Weekly Devotional: When You're Overwhelmed, Turn to the Lord

 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.” – John 14:1

During your college career there will be times where you will feel stressed and overwhelmed with everything, whether its school work, your job, your relationships or all of the above. Being overwhelmed in college is inevitable, but here is how you can turn to God during those times.

Worship

When you feel lost and helpless, turn to God to help you and he will carry you. Put on some worship music and praise him for everything that he has done and is doing in your life. I know this may be difficult during the tough times, but if you worship him, you will start to feel a sense of strength and hope. He has helped you through hard times before and he will do it again.

“Sing to the LORD, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.” – 1 Chronicles 16:23-25

Read Your Bible

Take some time away from everything that is causing you stress and open your bible. Sit in your room, a coffee shop or library, anywhere that you are comfortable and feel at peace and read God’s word. This will give you encouragement and remind you that God is with you and is helping you.

“For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” – Romans 15:4

Pray

During times of stress, we sometimes forget to pray. We forget to do the simplest thing we can do and that is to go to God and ask him for help. Go to him with your struggles, anxiety and everything that is making you feel overwhelmed and he will lift that weight off of your shoulders, all you have to do is ask.

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” – Ephesians 6:18

When You Have a Lot Going On

When you are struggling with your schoolwork and have endless amounts of homework or when your job gets rough or relationships are rocky, God is always there. Life is not easy, there will be trials and tribulations, but the more that you turn to God and trust him in those situations, the easier they are going to be to get through.

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” ~ Matthew 6: 34

Let God Guide You

Try to let go and let God take care of things. We try to control things ourselves and control situations that are out of our control. Put your pride aside and let God work his magic. He is in control of our lives and we need to trust him with it. The more that you let him have control, the easier the difficult times will be.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” – Proverbs 3:5-6

Grand Canyon University is committed to following the Lord in all circumstances. If you would like to learn more about GCU’s Christian identity and heritage or would like to read more devotionals please visit our website and check out the GCU Blog.