Too many tabs open? Listen to the Bible

‘I’ve got too many tabs open!’ Maybe it’s just me, but sometimes that’s how I feel.

Getting ready to send our son off to university, looking after a close family member with a serious health condition, juggling work and family routine with a special-needs child – sometimes I feel overwhelmed.

For many the analogy from the computer screen is apt. Too many responsibilities to juggle, too many decisions to make, too many issues outside of our control. Just too much! The self-help books advocate simplifying our lives, but the people we love and look after, the responsibilities we have and the unknowns of life are not going to just disappear.

So, what can we do? What does the Bible say to us when we’re feeling overwhelmed?

Turn to Joshua

The book of Joshua may seem like an unlikely place to look for answers. The 24 chapters are filled on the one hand with bloodshed as cities are conquered and kings are defeated, and on the other with administrative details describing how the Promised Land was to be divided among the tribes of Israel. But laced throughout the book are the twin themes of God acting on behalf of His people, and Joshua’s obedience.

God fought for Israel

God promised to be with Joshua. He parted the River Jordan, brought the walls of Jericho down, caused the sun to stand still, and delivered cities into the hands of the Israelites. Put simply, God ‘fought for Israel’ (10:42, 23:3, 10). And, in return, He expected their obedience. God’s role and that of the people is made clear when it came to the defeat of Ai: ‘You are to rise up from ambush and take the city. The Lord your God will give it into your hand. … Do what the Lord has commanded’ (8:7-8).

Be obedient to God

The obedience God requires frames the book. In the opening verses God speaks to Joshua as he prepares for leadership: ‘Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left … meditate on it day and night (1:7-8). And, at the end of his life, Joshua’s final words to the Israelites reiterate the same message: ‘Be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left’ (23:6).

For Joshua, that man of action, his primary calling was to meditate on God’s word and obey it. This was the same priority Jesus urged on Martha when He visited her home in Bethany (Luke 10:38-42). Martha definitely had too many tabs open, but Jesus reminded her that really only one thing was needed.

Hold fast to God

When we look at all our ‘tabs’ – our families, churches, and other responsibilities, that same ‘one thing’ is needed: ‘hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have until now’ (23:8). Our families and friends don’t need us to fix every problem, what they need more than anything else is for us to be holy. They need us to spend time with God, obey His word, and hold fast to Him. Sometimes, when life is bewildering, that is all we can do. But, paradoxically, it is all we really need to do.

Perhaps that overwhelming feeling, at least in part, comes from mixing up our responsibilities and God’s. We don’t need to fight in our own strength, trying to find a solution to every crisis: ‘The Lord your God fights for you, just as he promised’ (23:10). God, often in unseen ways, is acting on our behalf, fulfilling His purposes. Our priority is the same as it has been for God’s people throughout history – to be obedient and ‘hold fast to the Lord your God’.