PASSING THE STRESS TEST
TEXT: "From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when
my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I." -
Psalm 61:2
Recently,
I experienced a stress test for the first time. A cardiologist watched as I walked a treadmill for a few
minutes. A machine was monitoring my
heart's functionality as I kept walking.
I am grateful that I received good results from the stress test.
Life
itself has stress tests that I face.
The treadmill of life is often difficult to handle. The slope inclines greatly. The speed that I am expected to maintain
seem unbearable. It seems like everyday I experience a new stress test.
When
expectations and demands exceed my capacity to deliver, I get stressed
out. When my "things to do list"
grows but my time schedule shrinks, I get stressed beyond words. When the needs are great but the resources
are few, my stress level seems to soar.
If
you struggle with the issue of stress like I do, you need to face the
facts: stress is part of life. No one is immune to stressful
situations. However, some seem to
handle stress better than others. Think
about Jesus for a moment. As He walked
along, He faced crisis after crisis.
People were pressing upon Him, requesting healing or seeking help. He had full days, days of interruptions and
pressure. Yet He also got away and
spent time alone with the Father in prayer.
He shared private times with His inner circle (the disciples). Jesus knew how to handle stress.
I
believe that King David felt stress in his life. He had the stressful responsibility of serving as king. He had the stress of leadership as he led
his army to war. He had the stress of
relationships as he dealt with numerous challenges among his family and
friends. As he wrote Psalm 61, David
addressed the issue of stress. As I
look at this psalm, here are a few things that I want to implement for
myself. Perhaps they will help you,
too.
1. TAKE YOUR STRESS TO GOD IN PRAYER
First
of all, the psalmist took his stress to the Lord. Psalm 61:2 states, "From the end of the earth will I cry unto
thee." Stress can make you feel
like you've reached the end of the world.
In these moments, open your heart to God and honestly share your stress
with Him. The worst thing we can do is
to suppress the stress we feel. Keeping
stress bottled up inside creates pressure that will eventually lead to a
blow-up. Stress must be relieved as
quickly as possible. I know of nothing
that will relieve stress like prayer.
When we pray, stress slowly ebbs away.
Let me recommend quiet seclusion at times. Obviously, we can't do this all the time,
but it would be wise to set aside a few moments to meet alone with God. Jesus took time away from the stress of
ministry to commune with the Father.
Let's learn from His example.
You may not be able to get away on a stressful workday, but you can
still take a momentary break to catch your breath and pray to the Father. The weekend is a great time for longer
periods of time of communion. No one
can relieve stress like the Father. Go
to Him in prayer and honestly share your burdens with Him. Invite Him into your situation. Ask for His help, guidance and mercy.
2. BE
HONEST ABOUT YOUR STRESS
David wrote, "When my heart is
overwhelmed..." Stress has a way
of making you feel overwhelmed. Notice
David did not write, "If my heart is overwhelmed," but "WHEN my
heart is overwhelmed." It would be
nice if life was stress-free, but we are not granted that blessing in this
life.
First, we need to realize when we are experiencing
stress. Sometimes stressful situations
come so quickly that we feel overwhelmed before we realize it. We need to recognize the stress that comes
your way. Maybe your job is
stressful. Perhaps your home-life is
stressful. It could be that certain
relationships are stressful. We are
tempted to flee from stress. However,
David did not run from stress. He was
honest about his stress, but did not flee from the stress.
Secondly, we need to share our stress. As I've already written, we need to take our
stress to God. Also, we need to share
our stress with others. Your family
members need to support you when you face stress. Your church family can intercede for you when you deal with
stress.
Be honest about your stress.
3. TRUST
GOD DURING THE STRESS
David wrote, "When my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than
I." A "rock that is higher
than I," refers to a hiding place, a place of security and safety. More importantly, we know that there is a
Rock that is higher than us --- the solid rock of Jesus Christ.
Instead of looking at the stressful situation, we
need to look to Jesus. He is the Prince
of Peace. When we face stress and
anxiety, we need to remember Paul's words:
"...the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep
your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Trust Him with your stressful situation.
As
Psalm 61 continues, we find David trusting God with his stress: "For thou hast been a shelter for me, and
a strong tower from the enemy. I will
abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy
wings." (Verses 3-4). David
trusted in the Lord during his times of stress.
Jesus
and His disciples were on a boat one time when a mighty storm came upon
them. Although the disciples were
frantically working to keep the boat afloat, Jesus was asleep. The disciples were stressed out, but Jesus
wasn't. When they awoke Him, Jesus
spoke to the wind and the sea, saying, "Peace, be still." Suddenly, the stressful situation ended. Jesus then rebuked His disciples because of
their lack of faith. We need to
exercise faith ourselves. As we face
rough waves and mighty storms, we need to keep in mind that Jesus is in the
boat with us. The situation may seem
stressful and overwhelming, but we can trust Jesus to get us safely through.
God
never gets stressed out. Nothing causes
Him to fret or worry. God never suffers
from stress because He is in control and sovereignly rules. Nothing overwhelms Him.
We
can trust Him with our stressful situations.
He is able to give us peace, guidance, wisdom and grace for every
situation we face.
Like David, each one of us needs to pray,
"When my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than
I."
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