3 Things to Remember When You Feel Overwhelmed with Emotions - iBelieve Truth: A Devotional for Women - July 16, 2025
“From the ends of the earth, I cry to you for help when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the towering rock of safety.” Psalm 61:2 (NLT)
When he wrote the verse above, David also disclosed that he was familiar with feeling overwhelmed. How about you? Have you felt overwhelmed?
If you’ve experienced a rapid heart rate, difficulty breathing, and thoughts like I’m having a heart attack!—even though you weren’t exerting much energy—you likely had a panic attack, which means yes, you’ve felt overwhelmed. If you’ve felt hopeless to climb out of the multiple challenges you faced, or if you’ve felt so low you thought death was preferable to this pain, then yes, you’ve felt overwhelmed.
Or perhaps you’re like Moses, who hit the roof with anger because of grief. (Read about how this incident affected Moses’ future in my new book, Grieving Wholeheartedly.)
Being flooded with emotions is so common that almost everyone has experienced it at least once.
The thing about this condition is it’s avoidable. By implementing certain changes—with the overall goal of reducing stress—we can shelter ourselves from regular overwhelm. Please beware, however, that even positive incidents can register in our body as stress. Check out your stress level and when you’re ready, let’s talk about what we can do to lessen your stress load.
Are you making enough room for rest and play? What—and how much—are you eating? Piling up on carbs and caffeine is a no-go. Regular exercise is a must to keep our bodies functioning optimally.
How sturdy is your support system? That is, are there people you can ask to babysit, meet over coffee, share your struggles with, and so on? As a psychologist, I recommend pursuing effective therapy, such as Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy. You don’t need to hide a major trauma history to see a therapist. Having said that, if you did survive something harrowing, please seek professional help. Being in therapy can cut down the amount of overwhelm you feel.
The above are known strategies that can help curb overwhelm, but they can only be implemented when your nervous system is not overwhelmed. When a scary threat convinces you to respond as though you need to fight or flight, however, there’s no time to think rationally. That’s because threatening moments trigger a sense of urgency, which floods the body with stress hormones and bypasses the parts of our brain that handle all the changes we talked about before.
Which is where this devotional comes in.
Let’s plan for a less stressful future, so there won’t be a “next time.” Still, if you feel overwhelmed again, here are three things to keep in mind:
1. God has emotions.
“Jesus wept” (John 11:35).
“Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 4:30).
“The LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Exodus 34:14).
These, and many other verses like them, prove that our God has feelings. He made us in His image (Genesis 1:27), so it makes sense that God has emotions just like us. But since God has emotions, we can also ask Him for tips on how to regulate ours.
2. Emotions aren’t the enemy.
If your fiancé cheated with your neighbor friend, and his infidelity mocks you every single time he visits her across the street, it’s easy to be flooded with anger. You may even be tempted to hate your feelings or ask God to whisk them away.
But emotions aren’t our enemy. Notice what Psalm 119:168 says about God: “You are good, and what you do is good.” A good God won’t embed within us something bad.
Plus, note how God assessed His handiwork: “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good” (Genesis 1:31).
Humans consist of spirit, soul, and body (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Of the three, it’s the soul that carries emotions. So, when God said His creation was very good, He was also pronouncing the fact that the ability to feel is a good thing.
3. Deep breaths are a gift.
God, who knows everything, also anticipated the problem of overwhelm when He gifted us with emotions. That’s why He also designed an organic reset button within us. You can activate this button by deep breathing, not shallow and rapid breathing from your chest, but deep breathing from your belly. When you feel flooded with emotions, keep taking deep breaths until you feel calmer. Deep breathing resets the nervous system so that the sense of panic and urgency fades away.
Isn’t God a genius? No wonder David, who knew how it felt to be overwhelmed, also extolled, “I will give thanks to You, because I am awesomely and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well” (Psalm 139:14, NASB).
Let’s close our time together by lifting up this simple prayer:
Dear Lord, thank you for creating me, including my emotions. I’m sorry if being overwhelmed caused me to hurt those around me. Please help me see if there are wounds in my soul that cause my feelings to get out of whack. Grant me the courage to pursue healing for my soul. I give you permission to heal me in whatever way You choose. In Jesus’ name I pray—and I thank you in advance for Your answer. Amen.
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/damircudic
Related Resource: Soft Words for Hard Days: A Conversation with Aundi Kolber
Some days feel heavy. Some moments leave us wondering how to keep going. If you’ve ever longed for encouragement amid life’s hardest moments, I have a special episode of The Love Offering for you. This week, I’m joined by therapist and bestselling author Aundi Kolber to discuss her latest book, Take What You Need: Soft Words for Hard Days. This beautiful collection of quotes, scriptures, prayers, and gentle exercises is designed to be a balm for your most tender places—a reminder that you are never alone on your journey to healing.
In our conversation, we explore:
✨ How to hold space for yourself and others in difficult seasons
✨ The power of compassionate words when life feels overwhelming
✨ Practical ways to embrace healing and take one more step forward
If you like what you hear, be sure to subscribe to The Love Offering on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode!
