Stress is a perennial problem in every person's life.
Have you ever had problems with stress?
It is the national disease that ruins the lives of many people. Often stress is created precisely because we chase life and are not content. We always want more and more, but the only way to achieve this is to keep working.
Of course, there are also times when we have almost no choice. External circumstances demand that all our time is allocated and we work ourselves to the bone. So we cannot be content, happy. We are so busy that we almost feel remorse when we rest.
We may not be busy, but our minds are constantly racing, unable to rest, and this causes stress. Even if we go on holiday, our brain can't relax.
The impact of stress on our bodies:
- Pain in bones and muscles
- Asthma attacks
- Heart problems (hypertension, heart attack, stroke)
- Liver, kidney
- Stomach, intestinal disorders
- Male and female sexual dysfunction
- Sleep disorders
The Satan WAS A MURDERER FROM THE START, and stress is one of the weapons to do so. Of course, it is not only our bodies that are affected by stress, but also our minds.
A woman once said to her pastor, "I called you all day yesterday, but you didn't answer the phone.
Yesterday was Monday, my day off, the pastor replied.
"But the devil never takes a day off," the woman said angrily.
The pastor thought, then replied, "You're right, and if I didn't take it out, I'd be like the devil.
GOD WANTS TO TEACH YOU TO REST. It is important to rest not only your body, but also your mind. That's what Psalm 23:2 says.
"He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters." Psalm 23:2
The Lord gives you rest
This Psalm compares God to a shepherd. If God is a shepherd, what are we? We are lambs. This is not necessarily praise. We often have a positive, idealised image of sheep. How gentle they are, how cute they are (and this is true in a sense):
- Very SILLY animal. We are like that mentally. You may be smart in other ways, but not spiritually.
- Besides, the lamb CANNOT DEFEND ITSELF. Most animals have defence mechanisms. Lion, bear, dog, skunk... What if they announced on the news that a sheep had gotten loose and was running wild in the streets. How many of us would be frightened? 🙂 The sheep can't really run, it has poor eyesight and hearing. That's how many of us are like this spiritually if we don't have help.
Sheep need help in other ways too. They need a SHEPHERDwho looks after them.
- First the lamb easily gets lost and needs to be guided in the right direction.
- Second, if a fat sheep accidentally turns on its back, it cannot get up. He is so lame that he lies there with his feet up until someone helps him. If no one turns it over, it dies. Have you ever been in that situation spiritually? When you fell down and couldn't get up? Remember how the good shepherd helped you and got you back on your feet?
Why is it difficult to relax?
He makes me lie down in grassy pastures
Literally in the original Hebrew: "He lays me down in green pastures, and leads me beside restful (calm) waters"David paints a picture here with words that can be admired. According to a shepherd in the Near East, the lambs there get up at 4 a.m. The shepherd leads them out into the fields to graze. By 10 o'clock it is already very hot and the shepherd looks for a shady spot where the lambs can lie down. This is the time when the lambs are GROW FASTEST. Every shepherd knows how important it is for the sheep to have quiet time (silence).
Then they can REQUEST is. They retrieve the food from their stomachs and start chewing. This is how we should meditate on the Word of God. Sometimes we need to stop, quiet down, and "chew" on the Word in order to grow. We must chew the spiritual food several times in order to digest it. No wonder there is no growth if we do not do this. Sometimes God can't stand to see us hurrying all the time and stops us. An illness, an unexpected situation, an accident often stops us. It is then that the Lord says: stop! Finally take time and listen to me. So the shepherd puts the lambs to rest at about 10 o'clock. However, there is a little PROBLEM.
Sheep find it very difficult to rest
They only go to rest when all their needs are met, i.e. when THEY FEEL COMPLETELY CONTENTED. What are their main needs? According to a believing shepherd:
- Peace in the tummy (don't be hungry)
- Peace with other sheep (no tension with other sheep)
- Peace in their bodies (don't get hurt by bugs)
- Peace in the heart (let there be no fear)
These alone THEY CANNOT ACHIEVE. Without the shepherd, they would find it very difficult to rest. The shepherd's job is to provide the conditions necessary for the lambs to rest. David confesses that the Lord is his shepherd, and God provides all the conditions for spiritual rest.
