The word stress was originally used to refer to the amount of
weight that a beam or physical support could bear without breaking. It was a term used in the field of
construction. How much weight can a material bear?
Today we use the term stress to refer to mental and emotional
pressure that comes when there is too much put upon us, too many activities,
too much uncertainly, too many demands.
A chair is built to be sat upon. It is designed to bear a
certain amount of weight. If it is used
properly, it will last forever, but if it is overloaded, it can crack or even
break. In the same way, we human beings were designed to face adversity, to
bear a certain amount of challenge in this world. The problem comes when we face
more weight than we can carry.
The word stress was not used in Jesus’ time. Nevertheless, in the teachings of Jesus,
there is a clear message about stress.
Jesus teaches his followers to behave in a way that completely reverses
the messages of this world and results in the ability to rise above stress.
Jesus intended for his followers not to operate in the same way as the people
of this world. If we could only understand what he was telling us, we would no
longer suffer from stress. We would know
peace. Jesus taught us how to rise above
all stress.
In the Book of Acts, Peter is called to the bedside of a
woman who has died. Her name was Tabitha
but people called her Dorcas and she was something else. Wealthy and powerful, she was well-respected
in the early church and had been instrumental in helping the poor. At her deathbed were widows who were dressed
in clothes that Dorcas had made for them.
She was a generous, devout woman who believed in Jesus.
Peter is called to her bedside and Dorcas is already
dead. Peter speaks to her body and says
the same words that Jesus used when he raised the daughter of Jairus from the
dead. He says her name, “Tabitha, get up.” Or literally, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opens her eyes and gets up.
It was Peter’s voice speaking in the same way that Jesus
did. Tabitha just obeys his voice and
her obedience carries her from death to life.
If obedience to the voice of the Good Shepherd can carry her over the
threshold of death, surely it can help us with stress?
In Peter’s words, Tabitha heard the voice of Jesus. Jesus
says that he is the Good Shepherd. His
sheep hear his voice and he knows them and they follow him.
The Good Shepherd gives us the key to release us from all
stress. Obedience. Listen and Follow. That is all.
It is so simple. Listen to the
voice of the Good Shepherd and you will overcome everything. You will not suffer under stress, you will
rise above it. Sure, the world will
continue to be chaotic and full of challenge and injustice, but you will be
able to arise above the fray and follow Christ with peace in your heart.
So how do we do this?
How can we listen and follow the voice of the Good Shepherd? Most of us think that this means some major
alteration of our lives immediately and this thought scares us and makes us
hide from God. But I have found that
most often the Good Shepherd speaks gently and in the very moment. The Good Shepherd prompts. The Good Shepherd nudges. The voice of the Good Shepherd operates in
each moment, simply reminding us of what is right and true and good.
Think with me about how a shepherd operates. I know that most of you have never actually
seen a shepherd but they are all over the Sea of Galilee today just as they
were in Jesus’ time. They mostly nudge
in the moment. No, don’t head that direction, they poke with their staff, they
redirect. And the whole point is to keep
the sheep safe, right? God does not want
you to walk off a cliff. God wants to
take care of you and lead you to the fullness of who you are. The Shepherd does not ask the sheep to run a
marathon or cook a five course meal. The
Shepherd wants the sheep to be themselves and to be safe.
In order to combat stress, begin to invite God into the everyday
aspects of your life, into the small stuff, into each and every decision that
you make. Ask God, “Should I go to the
grocery store? Should I rest? Should I write that letter now?” I know it
feels petty, but obedience begins with the moment to moment, with the small
stuff. And you may not always be clear
on the way that God would want you to go, but the very fact that you asked will
lift you above your stress. You do not
need to begin by asking monumental questions about the direction of your
life. Instead simply begin with the
moment to moment decisions that need to be made.
God nudges and prompts.
God operates in the fruits of the Spirit that Paul so beautifully
articulated: in patience, kindness, joy, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
self-control. If you are operating in
these ways, you are walking with the Good Shepherd. If you find yourself
short-tempered and frustrated, you have gotten lost. When you are able to yell at a loved one or
do something stupid, often there is that small nudge, that inner voice that
tell you to slow down, to stop talking, to pause. Just do what it says. Follow the Good Shepherd one step at a time,
one moment at a time.
My sheep hear my voice, Jesus says. Let every decision that
you make be made with God and for God.
Ask God every time you can, consult God, speak to God. God will lead you
in the small stuff that can one day amount to the big stuff. After all, sheep don’t operate with
long-range plans. They need to be nudged
every moment.
Ignatius of Loyola was born in 1491. He was a ladies man and
a great soldier but in battle he was wounded in the leg. He had to lie in bed at his brothers house
for months and the only books that his brother had were religious books. He felt a nudge to read the religious
books. And he was captivated. Ignatius began to imagine himself saving
people in battle or winning the heart of a beautiful woman. But soon he felt
the nudge to imagine serving God and when he imagined this, he felt this
peace. So he would pick up another book
and another. The peace came with each small decision that he allowed God to
make for him and with him. Eventually,
he would found the order of the Jesuits.
All from following the nudge to pick up a book.
What is stress? It is fear disguised. It is the feeling that you don’t deserve what
you have to do or that you are overburdened.
But all that you have to do is give it all over to God. It is God who made
you. Your life belongs to God. Get up,
says the Good Shepherd. I will live in you and you need not be afraid. I will
lead you through every little moment of every day if you would only follow
me. Let it be my life living in you and
you will in turn find peace.
Who would have known that the antidote to stress is
obedience? Who knew?
