A PEACE-FILLED LIFE IN A STRESS-FILLED WORLD
By Frank Eiklor and Cecilia Contreras
LESSON 31
INTRODUCTION
God has given the Shalom team the task of raising up strong Christian soldiers to wage spiritual warfare in an age of deception. We live in a world of pain where so many hungry hearts can be reached for Jesus. I’ve learned that most Christians will not be concerned with the pain of others until we learn to handle pressure and pain in our own lives.
That’s why I would offer you some simple suggestions to help you cope with that which none of us can avoid—PRESSURE! The word they use these days is STRESS.
When it comes to stress—severe tests and tribulation—we can’t say we weren’t warned. Jesus said, “…In the world you shall have tribulation…” (John 16:33). Please note that I only gave the middle part of that verse. The opening and closing words of Jesus in that same verse are imperative. “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace…” He becomes the secret to overcoming. The closing part of the verse says, “…but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
Cheer in the midst of chaos? Peace in the midst of pain? Joy in the midst of negative circumstances? That’s His promise---if we learn to go to the Source.
WE’RE IN TRAINING
Rougher days are coming. God knows how to use tests and tribulations to train His people. I look at pressure like I look at weight-lifting. As I easily handle a certain weight, I begin adding more poundage. Soon I’m lifting weights I never dreamed I could handle. However, what if I never entered weight training and someone suddenly dropped 200 pounds onto my extended arms and walked away? One crushed chest!
Prophetic scriptures speak of days coming when life will be so difficult that there will be “…upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear…” (Luke 21:25,26). Many Christians would like to believe that we’ll be taken to heaven long before those days. But God may first allow us to go through the fires of testing and refining. Accept “pressure training” as allowed by God for your ultimate good. Live as if He’s coming tomorrow and learn to endure as if He might not.
TWO KINDS OF STRESS
There are two kinds of pressure in life—avoidable and unavoidable. Physical death claiming a loved one is unavoidable—unless we die first. A few years ago, my wife faced a painful “unavoidable.” Her brother, only 41 years old, died suddenly. Death leaves broken hearts and can lead to intense pressure and pain. But if we have faithfully cultivated living in the presence of our Lord—realizing He is enthroned in the very center of our spirits as well as surrounding us with Himself—there will be pain but no panic.
It was so natural for Norma to view things from the Lord’s perspective. Dwight’s entrance into God’s kingdom (he came to the Lord only 10 months before) became so real and the Lord was so close as we comforted his wife, Sue, over the phone. Perhaps Sue was also comforting us because of her strong faith and quiet assurance that Dwight was forever with the Lord he so loved. Norma and I had abundance of tears—but certainly no sense of hopelessness or despair. In fact, the unavoidable heartache of a loved one dying caused us to grow in a new awareness of God’s sovereign presence and sustaining power.
Generally, unavoidable stress comes through no initiation on your part. Bad news, personal sickness or illness of a loved one, an unexpected workload suddenly facing you like a mountain,
etc. The right handling of these crises can lead to a tremendous growth in confidence, faith and ability. I’ll tell you how the Lord is teaching me to handle those inescapable pressures in a moment. First, let me remind you that much of our pressure is avoidable.
By “avoidable pressure,” I mean the stress we put on ourselves through bad planning and questionable living. One man burns the candle at both ends trying to make sure his wife and kids have everything he didn’t have. He neglects the most important gift he could give them—quality time—and the marriage and home relationship deteriorate. That is an avoidable stress—the failure to get priorities straight.
Someone else complains of intense office pressure felt daily from around 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Throughout the day he’s been wasting precious minutes that add up to a large amount of time—causing him to be under tremendous strain to finish his work on time. That stress could have been avoided or minimized by using time wisely throughout the day.
A SIMPLE PLAN
1. Upon awakening, the Lord comes first. He gave the gift of a new day—and it could be our last. Meet Him without fail every morning by reading, chewing and digesting His Word until you are enjoying His nearness, and prayer and adoration become spontaneous.
