Overcoming Emotional OverwhelmSample

Choose Your Response to the Overwhelm

"And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you." (Philippians 4:8–9 NLT)

As we’ve learned about the A.D.D. Method, we’ve moved from naming the emotion with compassion (acknowledge) and holding the emotion up to the truth and sorting truth from lies (discern). Now we’re here at the third and final step of the A.D.D. Method: decide.

This is the moment we ask: “What does it look like to honor God in how I respond to this emotion?”

For some of us, this is where we tend to start—by trying to jump straight to gratitude and positivity. We’ve heard Philippians 4:8 quoted often: Fix your thoughts on what is true, noble, pure . . . So we tell ourselves: Think positive. Just focus on the good.

But skipping to this step without doing the emotional groundwork is like slapping a bandage over a wound that hasn’t been cleaned. It looks good on the surface, but it doesn’t allow for lasting healing.

However, when we invite God to walk us through acknowledge and discern, we arrive here in decide with open hands, ready to ask, "God, what’s my next step? What do I need to release? How do You want me to respond?"

Sometimes, decide means speaking up. Other times, it means letting go. Decide can look like action or rest.

And often, decide is about choosing to emotionally dwell in God’s steadiness instead of spiraling in anxiety.

This step may require the most courage of all because we’re not just outwardly obeying but choosing to surrender the inner chaos too.

We’re choosing to stop controlling. To release our version of how things should go. To choose emotional grounding in God’s truth, even when our feelings haven’t fully caught up.

Yet when we do this, God brings calm to the emotional chaos, gently reminding us: “You’re not in this alone. I’m here to guide you, to carry what you can’t, and to help you stand in strength.”

Reflection Questions:

1. What is one emotion or situation right now where you need God’s direction—and His courage—to respond in a way that honors Him?

2. Where have your thoughts or emotions been dwelling lately, and what would it look like to “fix your thoughts” on something true, lovely, or praiseworthy instead?

Today’s Emotional Management Tool: Surrender Board

Grab a piece of paper (or your journal) and some sticky notes. Write “surrender board” at the top of your paper. Next, consider, What am I gripping too tightly? What needs to be handed over to God? Write down those things on sticky notes.

Then, as you prayerfully consider each one, ask God to help you place those sticky notes on the surrender board. It’s OK to take your time and make this a meaningful time of surrender.

Once you’re done, hang the board in a place that’s private but still allows you to see it often (such as the inside of your closet).

Remember that by writing these things down and placing them on your surrender board you’re not saying that these issues don’t matter. You’re simply choosing to stop carrying them. You're telling God that you're surrendering control of them to Him.

Friend, let this practice be a turning point. Let God realign your heart through surrender so you can release emotional overwhelm.