What Jesus did when He felt overwhelmed …

Yes, Jesus experienced as a human being what it was like to feel overwhelmed.

Read for yourself …

“They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I pray.’ He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,’ he said to them. ‘Stay here and keep watch,'” Mark 14:32-34 (NASB).

The New Living Translation describes Jesus’ sense of being overwhelmed like this:

“He told them, ‘My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me,’” Mark 14:34.

Jesus did, indeed, know what it was like to feel overwhelmed!

So how did He handle it?

First, He talked with God (prayed) about His problem and was honest about what He would like for relief …

“He went on a little farther and fell to the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. ‘Abba, Father,’ he cried out, ‘everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me …’ Mark 14:35-36a.

Second, He talked with God because He trusted Him with His life. He knew God loved Him and would do what was best, so He poured out His heart to His Father.

Third, He then submitted His will to the Father’s will …

“’Abba, Father,’ he cried out, ‘everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine,’” Mark 14:36.

How did Jesus overcome feeling overwhelmed? Prayer, trust, and submission. He prayed to His Father, He trusted His Father, and therefore He yielded His will to His Father’s will. Even though Jesus knew it was the Father’s will to not take away the cross from Him, He trusted that if God wouldn’t deliver Him from it, He would deliver Him (and all of us!) through it.

Pray. Trust. Submit.

Try that the next time you feel overwhelmed (and even when you don’t!).

Scotty