2. Ask Him to take and make your day and practice His presence by thinking on Him often throughout the day. (I’m learning to do this by bringing the Lord into everything I do.) Then accept everything that comes—positive or negative—as allowed by God for your growth. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28) “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (I Thessalonians 5:18)
3. Pray over every pressure. Remember the song, “Oh what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear. All because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer?” The Lord occupies the very center of your spirit. You are His actual abode—His temple. “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” (John 14:26) “Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (I Corinthians 3:16) He can get no closer.
4. Invite Jesus to enter the center of your stress test and its pain. Then believe that “He gives power to the faint, and to them that have no might he increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:29-31).
5. Schedule yourself to minimize stress. Wait on the Lord until you get your priorities in order with the most important taking precedence. That means the Lord is first and your family next—before anything else.
Next, go to work on one thing at a time. I like to handle my most difficult assignments as early as possible in my day because that’s when I’m freshest. Let’s say I’m faced with an emergency journey and must do a month’s taping of broadcasts or writing of lessons in advance. I can let that mountain discourage me, or I can climb it one step (or broadcast) at a time. “Let all things be done decently and in order” (I Corinthians 14:40) is not only a great verse for using spiritual gifts, but for anything we must face.
6. Again the key to handling whatever comes is to develop such a loving and intimate relationship with the Lord that you will be constantly aware of His presence. Bring Him in on everything; “Lord, how would you handle this test?” “Lord, am I doing this job right or is there a shortcut?” “Lord, thanks for allowing this pressure to help me see that I need you now more than ever. Give me a special measure of your grace to meet this test.”
A father had gone camping with his son. The little boy was struggling trying to move a large rock from the campsite. Dad asked, “Son, are you using all your strength?” Frustrated, the little fellow said, “Of course. Can’t you see? His father answered. “No, you’re not, son. You haven’t asked me to help.” Too many of us claim Jesus as our Lord and then handle pressure as if He isn’t around. Bring Him in on everything.
7. Get sufficient sleep, healthful food and plenty of exercise. Many people break down under stress, thinking that their spirits and souls are falling apart when it’s their bodies that are crying out for better treatment. “…know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit…?” (I Corinthians 6:19) Take care of your physical body.
8. Recognize and accept emotional lows, strain and pain as normal. You’re not the only one going through stress and pressure. We all are. So was the Psalmist when he declared, “I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth,” (Psalm 34:1). “…In the world you shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer: I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). “…for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content… I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me” (Philippians 4:11,13).
THIS, TOO, SHALL PASS
No one can avoid the highs and lows of life—no matter what anyone says. Isn’t it strange—we often forget God in our “highs” but we draw closer to Him when we’re hurting. “Before I was afflicted, I went astray: But now have I kept your word” (Psalm 119:67).
Just remember that pressure doesn’t last forever, anymore than do those times when things are going great. Keep your mind and heart on your Lord. Don’t look for Him on the outside—the Kingdom of God is within you. Adore Him, love Him, quote His words of comfort and strength aloud and, little by little, learn to pray about everything.
Like you, I’m still learning, but some pressures that used to make me cry now only make me smile. We go from strength to strength—from glory to glory (II Corinthians 3:18). And with Him in charge of our lives, even pain is gain.
When you find yourself facing, or in the midst of, your next pressure or stress test—STOP! Don’t do another thing until in a simple act of faith you turn to the Lord Jesus and simply say something like this, “Lord, this one is too big for me and will only leave me exhausted. You accomplish it through me and I’ll give you all the glory as soon as the work is finished.”
You’ll experience rest in the midst of stress—peace in the midst of pressure. And the Lord who loves you will do more than just keep you from going under. He will allow you to look back with eyes of faith and realize that it was those tough times and difficult places that drew you closer to Him. “But the God of all grace, who has called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that you have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you” (I Peter 5:10). That’s not just a promise. It’s a guarantee!
