Devotionals for the Heart: What to do when you're feeling overwhelmed

When the Inbox Overflows
A devotional by Terry Overton

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

—Matthew 11:28 (ESV)

I checked my email before the sun was up. Once again, my inbox is overflowing. It is full of two types of email messages: someone wants something from me, or someone wants me to make time for them to offer something to me. I looked at the list. Some of the unanswered emails were from weeks ago yet still unanswered.

I am in a season where I need support but want to avoid all demands. Have you been there? Life’s noise doesn’t just come from outside; it comes from inside—our thoughts, expectations, guilt, and “shoulds.” Even when we try to rest, our minds often scroll through tasks we haven’t completed. We feel we can’t stop because everything seems urgent.

But Jesus Christ’s invitation in Matthew 11:28 is not about adding another task to your list—it’s about relief. He doesn’t say, “Finish your work and then come to me.” He simply says, “Come to me.” It’s an open door in the middle of chaos, not at the end of it. Jesus says in Psalm 46:10 (ESV): “Be still, and know that I am God.” But the voice I hear in my mind is one that says, “Get it done or you will miss the deadline. Don’t stop now. You’re not tired! You can’t stop.” However, if I close my eyes and quiet my mind then I hear another voice. God whispers a calming message: “Be still.”

In an action that seems counterintuitive, I close my laptop. My heart is heavy. My mind feels stretched beyond capacity. I stop. I stop trying to finish self-imposed demands. I stop and whisper, “Jesus, I’m here.” He’s not checking my productivity to see if I’ve met my goal. He is not concerned if I achieved more today than yesterday. No, He is concerned with my well-being. He’s healing my exhaustion.

Have you felt this? Too many demands, schedules, timelines, and not enough rest? This is not what our Lord and Savior wants for us. He is our loving Father. He wants His children to feel His love, compassion, and peace. Stillness doesn’t always mean laziness or incompetence—it means surrender. It’s the pause between breaths where you let go of your busyness and remember who holds the world together (God, not you).

Psalm 46:10 doesn’t say “work harder and know that I am God.” It says, “Be still.” The psalmist wrote those words during turmoil, not peace. God calls us to trust Him even when the world presses us to move faster, produce more, be better at everything. God remains unshaken.

Resting in Him isn’t laziness—it’s surrender. It’s believing that God’s strength can hold what burdens you. His love is everlasting. This means He loves you when you are overwhelmed and He knows you need rest. When others demand, “Pay attention or answer now”, the quiet voice of Jesus whispers, “Abide in Me.”

The work will still be there, but resting in Jesus will provide you with strength and peace. Return to Him. Rest in Him. Trust God. His love will bring you peace.

Let’s Pray: Father, thank You for always loving me and protecting me. Teach me that rest is peace with You and renewal. Replace my hurriedness with silence and rest. Lord, I bring You my exhaustion and endless to-do list. Teach me to release what I can’t control, and to find peace in Your presence. In Jesus’s Name I pray. Amen.

Song of Reflection #1: “Be Still and Know” by Steven Curtis Chapman. Listen to it here.

Song of Reflection #2: “Abide in Me” by Ana Laura. Listen to it here.

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Author Bio:

Terry Overton is a retired university professor of educational and school psychology. She has an Ed.D. in Special Education and a Ph.D. in Psychology. 

Her professional experience includes teaching public school, teaching at the university level, and being a college dean.

She has two children, seven grandchildren, and one great granddaughter.

Her previous writing and publication experiences include textbook and journal articles in the fields of special education and school psychology. She now seeks to answer God’s call to share the good news and grow the church by writing Christian books and devotionals.

Over the years, Terry’s books have won the Mom’s Choice Award, Christian Indie Award, Firebird Book Awards, American Writing Winner Awards, Bookfest Winner Awards, Pencraft Award, Reader Views Silver Reviewers Award, and International Book Award Finalist. Her writing examines real world events with a Christian worldview. She enjoys writing for young children, middle grade readers, YA fiction, and adult level novels.

Terry’s background in teaching adults and children shine through her stories that often include a character with educational or learning challenges. Her Christmas series, The Oddball Ornaments, features a box of misfit ornaments who first learn the meaning of Christmas and then discover the meaning of forgiveness. In The Underground Book Readers series, one of the main characters is on the autism spectrum yet is one of the leaders of the group of teens. Book one of a new series, The Messiah Brigade, features an awkward middle school nerd who helps his school turn around a bully gang of kids. Adoption and family issues are the focus of her new book, Charlotte McMaster and the Messenger Angel.

