What Overwhelms You – God or the Scary Storms Of Life

You Can’t Avoid Being Overwhelmed—But You Can Choose What Overwhelms You

Life will be out of your control. That’s not pessimism—it’s reality. At Lakeview Christian Church, we don’t pretend that following Jesus means avoiding hard times. Instead, we’ve discovered a powerful truth: when overwhelming moments come, you get to choose what overwhelms you.

The Inevitable Overwhelming Moments

If you haven’t experienced truly overwhelming circumstances yet, you will. There will be moments that are simply beyond your capacity to handle. Situations that are over your pay grade. Crises that exceed your resources, your wisdom, and your strength.

You can’t handle it. And that’s okay—because you were never meant to.

In that moment, you don’t have a choice about whether you’ll be overwhelmed. The circumstances are too big, too painful, too complex. You will be overwhelmed.

But here’s the critical truth: You do still have a choice.

The Choice That Changes Everything

What will you choose to be overwhelmed by?

Will you let life’s circumstances, chaos, and storms overwhelm you, defeat you, and drain you? Will you let the diagnosis, the financial crisis, the relationship breakdown, or the tragedy consume every thought and steal every moment of peace?

Or instead, will you choose to stand in the presence of an overwhelming God and let Him restore you?

You can’t be overwhelmed by both at the same time. You have to pick one.

This isn’t about denying reality or pretending problems don’t exist. It’s about choosing which reality gets to dominate your perspective. Will the storm define your experience, or will the Storm-Calmer?

Telling the Storm About Your God

We have a habit of telling God how big the storm is. We come to Him cataloging every problem, every fear, every impossibility. “God, do you see how big this is? Do you understand how impossible this situation is?”

But we serve a God big enough to tell the storm how big our God is. Remember Mark 4:39? Jesus “got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.”

Our God is bigger than any storm we’re going through. Yes, the storms are big. Yes, they’re scary. Yes, they’re real. But He’s bigger.

When the disciples were terrified in that boat, Jesus asked them, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:40). He wasn’t minimizing the storm—He was redirecting their focus from the size of the problem to the size of their God.

Living This Truth at Lakeview Christian Church

At Lakeview Christian Church, our mission is to be the change as Jesus has changed us through “Just 3”: Study to love and know God, Share to know and love others, and Serve as love in action.

When we Study God’s Word, we fill our minds with truth about who God is. We learn about His power, His faithfulness, His track record of showing up in impossible situations. This knowledge becomes our anchor when storms hit.

When we Share life together in authentic community, we remind each other of God’s bigness when circumstances make us forget. We speak truth to each other: “Yes, this is overwhelming—but our God is more overwhelming.”

When we Serve others even in our own overwhelming seasons, we discover that God’s strength shows up supernaturally. We become living testimonies that God is bigger than our storms.

The Psalmist’s Experience

The psalmist in Psalm 19 knew this truth experientially. He had faced overwhelming circumstances and discovered that standing in God’s overwhelming presence changed everything. He had experienced God’s restoration, heard God’s voice, and witnessed God’s power.

That’s why he could write with such confidence about God’s law being perfect and restoring the soul. He wasn’t theorizing—he was testifying.

Your Choice Today

Whatever overwhelming circumstance you’re facing today, you have a choice. The storm is real. The problem is legitimate. The fear is understandable.

But you serve a God who is more real, more powerful, and more present than any storm. You serve a God who calms chaos with a word, who provides strength for the weary, who promises to never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5).

Will you choose to be overwhelmed by the storm, or by the Storm-Calmer?

At Lakeview Christian Church, we’re learning to make this choice daily, sometimes moment by moment. We invite you to join us as we discover together that our God is bigger than any storm we face.

Because when you choose to be overwhelmed by God’s presence instead of life’s chaos, everything changes. The storm may still rage, but you’ll find peace in the middle of it. And that peace—the peace that surpasses all understanding—will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7).

Choose wisely. Choose God. He’s bigger than your storm.