Summary: <br> Do you ever feel overwhelmed? Consumed? Did you know this is NOT God’s plan for you? He never intended for you to be consumed by stress and worry. He never intended for your schedule to be so busy that you’re frazzled. Nor did he intend for you to be consumed by a career, cars, clothes, a clearance rack or a cell phone. He didn’t create you to be distracted or divided. His plan for you is to be grounded, balanced, centered, focused, committed. That is your best life. This is your truest potential.<br> So how do we get back to that? How do we snap out of the overwhelm? How do we keep from being consumed?<br> God has a treasure for you in his word today. Words written by a broken hearted man named Jeremiah. A man who was surrounded by destruction, yet knew the secret to not being destroyed. In Lamentations 3: 21 he says “Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this …”<br> He’s saying circumstances threaten to overwhelm me. Stress and fear are constantly knocking on my door. Darkness may threaten my happiness, yet I still DARE to HOPE. Today, will you still dare to hope? Dare to hope when it seems hopeless? Dare to hope when the time has run out? It’s easy to hope when it’s sunny and 75, but someone is listening today who is in a winter season in their life that doesn’t seem to end. A season of loss. A season of hardship. A season of dormancy. And hope means you must dare. You must take a chance. You must muster up all the faith you have and say I still dare to hope.<br> Jeremiah gives us his secret to still daring to hope in the next 2 verses (Lamentations 3: 22-23) “Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”<br> Do you know why he wrote these words? He was intentionally snapping himself out of it. Pain and sadness, worry and stress would threaten to consume him, then he would snap himself out of that sad state by meditating on a positive truth.<br> What a valuable lesson this is for us. This is how we SNAP OUT OF IT.<br> If you continue to dwell on all that is wrong, that is all you will see. Let us be like Jeremiah and regardless of the circumstances, meditate on God’s great love, compassion and faithfulness.<br> Meditate on it. Did you know to meditate means to murmur to yourself. To repeat something to yourself over and over again. I imagine that’s what Jeremiah was doing. In the middle of a bad situation he was saying, “his compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness God.” Again – “his compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness God.” Over and over again. This is his focus. He has intentionally set his mind on God’s love, his compassion and his faithfulness.<br> What a great thing for you and I to do today. Meditate on God’s love for you. I believe if we could ever really grasp the truth of God’s unending, immeasurable love for us individually, we would never be the same. GOD LOVES YOU. Oh how he loves you. I’m not sure if God has a need for a refrigerator up there in Heaven, but if he does, your picture is on it. He loves you, he loves you, he loves you.<br> His compassion NEVER fails. This means God always cares. He cares about everything. There’s nothing too big or too small for his attention. He is moved by your circumstances and conditions and his desire is to help you. He hurts when you hurt. Part of compassion is sympathy. I guess I never imagined God as being sympathetic, but he is. Maybe God is like me, he’s a sympathy crier. If I see you crying, my eyes are immediately filled with tears. I may not even know why you’re crying, but girl I’m gonna cry with you because I’m immediately hurting for you. Isn’t it incredible to know the God of the universe hurts when you hurt. He is drawn to your pain in his compassion and is concerned for you.<br>
