Overwhelmed. There are those moments when life comes crashing in on you and it’s all just too much. I’ve felt that way a lot lately, but mostly about prayer. I look around me at the world and see too much to pray for. When I stop to pray it’s like my mind’s eye sees bricks falling on me, piling up, burying me… Too many needs, not enough time. Not enough energy. Not enough power.
Too many Bible studies to do. Too many people to comfort. Too many battles to fight.
Oh, isn’t the devil a sneaky one? If he can’t trick us into doing nothing, he’ll trick us into doing too much. He’ll make sure every burden on the planet becomes our personal burden. He’ll make us feel like dropping the ball for even one second will make everything fall apart. He’ll make us feel like we’re failing if we are not on our faces in prayer twenty-four hours of the day. (Now, if God has called you into that season of prayer, it’s a different story…)
When those overwhelming, treadmill is speeding up, “must pray more and harder and better and louder” days socks me in, there’s one way to combat Satan.
Remember the basics.
Guess what? We are not in charge here. God made it. God did it. God will continue to do it. He was. He is. He is to come.
Want to remember that? Get back to the basics. What are the basics? We all already know music speaks to me. And on those days when Satan wants me buried under the avalanche of too much, when I can’t hear what it is God is calling me to and what the devil wants me to think I have to do, it’s time to remind myself of The Basics.
Originally written by Rich Mullins, later performed by Third Day, “Creed” is just that, based on the creeds of the Christian church. It’s the basics. What makes us who we are. The things of God that we do not make, but that make us. The basis of our relationship with our Creator. It’s humbling. It’s mighty. It’s sometimes tear-jerking. And it’s important.
It’s the things Satan can’t steal from us, the antidote to “busyness” that destroys our relationship with Him.
We say it by rote often, but take time. Sit still. Listen to it. Let it sink in. Let God make of you what He wishes. Take the time to remember what it is that you believe. It puts all of the rest into perspective.
-JB
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