Please Help Me, God! I Need You!

Dawn breaks softly, and I stare down another day with its never-ending tasks. “Please help me, God! I’m drowning over here,” I whisper as I prepare to descend the stairs and begin the day.

We’re living in pandemic times, which means I’ll be juggling again today. I’ll teach my kids, cook dinner, keep the little one from drawing on the walls (maybe), fold laundry, try to exercise, shower (probably not), lock myself in the laundry room with something chocolate, and complete at least 200 small but cumulative tasks.

It feels like a lot.

I’ve been crying randomly and feeling ridiculous about it.

These are the days when my life leaves me feeling like I hardly have space to breathe.

Please Help Me, God

As you read these words, you probably aren’t living in the middle of a global pandemic. You might not have young children who need you every waking hour.

Nevertheless, you know how it feels to look to the heavens and pray, “Please help me, God. I cannot keep doing this.”

What’s the secret to thriving when the burdens in your life feel like they just might crush you?

There are probably about a thousand answers to this question.

Please help me, God. I need you.

The wise older women would tell us to fix our eyes on the Lord and count his blessings. They might even say that the burdensome parts of our days are some of God’s greatest gifts. That sounds lovely, but it’s all I can do not to inwardly roll my eyes when someone starts telling me the hard part of my life is actually a gift.

It’s like that moment when you haven’t slept more than 90 consecutive minutes in eleven months, and someone tells you to cherish every moment. (You can read about my struggle with cherishing the moments right here.)

It’s one of those things that’s easy to say when you’re not living it out, but nobody in their right mind can experience that kind of exhaustion and do anything other than pray for the season to finally pass.

For this reason, I won’t tell you to count your burdens as gifts.

What I will say is something that’s helped me. It’s something that seems to be a contradiction, but as I put it into practice, I’m learning to breathe again, even in the hardest moments.

The contradictory answer to my suffocating workload is this: Slow down.

How to Slow Down When You’re Already Running Behind

At first, slowing down feels like the worst possible thing you could do. If you slow down, you will get less done, and the work will pile higher, right?

Maybe.

Then again, maybe not.

I guess it depends on what you value most. Do you value what you can see with your eyes more than you value the heart-shaping work that happens in the dark?

When you adjust your pace to match the rhythms God desires for your life, he will shape your heart to look more like his in the meantime. #flourishinthefire #slowingdown #transformed Click To Tweet

Jesus’ Example

Have you ever noticed in Scripture how Jesus never seemed to be in a frazzled hurry? He didn’t get flustered about being late to a ministry site or tell the disciples to paddle harder to get across the lake faster. He didn’t encourage us to squeeze as much as possible into our days or to define ourselves by what we can accomplish.

Instead, Jesus was deliberate.

His pace allowed him to see the needs in front of him, to look beyond the surface and see to the soul. Sometimes his pace upset those who loved him. Martha and Mary were devastated when he didn’t rush to save the day when Lazarus died. We now know he was intentionally late so that the glory of God would be revealed. And I can’t help but wonder: Would my life reveal the glory of God more powerfully if I stopped living in a stressed-out hurry?

I believe it would.

I believe God has an invitation for every weary and heavy-laden soul. He is inviting us to slow down.

How to Receive God’s Help

In the middle of your “Please help me, God” moments, God is inviting you to slow your pace and breathe today. Here is what this might look like:

1. Meet with God in the morning, and don’t hurry through your time together.

Those of us who can find a few quiet minutes to spend with the Lord each day face a temptation. It’s all too easy to count time with the Lord as one more item on the day’s long list of activities. It’s tempting to hurry through the quiet time and get onto the next item on the list.

I know you have a lot to do, friend.

I know the to-do list mocks you from some dark corner of your mind.

When the list begins to mock you, politely ask your list to wait for just a few minutes. Don’t chastise the list-making part of your brain. She is your friend and your helper. Instead, let her wait a few minutes while you lean into the awareness that God is with you.

Take 30 seconds to light a candle and watch it flicker. Sit with a Psalm for a few short minutes. Stare out the window and let God breathe life into your soul.

He wants to help you.

He wants to speak his love over you.

Breathe.

Rest.

Worship.

Remind yourself of the One who is always with you. Start slow.

It won’t be wasted.

2. Refuse to hurry through the work you need to do.

As the day wears on, resist the urge to chase productivity. This is a tough one for a woman like me, a woman who feels a sort of accomplishment high when I cross everything off my to-do list. I know it’s hard to fight the accomplishment high, but the high is a liar. It is not enriching your life.

Resist the urge to hurry through the drive to work or the school lessons with the kids who are fighting you. Don’t hurry through cooking dinner or folding laundry. As Dallas Willard reminds us, “You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life, for hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our world today.”*

3. Slow your pace to enjoy the people God has put closest to you.

As I ate lunch with the kids today, our time was noisy.

It was filled with requests and energy and fussing. It didn’t match my idea of a serene moment to savor my food, but I didn’t force my way through it. I let it be what was.

I told myself, This is my actual life. It is noisy. I am needed. There aren’t many moments of solitude. But God is here.

God is present in this noise and in the needs, and when I smile at these sweet children, when I can receive them gladly, God molds me to look more like Jesus in the process.

Slow your pace, friend. Enjoy the people God has put around you. Ask God to help you. It is possible, and it will change the way you see your days.

A Final Invitation for Your “Please Help Me, God” Moments:

Friend, if you are suffocating beneath the weight of your workload, I know slowing your pace feels counterproductive, but will you respond to the invitation and try it for just one day? Will you refuse to hurry through your quiet time with God, your work, and your moments with the people closest to you?

When we live slower, we clear up space in our hearts and minds to hear from God.

We discover countless invitations throughout these moments to put ourselves second, all while being fully awake to the moments as they unfold around us. Something about this kind of living feels exactly like flourishing.

A Free Devotional Book to Help You Through Difficult Times:

I have a gift for you today. Hope for Hard Days is my free 10-day online devotional to help you hold onto hope when life is tough. You will find 10 readings to help you connect with God and claim his peace. Click here and I’ll send it to your email inbox today for free with promo code HOPE.

These two books are free on Kindle Unlimited or available to purchase in print:

God wants to work in your life to accomplish what you’ve been unable to do through willpower alone. Lean Into Grace: Let God’s Grace Heal Your Heart, Refresh Your Soul, and Set You Free shares practical ways to experience God’s freedom, healing, power, and presence in your life. Find this life-changing book for free on the Kindle Unlimited plan or for 12.99 in print right here. This book will transform your life and revitalize your relationship with the Lord!

Calling all mothers and daughters!

Additionally, my 12-year-old daughter, Bekah, and I wrote a mother-daughter devotional book to help mothers and daughters grow closer together while connecting with God. Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith includes 60 devotions with Scripture, commentaries from both of us, conversation starters, and even a shared journaling section. Multitudes of mothers, daughters, mentors, and younger women are being transformed by this book! You can find your free Kindle Unlimited eBook or buy it in print for just 11.99 right here.