Stress!
It’s relentless and comes at us in many forms.
Not all stress is bad stuff. Some are highlights—a wedding, a new baby, that new job or career!
But stress is stress. And it takes its toll.
Even Jesus faced stress—lots of it.
Consider Nancy Wolgemuths’ observation:
You talk about a long to-do list, a difficult deadline. Jesus only had three years to accomplish the eternal plan of redemption.
Doesn’t that put our stress into perspective! LOL.
How Did Jesus Handle Stress?
Jesus handled stress by regularly meeting alone with God.
Jesus’s insane schedule would bury the rest of us. Nevertheless, He faithfully met with God.
If you’re thinking what I was thinking when I first thought about this truth, you’re ready to point out that Jesus is God. Surely He had supernatural energy to enable Him to meet with God on little to no sleep.
True, Jesus never stopped being God even as He clothed Himself in flesh. But, He clothed Himself in flesh. Human, sleepy, limited flesh. He felt the same exhaustion, hunger, and thirst we experience.
But He never doubted or forgot something we often struggle to believe or remember: Time with God empowers because God feeds us with everything we need for everything we face.
Need strength? God is our strength.
Need hope? God is our hope.
Need peace? God is our peace.
You get it.
And if we all really get it, we’ll follow the example of this young mom of six children, including a set of triplets.
“I will do whatever I have to do to start my day with Christ.”
The Power of a Devotional Life
In the podcast below, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth walks us through Scripture to see how the personal devotional life of Christ empowered His redemptive journey to the cross. And how a devotional life gives us everything we need to face every day and every stressful moment.
Dear Student, please listen to this podcast. You just read 10 chapters in five textbooks. How can you possibly find time to listen to a podcast, much less enjoy a personal devotional life? Do it while you’re walking or driving to class.
Young mom, please listen to this podcast. You’re sleep-deprived and have curtain crawlers tugging on your legs and babbling in your ears. Distract your kiddos with tasty food and listen while they chew.
You who are suffering through deep grief or chronic pain, please listen to this podcast. There’s nothing you need more than the Lover of your soul.
All of us can keep stress from destroying us by letting God transform us despite stress—and even through it—when we commit to a daily devotional life because it’s in our devotional life that we’ll truly come to know the One who’s able to save and Who’s doing a great work in and through us as we trust in Him.
Listen to Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth as she opens God’s Word and shows us how we can thrive in the face of stress through a deep devotional life in this encouraging podcast from Revive Our Hearts.
Do you find it hard to love the Bible? You’re not alone. And there’s hope! You can learn to fall in love with the Bible. I did, and it changed my life.
Amen ladies… Amen! Stress is harmful in so many ways; and not just to ourselves, but also those around us. Thank you for this wonderful counsel.
So true! Good or bad stress, it’s harmful. But God removes all our fears and is our peace! Amen! Thanks!