Maybe you're not lazy, you're just overwhelmed.

In a world filled with constant demands, never-ending to-do lists and a huge tendency towards consumerism, it's all too easy to find ourselves drowning in overwhelm. As Christians, we're called to steward our time and energy wisely, yet even the most devout among us can find ourselves succumbing to the temptation of laziness. But what if laziness isn't just a character flaw, but a symptom of a deeper issue? What if our tendency to procrastinate and avoid responsibility stems from feeling utterly overwhelmed by the weight of everything? Join me today as we explore the intersection of faith and fatigue, delving into how understanding our limitations and leaning on God's grace can lead us out of the cycle of laziness and into a life of purposeful action.

There is so much that we deal with on a daily basis as women of the modern world. From keeping up with our families schedules, to doing our homemaking tasks, to planning events, to staying informed, to building relationships with others, it can get rather overwhelming. Not to mention, there is a never ending feed of information coming at us through our phones and screens, and there seems to also be a never ending amount of stuff that comes into our homes.

Bible verses for when you're just overwhelmed...

In Psalm 142:3, the Lord tells us, “When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then You knew my path.” I pray that instead of being overwhelmed today by your circumstances and your to-do lists, you can be overwhelmed by an amazing God who always keeps His promises.

In Philippians 4:6-7, He promises to give us peace. “Be anxious for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

God promises to restore our soul, and in Matthew 11:28, He promises us, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”

If God has called us to do a task for Him, He will equip us for the journey and will be with us every step of the way. We can be grateful that before we even think about how we can overcome the overwhelm, He already knows the path we need to take.

Why do I feel so overwhelmed?

There are three main reasons I feel modern woman are feeling utterly overwhelmed today. First, they are spending too much time on their phone and are overstimulated with too much information. Second, they are constantly dealing with too much stuff and their house is full of unused and unneeded items. And third, they are simply trying to do too much. Of course there are thousands of other reasons someone may feel overwhelmed, they could have a mental or physical reason for feeling overwhelmed by daily things, they could be dealing with broken relationships, or sick loved ones. There are so many reasons we struggle. I will address some of these in future posts but today I am sticking to what I think are the top three, and things I think we can actually control and work towards correcting. Again those are being overstimulated, living in a clutter, and being overworked.

Screen time leads to feeling overwhelmed

Have you ever had a day where you spent way too much time on your phone or in front of the TV. I think its safe to say that you probably walked away from that screen session feeling drained and definitely not energized. I have seen it written in several places that on average parents of young children spend 7-9 hours on screens per day. 7-9 hours watching other peoples lives, reading news articles, listening to podcasts and consuming a ton of content from a wide variety of people. Even just 20 years ago it wasn't normal to be listening to so many voices, and hearing so many different opinions every single day, and I don't think it should be normal now. From the music we listen to, to the YouTube videos we watch, to the tiktok. feed and instagram stories; our brains are bombarded with far too much information. It can take us time to process this information. Time we really don't have! This leads to lower energy levels and ultimately overwhelm in your own life.

To combat too much screen time I recommend two things. First, be ruthless with filtering out what and who you listen to and watch. Ask yourself, is what I listening to glorifying God or not? Does this lift me up and energize me or not? Stop following accounts that make you feel like comparing your life to theirs, stop following account that make you want to shop, stop following accounts that make you worry about the world. The bible says 365 times "DO NOT FEAR" if you leave any media feeling fearful, it needs to go. I don't think there is anything wrong with learning about whats happening in the world, or seeing how other people view things or live their lives, but if it interferes with your life and what you need to do, its gotta go.

Remember Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

Give your social media a major detox. The second thing I recommend is looking at your screen time and getting real with how much you are on. Whatever number of hours you are on screens a day, start by cutting it in half. Lock it in a drawer if you need to. If your screen is keeping you from praying, reading your bible, exercising, preparing healthy meals for yourself and your family or is sucking up your day and draining you, it is not glorifying God and it needs to be addressed. You will feel so much less overwhelmed with less information and voices in your ear buds. Imagine if you picked up the bible as many times a day as you picked up your phone.

Listen to another promise from God in Isaiah 40:31 that says, “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

Declutter your home to combat feeling overwhelmed

Another huge culprit to feelings of overwhelm that often lead to laziness and inability to progress in your daily tasks is living in a home full of clutter. To me, clutter is keeping anything that you don't use or need. When you walk into a room and the majority of the items that need to be cleaned up are things you don't even want to have, it's very hard to find the motivation to address it. Even just getting ready in the morning can feel daunting when your closet is full of clothes you don't wear anymore and your bathroom drawers are filled with products you don't use. Tackling your clutter can feel like an impossible task but it must be done if we want to get rid of the feelings of overwhelm.

Matthew 19:26 tells us, “But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, with men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”

Call upon God and ask Him to enlighten you to what he wants you to address in your home. Maybe you are shopping online way too much and just simply by changing your shopping habits your home will feel better. Maybe the clothes are out of control or the kids toys or maybe it's a certain closet, the garage, or the kitchen drawers. If you take the time, even just a few minutes a day to get rid of items you do not need, your days will flow so much better, you will have less to trip over. Your mental load will be lighter. The way I like to declutter my home is to spend several days in a row overhauling a certain space or room. Recently I did my children's toys and it took me 2 full days to go through everything and get it to a manageable amount. I have also done the garage. When we have a break in our homeschool, that is when I take the time to tackle big house declutter projects. I always feel so much better and have a much better handle on my home for the weeks and months after getting a space decluttered, cleaned and organized.

Being overworked leads to overwhelm

The last point I want to make in ways we can fix feelings of overwhelm is when we are simply doing too much. I will share a bit about something in my life recently when I had a lightbulb moment. Currently our dishwasher is broken and I have been washing all of my dishes by hand. I spend about 2 hours a day washing the dishes from breakfast lunch and dinner and after cooking a large dinner made from scratch and doing the dishes I am feeling spent and so exhausted, it was leaving very little space for me to have time in the evening with my husband or just to wind down with a good book. So I decided to change things up. I assigned each of my children with a dinnertime chore. The oldest two do the dishes, the next cleans the counters and puts the food away, the next clears and wipes the dining room table and the two youngest clean up the toys from the day. It has made dinnertime clean up take a fraction of the time and has allowed me time to take a breath after a long day serving the family. I am able to then start the bedtime routine feeling much more relaxed and renewed.

Delegate household tasks to help with overwhelm

If you are doing all of the work in your home I highly suggest delegating tasks to other members of the family. Get your husband on the same page and hold a family meeting if necessary. Kids 5 and older can start learning how to do their own laundry and kids 2 and older can help with many chores. If you're a working mom I know this can be a huge struggle of feeling overworked. I will speak more on this in a different video but I think delegating can help you too, even if that means hiring help.

I will leave you with this verse Titus 2, where Paul is encouraging the older women to train the younger women “to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed”

We are called to care for our household and cultivate an atmosphere of beauty, peace, and cleanliness for all who dwell in our home. However we are also called to be keepers of our home by shielding our hearts and homes against the fiery darts of the enemy. In a Christian manner, keeping is to be aware, alert, and vigilantly protective of what comes through the gates of our home. My prayer is that we value this sacred calling to steward our hearts and our homes and all who dwell within.

Ultimately, by seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, as Jesus instructed in Matthew 6:33, we can find freedom from the tyranny of information overload, too much stuff and the laziness that it breeds. As we align our hearts with God's desires and trust in His provision, we can experience true abundance and fulfillment that transcends material wealth.