He feeds us with the Word when we read the Word or listen to the preaching. Jesus said to them:
"I am the bread of life, whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst." John 6:35
With His Holy Spirit, He leads us to sort out our relationship with the other lambs. We cannot truly rest as long as we carry anger in our hearts towards another brother. If so, forgive him now. Or if you have hurt someone, go to them, look them in the eye, name your sin, and apologize.
„So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” Matthew 5:23-24
The Holy Spirit judges our sins, big or small, so that we can repent and be free from them. Small sins that are tolerated are like bugs to sheep, they do not allow us to be in complete peace because they keep pricking our conscience.
„If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:8-9
Nor need you fear the beasts (Satan and his servants), for the Lord will protect you from them.
„I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.” John 10:11-13
In John 10 Jesus is both the good shepherd and the door, what does this refer to? In Jesus' time, the shepherd would put the sheep in the sheepfold in the evening and then LAY DOWN IN THE DOORWAY. He was the door. You couldn't get in or out without his knowledge. He could literally say: only through my body. When you are under stress, remember that Jesus is at the door of your life and no one can enter unless He allows it.
The Lord wants to teach you to rest
God wants to help you to rest regularly in the cycle of life and to rest in a relationship with Him. He wants to help you overcome stress and worry, He wants to lay you down in green fields. Question, WILL YOU LET HIM DO THIS? Will you give your life to Him or will you follow your own will?
There is one word that became very prominent as I was preparing. This word is SHALOM. This Hebrew word is most often translated as 'peace', but there is much more to it than that. Along with peacefulness, it means wholeness, harmony, fulfilment, contentment, tranquillity, well-being, happiness, success, bliss, health, security, comfort, harmonious human relationships.
That is, in the word SHALOM, it has everything a lamb needs to get a good rest. In the Bible, the SHALOM usually denotes a perfectly fulfilled, contented state that is the result of God's presence. Therefore, Gideon built an altar to the Lord there, and called it, The Lord is peace (Jehovah's shalom) (Judges 6:24). They are in SHALOM. It is an inner spiritual state where the peace of God fills your heart regardless of the circumstances. God wants to bring you into this SHALOMso you can rest when you need it.
Personal application
Augustine: "Thou hast made me for thyself, and my soul is restless until it rests in thee." There will be no real peace and tranquility in your life until you are at peace with God. Until you are wholeheartedly converted, you are an enemy of God. There is no middle way. If you are like that now, do not harden your heart, but in the words of the Apostle Paul:
„Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:20-21
Give yourself a break
Every day should be a time to be in silence and spend time with the Lord, studying the Word, listening to praise and talking with the Good Shepherd. Keep the Sabbath every week, because it is for you to rest. This is not always easy because the devil does not want you to do this and will do everything he can to prevent you from doing so. A pastor said this one day, "If the enemy cannot corrupt you, he will keep you busy!" If something is feasible and seems good, it is not inevitably necessary. Pray for it and think about what is important and what is not. I read in a devotional, "Don't be afraid to say no to many small things so that you can say yes to a few big things."
Are you experiencing the peace of the Lord in your life?
Is your soul in Shalom? If the Lord is your shepherd, then you have everything you need to experience the Lord's shalom. Jesus Christ on the cross defeated all enemies that would prevent you from being in shalom. All you have to do is accept it by faith.
„Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
Satan wants to prevent this because he wants to destroy you physically and spiritually. Resist him. Come to Jesus, come to the cross. True peace can only be found there, and God SHALOMwill eliminate stress and worry from your life. Jesus said:
„Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” John 14:27
The following hymn is by Horatio Spafford. He has not exactly had an easy life.
His son died at the age of 4.
He was a businessman whose wealth was in real estate, which he lost in the Chicago fire (1871).
In 1873 he planned to set sail for England with his wife and four daughters. However, he had to stay at home for a business trip, and his wife and four daughters set sail for England. The boat sank, his wife sent a telegram saying "saved alone". She survived alone, all four of his daughters died.
On the next boat he went to his wife, and when they reached the place where the previous boat had sunk, he went into his cabin and wrote the words to the song, "It is well with my soul".
How was the songwriter able to experience the peace of God in this tragedy? In such a way that God SHALOMwas in him.
This song beautifully demonstrates that in the presence of God we can be at true peace. Lay down your burden in God's hands, come into God's presence. You don't have to depend on your circumstances, on the storms in your life. God can still the storms.
The Lord gives you rest.