How to Recenter and Find Peace When You’re Feeling Overwhelmed
Everyone gets overwhelmed at one time or another, and in this particular season it seems like many of us are dealing with feelings of anxiety and defeat more often than usual. While these feelings are completely understandable, and arguably an important part of growth and healing, we are not meant to rest in these feelings. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” That is the spirit we have been given and are called to walk in. Acknowledging that you are overwhelmed and confronting your feelings of fear, worry, doubt, and anxiety is the first step toward walking in power, love, and self-discipline.
This type of healing isn’t something we do once and then never have to do again. It is an ongoing process that will ebb and flow, but learning how to recenter and find peace when you’re overwhelmed can allow you to more quickly return to peace and joy when those feelings seem distant.
Step 1: Pause
“He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” - Psalm 46:10
One of the best things you can do for yourself when you’re feeling overwhelmed is to completely pause. Try to find a day, or even just a few hours where you can step back from life and take a moment to just sit and rest in God’s presence. This doesn’t have to be anything fancy, but an intentional time of putting away technology, being alone and listening to worship music/meditating/journaling/reading scripture can help reset your spirit in a powerful way.
If you can, get out into nature. Sink your toes into the grass, dirt or sand. Listen to the sounds of creation around you, and spend time praising God for the world He made, and believing in your place in it all. Focus on the power of your breath moving through your body and praise God for giving you life.
If possible, carry this time of pause into your week and ultimately into your weekly routine. Carving out time daily to put the world away and simply rest in God’s presence can help keep you sane and hopeful during challenging times. Try different methods of pausing and see where you best connect with the Lord.
Step 2: Pray
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” - Matthew 11:28
To expand, on the idea of pausing, we have to highlight the need for prayer when it comes to re-centering and finding peace. A consistent and lively relationship with God is the only thing that can lead to sustainable, long-lasting and real “peace that surpasses understanding”. Sitting in God’s presence and sharing your life with Him (your worries, fears, doubts, joys, questions, desires, etc) is the best way to find closeness with Him. Psalm 16:11 says “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” When we experience the presence of God, we experience the abundance of goodness that flows from Him.
There is no right or wrong way to pray, but here are a few practical styles of prayer that might help you if you aren’t sure where to start.
Scriptural Mediation: This is a great way to get in God’s word and is also tremendously helpful with memorizing scripture. There are many ways that you can approach scriptural meditation, but this is generally my process. Before you get started, select a verse or passage that you want to meditate on for that day. If you have access to a bible app, my favorite way to do this is to select a short passage and have it play on repeat. Next, find a seated position somewhere comfortable but ideally flat (ie: the floor or a firm chair rather than your bed or couch) where you can sit cross legged or with your legs straight. The goal is to find a position that allows you to be still and focused. From here start to take a few deep breaths and invite God into your presence and ask Him to speak to you through His word. Finally, begin to listen to the scripture being read, or read through it yourself and then sit in silence for a few minutes allowing the words to sink from your head to your heart. Continue to focus on taking nice, deep breaths the entire time. Repeat this process as many times as needed for about 10-15 minutes.
Palms Down, Palms Up: The palms down, palms up meditation practice is an excellent one to use at the start or end of a day. As with scriptural meditation, find a firm, comfortable seat, close your eyes and start to take some deep breaths. Start with your palms during down on your legs, and take a moment to release anything that you need to let go of (fear, insecurity, doubt, anger, etc.) Next, turn your palms over and receive what is that God has to offer you (peace, stillness, joy, faith, etc.) Finally, I like to bring both hands to my chest, laying flat over my heart, and offer up a final prayer to thank God for what it is He has given me and to ask Him to walk with me through my day.
Breath Prayer: I most commonly use breath prayer in my yoga practice, but I have started to incorporate it more into my daily routine and it has been such an incredible tool. Breath prayer is exactly what it sounds like- prayer that is linked to the breath. It can be focused on anything you want and is a great way to calm the body and recenter the mind. Choose a short phrase to attach to your inhale and your exhale, and then say those words in pace with slow breathing as many times as needed. For example, some breath prayers I commonly return to are: exhale: I release fear, inhale: I receive peace; inhale: be still, exhale: and know that I am God; or inhale: I believe, exhale: what You say of me. The words can be whatever you need in that moment, and are a beautiful opportunity to reconnect with God’s truth in the middle of a busy world.
Practices like these are so powerful because they can be done at anytime (to some extent.) If you can find 30 seconds of quiet, you can practice a palms down, palms up meditation wherever you are. Learning how to utilize these concepts will enable you to reconnect with God throughout the day and to bring His voice into your mind.
Step 3: Pursue Passion
The final step in this process is to pursue passion and joy. When we feel overwhelmed it can be easy to choose apathy and mindlessness in order to avoid adding anything else to your plate, and while a solid night of binge watching your favorite show can be just what you need every once in a while, creating a habit out of that is never going to help you truly feel better. Instead, take notice of what makes you feel alive. What are you passionate about? What makes you feel connected to those around you? What makes you feel overwhelmed with joy? Focus on that.
The bible says that there is a time to mourn and there is a time to laugh. After you have taken time to pause and confront the feeling of being overwhelmed and then spent time in prayer and asked God to help carry you out of that space, now is the time to laugh. To celebrate. To restore energy to your life, so that you can approach things with excitement and hope, rather than fear and defeat. Engage in your friendships. Watch the sunset. Paint, sing, dance, run, read. Whatever brings you joy and restores passion in your life. Do that, and then allow that energy to carry over into all other areas of your life.
Which of these steps feels the most important to you? How can you incorporate one, or all three, of them into your life this week?
Here is a link to one of my favorite worship songs to help you find the peace and passion we discuss in this blog. Take sometime to let the words encourage you as you respond in worship.
As always, thank you so much for reading these blogs and supporting the work we do at Stand Unshaken!