by Bruce Mackay | Download PDF | Purchase Hardcopy

Does this generation face more stress than previous generations? Is it that we are more aware of the effects of stress? Thirty years ago very few talked about life being stressful. In these days, it is high on the agenda in all walks of life. There are more books, courses and funding on the topic of stress than we could possibly imagine. Again, is it that there is more stress or is it that we have become aware of the damaging results of stress? Whatever answer we give, I am sure we have all seen or experienced the devastating result of a person not being able to overcome in their struggling life. Either we overcome in the midst of stress, or stress will overcome us.

While with His disciples and teaching the multitude from the mountain side, Jesus spoke clearly on how to not worry or be overtaken with stress.

Matthew 6:25-34

'Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Therefore do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.' It will be noticed by what Jesus says that He isn't giving a self-help talk with ten steps on how to conquer fear and anxiety, so that you can rise above the challenges of life. Rather, He doesn't remove, or remove us from, the challenges of life. He introduces us to the loving Father in heaven, who cares deeply about each individual and about every aspect of our life, down to the smallest detail. He shows us how to live in the 'now', having no need to worry about tomorrow.

Do you know the heavenly Father?

In His discourse on this subject of worry and stress, on five occasions Jesus referred to our Father in heaven. A relationship with Him is the answer to stress. Many find it difficult to conceive, understand and appreciate that they have a loving, caring heavenly Father. Many have not known a loving, caring earthly father, so they cannot relate to a loving fatherhood. Please read the following statements about the heavenly Father:

Psalm 27:10

'When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take care of me.'

Psalm 113:4-9

'The LORD is high above all nations, His glory above the heavens. Who is like the LORD our God, who dwells on high, who humbles Himself to behold the things that are in the heavens and in the earth? He raises the poor out of the dust and lifts the needy out of the ash heap, that He may seat him with princes - with the princes of His people. He grants the barren woman a home, like a joyful mother of children. Praise the LORD!'

Psalm 103:3-5

'Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.'

There is a quaint story of an old lady who was living in London while the German bombing was happening in World War 2. Her neighbours noticed that she had not responded to the air raid sirens and was not in the appointed bomb shelter. When the 'all clear' was given and they returned to their homes, the concerned neighbours immediately checked on this old lady to see that she was O.K. She was bright and having a cup of tea and had slept right through the bombing. When asked why she never came to the bomb shelter, she quoted from the Psalms:

Psalm 121

'I will lift up my eyes to the hills - from whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.'

She said, 'If my heavenly Father never slumbers or sleeps, there is no point both of us being awake, so I take Him at His word and trust Him.'

I don't believe the Lord is encouraging us to be irresponsible, but Jesus is saying if you know the heavenly Father, you won't worry or stress.

Another way of appreciating and understanding the Father in heaven is to look at Jesus. Jesus said, 'If you have seen Me you have seen the Father'. Jesus clearly reveals the nature and life of the Father. Read the life of Jesus and a loving, thoughtful and caring Father is expressed.

Know the Father through Jesus

The only way that we can have a relationship with the heavenly Father is through His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus said, 'I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.' Jesus is the way to the Father. Each of us is separated from God through sin. We are all like sheep that have gone astray; we have each turned to his own way. It is only through the Lord Jesus that we can be restored to God to be His sons and daughters. Through Christ, we are gathered to the Father as a hen gathers chicks under her wings. The fullness of our purpose for as long as we live is experienced through Christ and there is never a need to be anxious or stressful when He has already planned tomorrow. Jesus said, 'Do not worry about tomorrow, today'. When we come to a place in our life where we have turned from our own self-centred way, and trust our life to Christ, we will find rest for our souls. Sin causes anxiety. A relationship with the heavenly Father through Jesus removes our sin and anxiety.

Divided loyalties cause stress

Jesus said that we are not to serve two masters; otherwise, we will have divided loyalties. It is impossible to be at peace when our loyalties are divided.

There was a family Jesus would often visit. On one particular occasion, one of the sisters had quite an outburst of reaction and frustration due to the worry and stress she was under. Jesus said, 'Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things'. Martha was with Jesus, but she also wanted to impress people by her good cooking. She was focused on herself, her visitors, Jesus and her family, and the result was stress. Serving two masters will always rob us of peace.

We are living in an age when loyalties are demanded from many quarters; employers, pleasure, finances, family and clubs etc. This issue of divided loyalties will tear us up if we do not make a clear uncompromising choice to put Jesus first in all things. He is the Lord of all and must be Lord of all our life. Every other demand in life finds its place, level and priority under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. If He is first, we will be able to give sufficient attention to every other need and still be at peace. If we do not, we will be tossed and turned like a cork in the ocean, trying to please this one this way while trying to give loyalties that way, while neglecting something else. When Jesus is Lord, everything else falls into order; otherwise, life works like this example.

