The Overwhelmed Life

It was put before me recently to explain what God’s Word means to me. Not in an apologetics, logical, reasoning, I’m going to try and convince you to see it the same kind of way but in a heart-all-out-there personal kind of way. I’m not certain I had ever contemplated anyone wanting to know that before and honestly, I wasn’t prepared for the emotions, affection, and love that meditating on the personal meaning of God’s Word brought about in me. There was a sense of this “almost too much Lord” in trying to string together with some kind of clarity exactly what it means to me to sit so close to the Throne and be welcomed there.

One of my favorite songs right now is Overwhelmed by Big Daddy Weave. It came on the radio the other night as I was driving home by myself and I was so engulfed in the mercy of Jesus, the pure love of Him, that I was exactly what the title of the song said . . .Overwhelmed.

The most beautiful pictures slid through my mind. I saw myself running to the arms of the Father with Jesus – the very One who had made the way – right beside me whispering “Go child, go.” And He had tears in His eyes. I felt absolutely covered in Him. Even as I let my mind’s eye wander back and re-experience the moment, I feel the love for Him well up in my throat. See, I’ve been praying not only to love Jesus but to be in love with Jesus. For me, those pictures, being lost in the wonderment of Him, marveling at the All of Him, was confirmation that He hears our every prayer.

This challenge, to give shape and form to what the Word means to me, brought about that same overwhelming sense of affection and love. I didn’t worry about being able to offer the Scripture references that led me to write what I did or make certain there was a commentary written by someone smarter than me that confirmed what I thought, I just let myself see Him. Experience Him. Worship Him.

I let myself feel His embrace and the overwhelmed in me poured onto the page.

The Bible, the Word of God, the Voice of Heaven, the Breath of Love—is life to me. Nothing else stirs me, energizes me, moves me, thrills me or humbles me like He does. I am left slack-jawed and steeped in awe that He would stoop from Heaven to speak to me –the very worst one. But He does. Over and over again He does. And with every syllable I hear Him whisper, “I love you.” And my heart reaches back with, “I love you too.”

Girlfriend, isn’t He just too much? I always encourage women to take His promises as their own . . . to get up close with His Word and breathe It in – because I know that’s the only place we’ll find the tenacity and courage to really live and love with abundance on this temporal planet. Only when I inhale Love, when I meet Him in the pages of His Word, do I have even a slight chance of getting my flesh out of the way and exhaling any semblance of it. Breathe in “Capital L” Love. Breathe Out “little l” love. Watch God and do what He does. See His posture of love and try to stand the same way. Observe Christ and copy Him through the power of the Spirit. Look at the way He wears Love from head-to-toe and put on a matching outfit.

Oh Sweet One, we cannot watch Him, we cannot keep company with Him, we cannot observe Him without falling in love with Him. We breathe Him in and then breathe Him out. The Bible is not black words on white paper. It is life!

On both sides of the Covenant Line –His Word is life!

They are not just idle words for you—they are your life. Deuteronomy 32:47

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. John 1:1-4

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 1 John 1:1

. . . so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. Philippians 2:15-16

And Sister make no mistake that the Word of Life has a name . . .

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself.  He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.

The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.

Revelation 19:11-16

That, Beloved, is who is beckoning you to His side. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords wants to speak to you from the pages. The Word of Life wants to overwhelm you and me with “Capital L” Love. . . . to breathe life into our souls. Not spoon fed life – real, dig-into-it-myself and come up with my lungs and heart full of Him life. Because while we can certainly glean from the insights of others, we absolutely cannot breathe with the Spirit second hand.

And Sweet Friend, the beauty of it is we don’t have to. Pick up your Bible. Pull the app up on your phone. Listen to it on your headphones. Whatever choice sits before you– choose it! And Girlfriend, when you do, you can be confident that what you will find will be absolutely oxygen to your soul.  For you my Friend have chosen to sit before the Throne in the very Presence of Love, to inhale the Word made flesh, and to take in the All of Him.  You have chosen to live, you have chosen the overwhelmed LIFE!

(Overwhelmed Music & Lyrics: Mike Weaver / Phil Wickham)

Tags: 1 John 1:1, Bible, Big Daddy Weave, Deuteronomy 32:47, Ephesians 5, Exhale, grace, Hebrews 4:16, Inhale, John 1:1-4, King of Kings, love, Overwhelmed, Revelation 19, Word of God