When You’re About to Lose It

I was reading a devotional the other day and the author said that it’s our jobs as Christians, when we feel like we’re going to lose it, it’s our job to FIND IT. This resonated with me in a big way. It happened to be Tuesday morning. I had cleaned up one child’s vomit from her bedroom floor only to find her twin sister in the other bedroom shaking from a fever. Oh yes, and school was running 2 hours late which meant being off schedule with my junior highschooler who decided this was a good morning to argue with me about the need to take a shower…or not. A few moments later, the child who got sick upstairs on the carpet got sick all over the hardwoods. 

Needless to say, I was *this close* to losing it. 

And that was the exact thought that went through my mind: “I am going to lose it.” And just as I thought those words I remembered what I had read: “Our job is not to lose it, our job is to find it.” Okay, I thought, challenge accepted. I am going to do everything I can right now to pull it together and find my patience and to have peace in God’s purpose for this day that feels out of control and chaotic. 

It’s like a fish trying to swim upstream, this whole idea of trying to find it when you feel like you’re going to lose it. Our natural inclination is to roll with our emotions that accompany the chaos - anxiety, fear, overwhelm, anger, tension and stress - to name a few. It’s like they all collaborate together in a conspiracy to hep us “lose it.” What we often fail to recognize in this moment is that we actually have control over these emotions and we can choose not to lose it. But if we choose not to lose it we have to replace it with something…we have to “find it.” 

Yes, my soul, find rest in God;

my hope comes from him.

Truly he is my rock and my salvation;

he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.

My salvation and my honor depend on God;

he is my mighty rock, my refuge.

Psalm 62:5-7

Find it. Find rest in God. Don’t lose it. God is my strength, my rock, my refuge. His strength is made perfect in my weakness. Find it.

Let’s be perfectly honest, in the moment of chaos when you’re about to lose it, it’s not so easy to just sit down with your Bible or get on your knees in prayer. But it is the only way not to lose it. My favorite prayer is simply - “Help me, Jesus.” Sometimes that’s all I have time for as I go from one mess to another but even just saying those words aloud or in my head anchors my soul and reminds me that he is in control, even though everything feels out of control. 

It’s our job as Christians to find it when our fleshly inclination is to lose it. It takes effort. It takes awareness. But mostly, it takes FAITH. Faith in God’s plan and faith that God has a purpose greater than we can see for the daily chaos we may face. 

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7

When it’s hard to pray. When it’s easy to lose it, that’s precisely the moment we have to hand it all over to God and trust in His greater plan and relax in knowing that he has a purpose for each and every thing we go through. 

Next time you’re ready to lose it, challenge yourself to find it…in Jesus.