Terry lives in Texas and enjoys reading, taking pictures for devotional posts on social media, visiting with her family, playing golf, and writing.

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Connect with Terry:
Website: https://www.authorterryoverton.com
Blog: https://terryovertonbooks.com
LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/overtont

Devotionals for the Heart: Examining the Heart of Christmas

The Heart of Christmas
A devotional by Amy Odland

“I came from the Father and entered the world; 

now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” 

– John 16:28 (NIV)

It’s here! The big day—December 25th! It’s Christmas Day!

The day of celebration and gifts and peace on earth. The day of hope and love. The day of believing in humanity and gathering together.

This year is different though, isn’t it? Budgets are tighter. Lockdowns are in place. Relationships are bruised or broken. People who were lost this year are maybe missing from our tables or Zoom chats or family gatherings are smaller or not happening at all. Church services have an air of sadness about them, maybe because they’re online or just not the usual intimate candlelight service we’re used to. Days seem darker this year, Winter Solstice aside, due to the unrest and hurt we’ve experienced, either due to loss (of life, of jobs, of trust, of hope) or just because of how we’ve all responded or reacted to living and trying to survive pandemic chaos and national political and social unrest these past ten months.

A few of my friends and I were joking at the beginning of the month that it would be nice to extend Christmas into January (aka leave our decorations up, continue listening to the music, make more cookies, etc.). We realized then that 28 days of “Christmas” wasn’t going to be enough for 2020 and the hardship we’ve seen so far. I was just kidding at the time, but quickly realized that whether the decorations stay up or come down, whether or not the music continues to play, and whether or not the family can gather to exchange gifts, the heart of Christmas does live past today.

One may first ask, what even IS “Christmas” really?

Encyclopedia Britannica.com defines the Christmas holiday as the “Christian festival celebrating the birth of Jesus.” While it is widely accepted that Jesus Christ’s birth likely didn’t happen exactly on December 25, the date was probably chosen because it was close to other Roman/pagan celebrations, Winter Solstice, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, other festivals, and the calculation/assumption of when Mary received the visit from the angel announcing Jesus’s conception.

The earliest Christmas celebrated dates back to A.D. 336. However, centuries later, this holiday was reconceived in the early 19th century by authors like Charles Dickens and Clement Clarke Moore to be a holiday emphasizing family, children, kind-heartedness, gift-giving, and Santa Claus. It was declared a national holiday in the United States in 1870 and thanks to capitalism and consumerism, Christmastime is a mixed-up mess of never-ending Black Friday sales and songs like Christmas Shoes that hits us every year between Thanksgiving and today. 

In the midst of all the tinsel and wrapping paper, let’s not miss that Christmas is first and foremost a celebration of Jesus Christ’s birth. Its very name reflects this. This holiday, also known as “The Christ’s Mass”, celebrates the one who was born of a virgin, who came to earth to live as a human, who grew up and said he was “from the Father” (John 16:28) and used God’s name, “I AM,” to identify himself (John 18:5-6). The one who said He was the bread of life (John 6:35), the door through which to enter heaven (John 10:9-11), the light in the darkness (John 8:12), the good shepherd (John 10:11-18), the resurrection and the life (John 11:25-26). Jesus said that He is the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6).

We celebrate His birth because He said He was the hope and light of the world, the Son of God, and we can believe Him because He also said He’d die and be raised to life three days later and that happened as well. Jesus Christ is the only one who has ever claimed to be God and been raised from the dead; all other spiritual leaders/teachers of His caliber are still in their graves.

With all this in mind, how you view December 25 determines if the heart of Christmas can live on in your heart after today is done.

Is today a celebration of the changing seasons and of the days getting longer again, that focuses on feasts and gifts and decorations? Is Dec. 25 a time for human traditions or a “going through the motions” celebration? Or is today a day of giving thanks and praise to God for sending His one and only Son as a baby in a manger as a human representation of God’s love for you and a sign of His faithfulness to the world? Are you celebrating the gift of Jesus by sharing His love with those around you?

