Just when it seems life can’t get any worse, it sometimes does. When too many things happen at once, or you get news that shakes your world, what do you do? Every one of us has times in our life when we feel paralyzed, overwhelmed, and hopeless, but we can’t give up or run away—we have to meet life’s challenges—and while we are figuring out how to do that, we have to take care of our day-to-day responsibilities and live.

My youngest daughter has severe chronic health problems, so when she broke her back in an accident, it definitely seemed like more than she could take. Being her mother, it meant I was to be by her side to take care of her in the hospital and then at home. As life would have it, I was hosting two parties in my backyard of 100 people for two nights that weekend for a non-profit organization. Overwhelmed? Yes. Would I cancel? No. How did I pull it off? By doing the next indicated thing.

A woman I know found out about her husband’s long-term sexual addiction. Her world was definitely turned upside down. What did she do? She got dressed, she went to work, she ran her errands, she made dinner, and she took the first step toward finding a support group to guide her through the healing process. It wasn’t easy, but that’s how it’s done.

You can always take one small step. When you are overwhelmed with all you have to do or bear, you can handle whatever needs to be done one moment and one task at a time.  This helps you to be strong in the midst of trials and helps you to feel confident about being able to meet life’s challenges.

Emotionally falling apart but it’s near dinner time? Make dinner. Stuck on the side of the road with your car broken down? Make a phone call. Can’t pay your bills? Prioritize and pay what you can. Lost your job? Look at job ads. Need a new career? Start researching careers and training programs online. Diagnosed with an illness? Make the next doctor appointment. Faced with losing a relationship? Take care of your own life. What’s the next indicated thing? What you need to do next to take care of business. It’s usually pretty obvious.

You get the idea. When things appear too difficult to navigate, do the next indicated thing. Life is only too much when you try to do everything at one time. You’ve already made it through the worst days of your life one moment and one task at a time. That’s how you continue to face the rest of your life.

By Karla Downing

Relationship Devotional Prayer

 
God,

Give me strength to face life one moment at a time and do the next indicated thing. Give me the wisdom to discern what the next indicated thing is.

Relationship Devotional Challenge

• Identify an area in your life that feels overwhelming.
• Identify the next indicated thing and do it.

Scripture Meditation

 
Proverbs 18:14

“A man’s spirit sustains him in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear?” (NIV)

Proverbs 24:27

“Finish your outdoor work and get your fields ready; after that, build your house” (NIV).

2 Corinthians 4:8

“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” (NIV).

Proverbs 24:10

“If you falter in times of trouble, how small is your strength!” (NIV)

Proverbs 31:25

“She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come” (NIV).

Part of life is taking care of business and doing what we need to do to survive. When bad news comes, we have to stay strong to do what we need to do. We can’t allow the problems in life to crush us or destroy us. This doesn’t mean we can’t stop to take care of ourselves, we can’t have emotions, we can’t show our weakness and pain, and we don’t need God’s help; it means we have to have an inner core of strength that is ready to meet life’s challenges. It feels good to be able to function; it makes us feel competent and confident and capable.