Something’s Gotta Give
Have you found yourself at the end of your rope? Have the stock market crash, the regular busyness of life or unexpected circumstances taken more than you have to give? You aren’t meant to live under extreme stress. God created stress hormones to help us survive imminent danger. These hormones are meant to help our bodies and brains respond wisely when there are temporary, stressful events happening in our lives. They help us move faster, think quicker and react to save ourselves. However, when we don’t make it to safety, and the stress factors remain constant in our lives, bad things happen to our bodies, minds, and souls.
Eventually something has got to give, and usually it is your physical and mentalhealth. If you find yourself feeling un-centered and over-burdened, you needto pay attention, and the sooner the better. Jesus tells us to cast all our careson Him (1 Peter 5:7). It is the only way not to get over-burdened in a stressfulworld. Jesus has a plan for when we get over-burdened too. He invites us to cometo Him and He will give us the rest we need but have no idea how to receive it.Matthew 11:28-29 says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentleand humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” It may soundtoo good to be true, but it isn’t.
When you have so much to do that you cannot imagine how in the world you canpossibly get it all done; when you have absolutely no resources or recoursesto your problems, Jesus asks you to do something that will seem utterly useless.He says come to Him and lay your burdens on Him. Let Him know all the thingsthat you think are so important to your personal survival and He will help you.There is a caveat. You must leave your burden with Him before you will see theresults of His help.
He rarely helps you by arranging for you to win the lottery to take care of yourfinancial burdens. He doesn’t make all your problems go away. It is notvery often that He helps you with your problem the way you thought He should.What Jesus does instead is re-center you. He simply gives you rest. How can resthelp you when you are in such a state? You feel programmed to remain keyed up!Rest is the last thing on your mind. You have no idea how rest could help. Youwill never understand it until you experience it.
Even though you may have created a lot of the stress that is in your life bynot following God’s direction for living, He will be there for you. Perhapsyou are in debt because of your own personal mismanagement of the money God hasprovided you to live on. You may not respect your bodily need for care—gettingenough sleep, right foods, or exercise. The answer is the same. Don’t waituntil something gives. Come to Jesus. Take His rest. Find rest for your soul. |
