Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure upon me of concern for all the churches.
2 Corinthians 11:28
We refer on more than one occasion in this book to the stressful nature of modern life. Or is it just a modern issue? It's obvious from this Scripture that Paul faced pressure, too. How was he able to bear it so well?
I've found that pressures come from two directions: What others expect of us and what we expect of ourselves. It is so easy to let yourself be driven by the agendas of other people. Externally, their voices form a deafening chorus, incessantly telling us what we ought to do. But Paul had an inner settledness that enabled him to affirm, "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:13).
Dr. Hans Selye, a leading pioneer in the study and treatment of stress, described something called "eustress." This pressure is actually good for you. Then there is "distress"-pressures that overload your system and prey on your weakness and vulnerability.
There is no such thing as a pressure-free life. Perhaps in heaven we'll feel no pressure-only total peace and contentment. But here and now we have responsibilities, and responsibilities create pressure and stress.
We can, however, allow that pressure to point us to Jesus Christ and draw upon His strength. J. Hudson Taylor, the veteran missionary to China, said this: "It matters not how great the pressure is, only where the pressure lies. As long as the pressure does not come between me and my Savior, but presses me to Him, then the greater the pressure, the greater my dependence upon Him."
Spiritually, what is pressure doing to you? If you and God are not as close as you used to be, then don't be deceived about who moved!
Prayer: That the Lord as "God Almighty" will strengthen your ability to eliminate unnecessary stress and empower you to turn remaining stress into positive forces that press you against Him.
Discuss: Evaluate with your spouse, friends or accountability partner how you handle pressure. Discuss how you'd like to handle it.
5 comments:
I had to laugh at the "don't be deceived about who moved!" comment.
I know we have talked about it alot, but until we actually start living it, when we truly begin to immediately draw on Him under dirtess, I'll keeo throwing out reminders. Mainly for myself :o)
Father, you are our rock. Let us lean on you in all things.
Blessings,
cas
I dont go to God nearly often enough or soon enough in stressful situations. This blog is a great reminder of how opportunistic the Holy Spirit is if I just get out of the way. I love Paul's example of being opportunistic in the face of adversity when he was imprisoned or shipwrecked. He didn't rely on his strength but lived out Phil 4:13.
Great encouragement, aint it!! We've got the attention and access to the God of Universe who desires to relate to us on a personal level. How cool is that!
Clark, love the reminders and the prayer!!
at times, when i am stressed i turn to God and things seem clearer. meaning, i can talk to HIm and feel His presence. then there are many times that the stress gets in the way. i either dont pray or when i do, i just feel cloudy like i am not truly communicating with God.
i like this picture - taking the stress off of my shoulders - like taking off a pair of shoulder pads - and feeling lighter. or maybe another picture would be taking off the stress, putting it on the ground, and stepping on it. as you step on it, you step up to God. point is, for me at least, i need to free myself from my worries and not concern myself with things that in God's eyes just dont matter. i judge myself by such silly metrics at times!
Great and much needed reminder. Personally, pressure too often drive me away from Christ, since I put more effort into what I am trying to achieve and less work into my daily walk with Christ. And like TRD stated it often does not matter in God's eyses.
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