If the last one is truly the heart of Christmas for you, then the “why” behind all you do during this busiest season of the year—behind all the gift-giving, stringing of bright lights, baking of special Christmas cookies and other human traditions—takes on new meaning. The “heart of Christmas” to you holds the beauty of Jesus’s love for you and the promise of spending eternity with Him after you die and He returns to take you home to Heaven. It’s not about the gifts, the decorated tree, the festive lights, the delicious holiday food or the special gatherings with your family and friends. It’s all about Jesus and His love for you!

In John 13:15 (NLT) Jesus said “I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.” His last words to His disciples before He was arrested, beaten, and hung on a cross were filled with repeated commands of “love one another as I have loved you.” (John 13:34 NIV)

As Christians, we’re supposed to be modeling Christ’s love for us to those around us. Sure, we unfortunately tend to fail miserably quite a bit of the time, but we also do pretty good despite our shortcomings. Jesus said He had to leave so the Helper would come to be with us (John 16:7).

This spirit of help—the Holy Spirit—is the only way we are able to do things with a spirit of love, hope, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and gentleness when we don’t really want to. This a mystery too large to tackle in this devotional, but know that you can have the “heart of Christmas”—that feeling of joy and peace this day brings—whenever you want if Jesus is in your heart. It can happen long after the decorations are packed up, after the gifts are exchanged or broken or have grown wearisome, or even after the sadness has faded of the family gathering being cancelled because of a global pandemic.

Let’s review ways in which we can keep the heart of Christmas alive year-round:

When you give without expecting to receive in return, you keep the heart of Christmas alive.

When you forgive without receiving forgiveness first, you keep the heart of Christmas alive.

When you put someone else’s needs before yours, you keep the heart of Christmas alive.

When you react in a way that is better than what was deserved, you keep the heart of Christmas alive.

When you “love one another as I have loved you,” (my paraphrase of John 13:35 NIV), you keep the heart of Christmas alive.

When you “do as I have done for you,” you keep the heart of CHRIST alive.

The heart of Christmas is not in decorations or gifts or family. It’s not in remembering the poor just once a year or in donating to your favorite charity on #GivingTuesday.

The heart of Christmas lives on past today because the love and spirit of Christ lives on in those who believe in Him throughout the year. You can help keep it alive by asking Jesus to live in your heart, by continuing to learn about Him and what He said during His time on earth, and by living out His commands to the best of your ability with His Holy Spirit guiding you.

Merry Christmas, friend. May you truly find the heart of Christmas today and in the days ahead.

(Please enjoy this song by Steven Curtis Chapman, called “Christmas is All in the Heart,” as a musical reflection of my thoughts.)

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Author Bio:

Amy Odland has been serving in church ministry as a volunteer leader for over 16 years, in various worship, prayer and women’s ministry roles. 

Her passion for helping women stems from her own struggles and lessons learned in her journey as a Christian since first deciding to follow the Lord in 1994.

Amy’s priorities after her faith include her family — husband Rick, and their four kids — as well as extended family who all live close in proximity and the many friends she’s made over the years.

In addition to a love of teaching and helping her husband with the bookkeeping for their many businesses, Amy has recently expanded her stay-at-home work to include leading author’s book launch teams for publishing companies like Baker, Revell, Barbour, and Lifeway.

She also enjoys teaching new authors about platform building, self-launching, and online marketing.

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Connect with Amy:
Facebook: https://facebook.com/amyodland
Instagram: https://instagram.com/amy_odland
Twitter: https://twitter.com/amy_odland
Website: https://amyodland.com

Thankful Thursday: A God Who Calls Us to Be Still

It’s Thursday and I’m thankful for a God who calls us to be still.

Growing up, a classic song that often played on my favorite Christian radio station at that time was “Be Still and Know” by Steven Curtis Chapman.

I never knew what that song meant until I grew up. The lyrics to this song are based on a Bible verse. Psalm 46:10 reads: He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

But what does God mean when He tells us to “be still” and “know that He is God”? As I was driving one day earlier this week, this thought came to me and I realized several real-life scenarios in which God calls us to be still.

