Last week I had a full schedule. I guess it goes with the season. Groups are hosting holiday gatherings earlier to avoid too many commitments crowding in closer to Christmas. I'm not blaming others, as I hosted two myself...on the same day! When these celebrations are added on to days already busy, we can feel pressure and stress bearing down on us. For more years than I want to recall, at some point between Christmas and New Year's Day I found myself sitting in the Emergency waiting room. With anxiety causing symptoms that made me even more nervous, I would need the reassurance from a doctor that physically I was going to be fine. Now my stress seems to manifest itself in the form of a migraine headache after the string of demands passes and the tension I was hiding is released.
The Psalmist gives us wisdom on how to handle the inevitable pressures that we will all experience at times. It has been said that the Bible is the first book ever written on stress management, yet how many of us go to it when the weight of the world bears down on us? Most often, our thoughts spiral out of control with all that needs to be accomplished and we feed the anxiety with swirling chatter in our heads. Psalm 106:14 describes this so perfectly: "In the wilderness their desires ran wild, testing God's patience in that dry wasteland." It is in the wilderness and wasteland of circumstances overwhelming us where our desires run wild, multiplying in our imaginations, and we no doubt do test God's patience, being consumed with all our faithless striving and worrying.
Do we realize that the main cause of stress is distrust? We place the preparation, plans and end product on ourselves, forgetting that God, unlike others who may have let us down in the past, is completely reliable and He will provide the strength to see things to completion. As demands begin to dictate our emotions, we must determine to relinquish control to the Lord. There is nothing more positively counteractive to our pressures than the power of quiet surrender to God. It is a beautiful posture of humility and submission.
Scripture can turn pressure to praise. God's Word can lift our spirits when we are feeling crushed by expectations and "to-do" lists. Time sitting with the Lord, the very time we feel we cannot afford to give, will refocus our hearts to the Source of our joy. Our stress is not only stabilized, it shifts and lifts as God strengthens, sustains and supplies for all our needs. Add to this a chorus of worship. Singing can be a great release, especially when we raise our songs out loud, increasing the volume to drown out the voices wearying our souls.
To the scoffers, doubters and naysayers who say this response is too simple a solution, only adding more fuel to the flames by the guilt if the burden lingers, I want to validate this struggle. I myself grew up knowing these biblical truths, memorizing and reciting the ancient words, yet feeling like a failure every time stress surfaced. I understand the battle, but God will use it to draw us closer to Him. God invites us to intimacy with Him in the middle of our chaos, and in His very presence there is fulness of joy, Psalm 16:11.
God's power is released through His promises and His peace is realized through His presence. If pressure and stress are bearing down on us right now, as long as we are leaning on the Lord and spending time in His word, we must trust His grace to accomplish what we cannot do on our own and find joy in every message God speaks to our hearts. William James writes, "The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another." Wise advice, but if that chosen thought is not from scripture, we will start racing toward another rabbit hole. We can only know true joy, and rest from stress, in God alone.
"Jesus I am resting, resting, in the joy of what Thou art;
I am finding out the greatness of Thy loving heart."
*Hymn: "Jesus I Am Resting, Resting"; lyrics - Jean Sophia Pigott; music - James Mountain; copyright 1876
2 comments:
Thank you for this, friend! A very timely admonition you can speak to from experience! So we’ll explained! Thank you for the wisdom you share from God’s Word and instruction! I find peace listening to the church services! They help keep my mind in a better place and the music of them is definitely part of it! Hugs to you! Blaky
Thanks for this post. Very encouraging!!
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