215: Learning to Live in Abundance Instead of Overwhelm
When you’re feeling overwhelmed, it can be difficult to view the blessings God has given you with clarity. Burnout is huge right now at the end of the school year and start of summer, so on this episode of the Christian Mindset Coach podcast, we’re discussing ways we can stop burnout and focus on abundant living, as well as reviewing three action steps you can take to help you in moments of managing overwhelm.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:
- [04:50] Alicia’s recent proclamations and journaling experience on managing overwhelm
- [06:52] How we end up in overwhelm when Jesus calls us to abundant living
- [08:24] The similarities and differences between overwhelm and abundance
- [15:49] Three action steps to help you manage overwhelm
- [18:29] Alicia’s personal journey of focusing on abundance
- [20:27] Questions for reflection and an invitation
[04:50] Alicia’s recent proclamations and journaling experience on managing overwhelm
I’ve found that journaling works really well for me to process through different circumstances, emotions, and just to talk to God in general. When I felt overwhelmed recently, God lead me to journal about describing how my feelings of overwhelm had been stealing from me. I reflected on feelings and moments that had been stolen, and realized I was tired of it. I began to write proclamations to shed light on the lies I was tired of dealing with. This is what I wrote:
Overwhelm, you will not steal my ability to think straight. You will not turn me into a workhorse that exists to produce and to get to the next project.
You will not make me doubt God's presence or His goodness. You will not take precious hours of much needed sleep from me.
You will not fill my head with racing thoughts that keep me stuck on a to-do list and not experiencing life.
You will not convince me that doing one more thing will give me the relief that I'm looking for.
You will not keep me cycling in a state of wondering how something will happen or what will happen if it doesn’t work.
As I was processing all of this, Jesus gave me room to be angry and upset about what overwhelm was taking from me. Journaling and reflection was a powerful first step for me. I realized it was stealing my peace, my sleep, and it was bringing back some of my struggles with perfectionism.
[06:52] How we end up in overwhelm when Jesus calls us to abundant living
If you take one thing away from this episode today, remember this: Jesus wants us to know that He doesn't call us to overwhelm, he calls us to abundance.
A lot of the things that had me feeling overwhelmed were actually from God’s abundance. They were things I had prayed for for years. They were the answers I had been waiting for.
But I’d allowed those blessings of abundance to become burdens. Instead of partnering with God to manage them, I had allowed myself to take full ownership of all of them and this choice was stealing the joy in these blessings. We can't do all the things that He's called us to do unless we partner with him. This is how many of us get stuck in overwhelm instead of abundance.
Questions for reflection:
- What is it that I may have added on that wasn't from God?
- How is that contributing to the feeling of overwhelm?
- How can I shift how I am viewing this situation and really work as a partner with God instead?
[08:24] The similarities and differences between overwhelm and abundance
Interestingly, both overwhelm and abundance mean an excess. The difference is how we are managing what we are given. When we wait for what we’ve prayed for, for God’s perfect timing, like in Deuteronomy 28:11, we are blessed with abundance in His time and we feel blessed. When we try to manage everything ourselves, push timelines, and take on full responsibility for everything around us instead of partnering with God, we begin to feel ill-equipped to handle what’s in front of us. This is when overwhelm sets in.
Here are some clear statements that reflect the differences between overwhelm and abundance:
Overwhelm is from the enemy. Abundance is from God.
Overwhelm is a trap that keeps me performing, pleasing and perfecting. Abundance is a restful place of partnership and receiving.
Overwhelm is all about rushing to get things done now. Abundance is staying open, and letting God provide in His own true way and time.
Overwhelm is aggressive. Abundance is proactive.
Overwhelm is doing. Abundance is partnering.
Overwhelm believes the lie that “it's all up to me.” Abundance is trusting in God, knowing it’s all up to Him.
Overwhelm leads to burnout and abundance leads to blessing.
We choose to see what’s in front of us as examples of abundance or overwhelm. It's in our control to decide how to handle or view a situation. That perspective shift is in our court. So, if you're feeling overwhelmed, you may have to put some things down and give responsibility back to God.
Bible verse and question for reflection:
- Deuteronomy 28:11
- Which of the statements above helps you to understand the difference between overwhelm and abundance?
[15:49] Three action steps to help you manage overwhelm
If you're feeling overwhelmed, feeling that tension of being given too much, there are three action steps you can take to begin to shift your view of what God has given you.
First of all, take the time to sit down and think about how this feeling of overwhelm is stealing from you. What is it taking from you? How is it not allowing you to rest in the life that God has given you?
The second step is to ask yourself what you need to do to release the overwhelm. Is there a timeline or project you’ve been pushing that you need to let go of? Is there something you need to surrender to God’s timing?
The third action step is to outline what you need to concentrate on and live in abundance around. I wrote three or four things down that I wanted to focus on this summer, and then I saw God giving me those next steps as gifts, the abundance of this season, and was able to reflect on how He wants me to sit in those moments and treasure them instead of trying to run ahead and get more done. What are those focused priorities that you know He's abundantly blessed you with that you can walk in this season?
Questions for reflection:
- How is the feeling of overwhelm stealing from you?
- What do you need to do to release the overwhelm?
- What are those focused priorities that you know He's abundantly blessed you with that you can walk in this season?
[18:29] Alicia’s personal journey of focusing on abundance
When I walked through the last of the three action steps outlined above, I wrote down three things that I wanted to focus on this summer. First, I wanted to concentrate on writing my book with joy and ease. Writing this book has been a massive answer to prayer and an exciting, wonderful project to work on, but I began to feel the joy leaving the project when I started to take the abundant energy that God had given me to write the book and allocate it to other projects. I knew He had given me a gift, and that in order to move forward with that blessing I would need to lay some other things down and make it a priority.
The second thing I wrote down was about enjoying time with my family. My kids are getting older, and we only have a few summers left with them in the house. I see them getting so much busier and I just want to make sure that I have space to enjoy them. That's a priority for me this season. That's the abundance God has given me and that I want to rest in. God has given me the ability to have these children in this season and I get to connect with them, so I made sure to make that a priority this summer.
The third priority I want to focus on this summer is getting the YouTube channel up and running. Wanting to do this the right way, I chose it as a priority so I could avoid the burnout of doing multiple things, operating outside the boundaries of health. I want to be able to bring content to the channel from a place of excellence and share what God has called me to share in His time.
[20:27] Questions for reflection and an invitation
Question for reflection:
- What are your priorities in this season that you see God abundantly blessing you with, that you can ask Him for continued help with energy to continue to do that job and those tasks well?
If you have a hard time letting things go and shifting from overwhelm into the perspective of abundance, I want to invite you to join me in the Christian Mindset Makeover, where we deal with a lot of these deeper issues using proven brain science and biblical guidance. I love helping women find freedom, breaking free from conscious and subconscious patterns that lay underneath our reactions, and see the truth that God wants us to believe about those situations instead. If you’re ready for the support and proven tools you can use to rewrite those patterns, you can read more about the Christian Mindset Makeover here.
RESOURCES:
Break Free from Feeling Never Enough
The Christian Mindset Coach with Alicia Michelle – YouTube
OTHER RELATED EPISODES:
192: 3 Everyday Mindset Skills for More Emotional Stability
202: 5 Bible Verses and Christian Affirmations for Calming Anxious Thoughts
204: 6 Questions to Ask When Your Emotions Feel Overwhelming
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