Here’s a short list (because the scenarios are boundless):

For Mothers of young children: When your babies are turning your house into chaos with activity, noise, and wailing, God calls you “be still” even if it’s just for a moment and “know that He is God”. In your situation, that means that He will bring peace and order to your household. Remember, Jesus loves the little children and beckons them to come to Him. He gave you those kids because He loves you and trusts you will raise them well. Don’t be too hard on yourself when you are tempted to think that because of the chaos, you are failing as a mother. God doesn’t expect you to be perfect, He expects you to be faithful to Him and He’ll take care of all the details. So by taking a moment to be still, breathe and remember He is in control, you are recognizing that He is God and He knows what He’s doing even when you feel that you don’t. He will help you and bless your efforts to be a faithful servant of His and a good mother to your kids.

For students in school: Assignments and tests given to you by your teachers can be stressful, especially when you’re struggling with learning the content. So for you, being still and knowing that God is God means that you’re taking a moment out of your rigorous life as a student to turn to God and ask Him for guidance. The very act of being still and acknowledging God, even if it’s just for a moment, should bring you peace and a better perspective on your situation. The Bible says to ask God for wisdom and He’ll give it to you. God created your brain. He’s perfectly capable of helping your brain master the content of what you’re studying. He can bless you with understanding and help you get good grades. If you have a tough teacher, God can soften your teacher’s heart and inspire them to grade a challenging test “on the curve” or make it so that they become a more effective teacher that helps every student—struggling or not—understand the content and ace every test. When you’re a student and you’re taking all of those classes, trying to get a good education because your parents said it is the key to your future, being still and knowing that God is God will help calm your nerves. God’s got this! Believe it.

For professionals working in careers: Congratulations on getting and keeping a job! Maybe you’re working your dream job or maybe you’re transitioning from another career. Maybe you love your work or you strongly dislike it. Either way, there is great value in taking  time to be still and know that God is God. Start your mornings with prayer and devotional time with God. My pastor always says that “Mornings are better when you talk with God first.” Christian leaders say that “Prayer is the most important conversation of the day.” Why? Because when you talk to God first—not reaching for your phone to check messages and reply to texts, or engage in any other activity before spending time with your Creator—and you ask Him for guidance throughout your day, you will experience His peace and sense His presence. You will be calm when dealing with a difficult boss, employee or client. You will be peaceful when your colleagues are stressed about deadlines. People will notice your peace and inquire why there’s something different about you and then my friend, God’s given you a chance to witness for Him!

Those are just three key examples that I believe a lot of people in those situations can relate to in real-life. But when it comes to situations in my own life, let me tell you what it means for me to “be still” and “know” that God is God…When I’m stressed or worried, I take a moment to be still, breathe and acknowledge that God is God. He is Lord over all! He is in control, not people. When I recognize His Lordship over my life, it creates a sense of peace in my mind and calms my heart. I put my faith and trust in Him because He is Good and His plan for my life is perfect (Jeremiah 29:11). So I know that when I’m bothered by the troubles of the world and struggling in my personal life, all I need to do is send my problems up to Him in prayer then leave it at His throne and trust Him to work all things together for my good (Romans 8:28). Someone once said that when you have “F.A.I.T.H.”, it means that you are “Forwarding All Issues to Heaven.” It’s an acronym. Get it?

I take solace in the fact that Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace and since He lives in the heart of believers (in God), I can trust Him to give me peace. But His peace is not just for me; it’s for everyone He sends my way. See, being still and knowing that God is God doesn’t just help you, it helps everyone because like it or not, we are all connected and affected by each other. So when you’re peaceful in the midst of chaos, people are going to marvel and wonder why. They may even be bold enough to ask you and then again, you have a chance to share your faith in the One who is Lord over all.

Sharing your faith in God with words of love (Ephesians 4:15) instead of shoving the gospel truth down someone’s throat (metaphorically speaking) attracts people to God and encourages their heart when they see how much He loves them.

I know that when I take the time to reflect on all God has done for me and I read in the Bible how God is good and He will never change, I am encouraged and inspired to live my life for His glory. His goodness and love for humankind, at times renders me speechless. My heart overflows with joy to know that God is my Father (and yours too). The lyrics to this song “Be Still and Know” encourage me to go to God for rest and embrace His heart of love that beats so strongly for His children. 

Knowing that God is God and just taking a moment every day to be still and remember that truth will change your life!

So there you have it, that’s why I am thankful this Thursday!

In closing, I’d like for you to listen to the song.

God bless your hearts!

Love,

Alexis