Stress Relief
Scripture:
26: But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
27: Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
John 14 (NKJV)
2: My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
3: knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
4: But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
James 1 (NKJV)
9: Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.
10: In His kindness, God called you to share in His eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, He will restore, support, and strengthen you, and He will place you on a firm foundation. 1 Peter 5 (NLV)
Sometime back, a magazine published an article on stress in the life of today’s mothers. The cover showed two women back-to-back on the cover, one of whom was holding an infant. The cover and story indicated that the stress of their lives pressured both women. The one with the infant was stressed by the need to balance her career with her role as a mother. The other woman was stressed by the fact that she chose to establish herself in her career and delay the start of her family.
What are people doing to themselves when even the every day “this-is-life” decisions they make are causes of so much stress? Or are they really? Many of today’s societal issues are media-driven. If a report comes out which says it is stressful to have a child while working full-time, there is suddenly an entire generation of stressed-out, guilt-ridden working moms. That same source also says that that decision stresses out women who delay their natural desire to have a baby, and the women in that category feel the pressure and are stressed out.
The children grow up stressed by the competitive natures their parents instill in them when they enroll them in every extra-curricular activity imaginable in an effort to expose them to the many opportunities that life offers. This adds more stress to the parents’ lives as they attempt to balance schedules and taxi their children to all these events while maintaining some semblance of a social life for themselves.
Stress is real, and it is necessary. It is the body’s natural response to anything that disrupts the “normal” life and routines. It was designed as a source of self-preservation as it is what invokes the body’s response to stressful events with an instinctive “fight or flight” response. But, making everyday decisions about life and the things which are a natural part of our lives should not be cause for stress. Out-of-the-ordinary events may be stressful – a divorce, the loss of your job, an accident or illness. It seems extreme that we live in a day and time when the decisions we have to make day in and day out create stress. Bill Phillips said, “Stress should be a powerful driving force, not an obstacle.” Truth!
Stress, like so many things, has become the norm because financial gain is attached to it. Over the past few years, the continual media bombardment of people’s psyches about stress has moved the needle in the wrong direction. People take leave from work because of stress. Doctors prescribe much too much medication to help people handle stress. Today there is a stressed-out society among a whole generation of stressed-out people who have no idea how to get off the merry-go-round they have created in their lives.
How did the parents and grandparents of generations back do it? With too little money and many more children, they managed to raise their children and maintain their homes without living with the stress many of today’s families experience. How did they do it? How did they manage to raise children who respected authority and grew up loving each other? They accepted their responsibilities as parents and did all they could to fulfill those responsibilities. They didn’t make excuses for what they did or didn’t do on any given day. They understood the power of “no,” and they didn’t spend their time competing and comparing their lives with their neighbors and co-workers. They maintained balance and knew their own limitations. They didn’t live isolated lives; rather, they lived in community with one another. And most importantly, they allowed God to be the head of their homes and their lives.
Sometimes, the simplest way is best. You cannot do it all. You need to find balance in your life and be content with the choices you must make to maintain it. We put ourselves in stressful situations, then don’t know how to handle them. There is one sure way to avoid stress, and His name is Jesus. When your focus is on the things of this life and not on Him, you will be pulled in too many directions. But when He is the central focus of your life, He will help you make the right decisions. Those right choices will help you maintain your life balance, and you will know how to face life without giving in under the stress of it. Let His peace be the barometer that helps to guide your way. Let Him be your ultimate stress reliever. He never fails.
Prayer:
Father, thank You for giving us the ultimate stress reliever in the person of Your Holy Spirit. He is our Comforter and our Guide. Help us to allow Him to continually be both in our lives. We “lean” too much “on our own understanding.” Teach us to lean fully on You. You have invited us to cast all our cares upon You, and You have promised to handle them because You care for us. Help us to know that we can always do that and that there is nothing in this life that should cause us to worry or concern because You are in control of it all. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Reflection:
“God didn’t do it all in one day. What makes me think I can?”
(Author Unknown)