You get a stern talk from the boss that jobs are going to go if the performance from the staff is not better. You know that you can't afford to be out of work. You decide to put your work as the priority. Before long, you are receiving complaints from your marriage partner and family, that they never see you and they feel they don't fit into your life anymore. At the same time, you get a letter from the sporting club or school saying that they desperately need people to volunteer more time. You begin to get anxious. You need the job but you love your family and feel obligated to the school or club. Where should you give your loyalties? So you try to give more time to your family and knock back some overtime to help the club. Anxiety builds up because you now fear you will lose your job and you don't end up fully pleasing anyone, all because you have divided loyalties.

Three areas of distraction

Jesus spoke of three areas that distract us from allowing Jesus to be Lord of all our life. They are the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches and the desire for other things. When our heart and mind are not set and focused on trusting in our heavenly Father, we will be overtaken by the cares of the world. We live daily with pressing issues and concerns, but they are not answered by focusing our heart and mind on them. Most of them cannot be changed, no matter how much attention you give them. You can think and focus day and night on them but the only result will be chronic anxiety; likewise, when we trust in money. We are deceived into thinking that money takes away worry and anxiety, when in fact it increases our stress levels. When we desire other things, it becomes a bottomless pit. 'The eyes of man are never satisfied.' There is no end of things to occupy our thinking and time. We must set our heart and mind on our eternal life. The heavenly Father and His kingdom are unchangeable and unshakeable, and Jesus is Lord of God's kingdom. He is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Do not worry

Matthew 6:31

'Therefore do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?"'

Right in the middle of Jesus teaching, He talked about our everyday needs; food, drink and clothes. These three things are needed every day by every person, and are obviously the most vital needs of daily survival. We can do without many other things we think we need, but we cannot survive without food, water and clothing. Jesus said that if you will trust the heavenly Father you will never go without these necessities. Just look at the sparrows, they don't spend the night awake in their nest stressing and worrying if there will be a worm or crumbs for them the next day. Look at nature, even where there has been no attention given, flowers appear and the grass grows. You are more important than birds, flowers and grass. Do not worry!

Pray instead of being anxious

Stress is a part of everyday living, but when it moves to worry and anxiety, it begins to have a negative effect on ourselves and those around us. Anxiety comes when we are not seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Jesus made it really clear that if we place Him and His ways first, then we will never lack the necessities of life. Conversely, if we are anxious about life's issues, it is evidence that the Lord is not first in our life. Paul in the Bible explained it this way: be anxious for nothing, but by prayer and supplication make our requests known to God.

Many people pray about their anxiety and the result is that they become more anxious. Don't pray about your anxiety; pray about the matters that are making you anxious. As you pray to the Father about these things, you will have understanding of how to seek first the kingdom of God.

While we are double-minded, focusing on all the needs and problems, we are not putting the Lord first. We are putting these other things first and, therefore, become troubled and anxious. Praying about these matters puts the Lord as our focus, and God's peace which surpasses all understanding will guard your heart and mind through Christ Jesus. Jesus also said not to get ahead of ourselves. Don't focus on tomorrow's troubles. Today has enough of its own. In other words, if you will take each day as it comes, you will manage; but start adding tomorrow's worries on top of today's and it will overtake you. One day at a time is important.

The Bible also teaches that to put the Lord first and not to be anxious, we need to focus and meditate on the things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, virtuous and praiseworthy, and of a good report. I wonder how much time our minds, through movies, magazines, music etc. cause us to be focused on everything that is not noble, pure, lovely, virtuous and praiseworthy. No wonder we are anxious and lack peace.

Worry the absence of peace

Peace is the abiding character of a follower of Jesus. Jesus is the Prince of Peace. Also, Jesus gives light to those in darkness and in the shadow of death, and will guide our feet into the way of peace. The presence of Jesus brings peace. The disciples were gathered in a house full of fear and anxiety. Jesus entered and said, 'Peace', and the fear disappeared and there was abiding peace. Likewise, on the boat in the midst of a storm, Jesus brought peace.

Do you know peace in your life? The question is not, does everything go smoothly? But do you know peace or worry? The two cannot abide together. If it is worry then you need to receive Jesus into your life and with that He will put your life at peace. He will lead you to trust your heavenly Father who loves you and knows and cares for your needs.

With Jesus in your life as your Lord, He will lead you in the way of righteousness and peace. You will have the strength and courage to no longer focus on the cares of the world but pray about all things and the peace of God will rule in your heart.

Author: Bruce Mackay | Citywide Christian Fellowship - Cairns | CCFC
Published by Vision One at Toowoomba Christian Fellowship | TCF
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