Overwhelmed With Gratitude

The View From Above: Thoughts to Help With Everyday Life

June 16, 2026

Pastor Paul Stephens

Overwhelmed With Gratitude

I think it’s appropriate sometimes to feel overwhelmed.

I mean that in the best of senses.

Obviously, the word can carry a negative connotation. We can be overwhelmed with problems, pressure, anxiety, and stress.

However, I want to talk about being overwhelmed in a good—very good—application of what that word invokes.

Today, I am overwhelmed with gratitude.

I think we should all feel that often.

Gratitude for God and the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made on our behalf. Where would we all be if not for that incomprehensible act of love?

We are saved, forgiven, redeemed, and we all have a future home in heaven and an eternity with Jesus and each other to look forward to.

I am overwhelmed with appreciation for the people around my life, beginning with my wife and family.

How good is God to bless us all with such great favor.

I am most thankful for the church that I pastor and all the people that we have the privilege of calling brethren—linked together in unbreakable bonds of covenant relationship.

“Lord, I thank You today for all the saints of the living God that I know and love.”

I am overwhelmed with the favor and grace that the Lord shows myself, the church, and all those around my life.

I realize, and so do you, that life is filled with great challenges and sometimes setbacks. We struggle, we are tried, and we are tested.

But through it all, the goodness of God always shines through in so many ways that reveal His kindness and faithfulness toward our lives.

I am overwhelmed with God’s Word—that He would see fit to speak directly to us in order to help, guide, and direct our lives.

Scripture Focus

Ephesians 1:3-4

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love…”

If you will meditate on this verse today, and if you will allow God to enlighten you with the revelation contained within it, you too will be overwhelmed.

Today’s Challenge

Allow yourself today to be overwhelmed with the goodness of God.

Take time to reflect on His grace, His salvation, His Word, your family, your church, and the countless blessings He has poured into your life.

As you focus on His goodness, some of the negative things that overwhelm you may begin to diminish—or even disappear.

Sometimes it’s very appropriate to feel overwhelmed. Why not be overwhelmed with gratitude?