June 2018: God’s Encouraging Word … when I am overwhelmed

God’s Encouraging Word … when I am overwhelmed

It’s finally summer. Plans have been made for months. The kids are out of school. Vacations are right around the corner, but rest and relaxation are the farthest thing from my mind. Do you have any idea how much I need to accomplish? My list grows by the day no matter how many things I check off. I feel like I’m swimming. I wish I could give something away, but I can’t.

I’m the keeper. I am the keeper of the lost sock. I keep the orthodontist appointments not just in my calendar but in the back of my head. I try and keep everyone’s emotions high. I keep the check book balanced. I know, I know “there’s an app for that” on my phone, but it doesn’t really matter because I am the keeper. Some days I don’t just feel like I’m swimming. Some days I wonder if I can keep my head above water.

Maybe you understand where I’m coming from. Are you a keeper too? The truth is what’s crushing me the most is the guilt that I keep. The truth is for all of my efforts to keep everything straight, I can’t. It’s too much. I’m not the perfect parent. The demands at work during the summer don’t stop. The demands at home only grow because the kids are home and we have places to go.

The most important place for keepers like us to go is to God’s encouraging word. It is there that we find someone who keeps us. He is the almighty God who keeps us safe. He is the Savior who forgives us when we sin. He is the risen Lord who guarantees that every promise he makes for us is true. Therefore, I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. – Psalm 16:8

This summer, I know that I don’t need to keep everything, because God is at my side. I will not be shaken because he is the one who keeps me. True rest for my soul is found in the words, promises, and almighty arms of my loving God. You can find rest there too.