are on the to-do list. My eyes are on the expectations that are placed upon me. And that leads me to a place of being overwhelmed and not over-joyed.

We are in the midst of the season of Advent and I would venture to say that most of us are feeling a bit overwhelmed. We have perverted the season of advent by making it the most stressful and materialistic time of the year. This season has turned into a season of being overwhelmed instead of being a season of being over-joyed.

The purpose of Advent is to remind us to keep our eyes on the star that will lead us to the hope of Christ. It reminds us that suffering leads to joy. It reminds us that joy is right around the corner. It reminds us that God is coming to the rescue. It reminds us that joy is a can be a reality in the most unlikely places and circumstances.

I want to re-create what those men in that dessert experienced. I want to lock my eyes on that star and believe that whatever circumstances or situations I might face…I can respond by being over-joyed.