MEGAN JUNG|GUEST

Take breaks…Be present…You can’t be all things to all people. Meet others where they are. Eliminate hurry. Don’t delay. Know your limits. Start exercising. Strength, not cardio. Stress makes you sick. Drink more water. Strive for connection. Make time for yourself. Get enough sleep to prevent “X.” Wake up early to do “X.” Good enough is good enough. Do your best. Take media breaks. Stay up to date. Say “no.” Do more.

How did you feel as you read that list? I don’t know about you, but I felt stressed!

A Stress-filled World

The world invites us into its fear and its solutions to that fear constantly. We live in a particularly tense and defensive time. Fried nervous systems and dialed up threat responses crowd our communities, near and far. Well-meaning tips about stress management often invite more stress with additional tasks to incorporate into our packed lives. And if we’re honest, unhelpful messages about stress are not exclusively external. Most of us could single-handedly fill a small pond (or larger) with our own internal narratives, to-do lists, and strategies. We don’t need help from outside sources to react to stress with stress. It’s in us. Stress is a product of brokenness, many parts of it will remain until Jesus returns, and we all have it in common. And we all want relief, peace, and help.

It’s National Stress Awareness month, and I want to encourage you, not with psychoeducation about causes and symptoms of stress (which are beneficial!), but with what we can do with the reality of stress. Like our brother Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, we have thorns in our flesh. We do not know exactly what gnawed and nagged at Paul. Perhaps it was sin. Perhaps it was a product of brokenness besetting him. We might assume it was both. Similarly, for us, whether it be a product of our own sin, a product of the Fall, or both, stress feels like a thorn in our side that gnaws and nags at us. It is painful.

And if we read Pauls’ words, we are not without hope. Paul is neither Polyana-ish, skirting around adversity nor does he despair and stay stuck. He traces the Lord’s purpose through his pain. This does not mean he discounts pain. It does mean he approaches pain knowing it does not have the final say, but the Lord does. How exactly does he seek the Lord through his thorn? We can learn from Paul as we address our own stressful thorns.

Taking Our Stress to the Lord

First, he seeks the Lord. He does not pretend all is well. He pleads THREE TIMES for relief.

We also can seek the Lord and boldly ask for relief from our stress.

He listens to the Lord’s response.

We also need to stop and pay attention to the Lord’s response. What is the Lord saying and doing in His answer to your prayer?  (If stopping is hard for you, try walking and listening.)

He accepted the Lord’s response by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I have no tips and tricks for acceptance. However, I pray for each of you (and myself) as I write this.

He confronts his own weakness expectantly. He expects through his weakness he will know God’s strength. And he is glad for this.

We can also lift our chins when we bump into our own frailty. What can we expect to find in that very place?

He practices contentment, knowing that weakness gives way to fulfillment in Jesus’s power. Paul’s alternative is to be crushed by the weight of trying to fix what is not his to fix.

We also can delight in putting the weight down. As we unburden ourselves, we can experience the might and mercy of our Lord and Savior. And in this, there is gladness.

He tells himself a “therefore.” He tells himself a true, Gospel-centered story about this painful process:

“Therefore, when I am weak, then I am strong.” Let us repeat the same refrain.

As we seek the Word to learn about our approach to stress, we can expect the Lord to move through our stress. Stress tells us to fight, flee, freeze, fawn, flop, and all kinds of other things. The Lord tells us to lean in like Paul. As we lean into stress and turn our hearts to Him, we will find consolation in the Lord’s strength. There we will also find hope in the sure future that is without stress and thorns.

A Prayer for When Life is Stressful

Like Paul, our first step is to turn to the Lord. Use the prayer below to move through your stress experience and find Jesus in that very place.

Lord, as I survey the landscape of life, I see desolation, fires that need quenching, threats on the horizon, and structures crumbling. Remind me that you, Man of Sorrows, are acquainted with longing for restoration, order, and peace. Remind me that you alone can restore order and peace, beginning with me. My heart is scattered and at odds with itself. I confront not-enough-ness. I struggle to manage my emotions and cry out with overwhelm. Let me find comfort in your nearness. Holy Spirit, console me. May white knuckles give way to expectant, open hands.

Settle me. Help me know you more as I experience stress and anxiety. Help me to accept what needs accepting, release what is not mine, and bear what needs bearing. And help me to know you better when I don’t know the difference.

May my tense muscle surrender as I breathe in the air you graciously give. Let air remind me that you provide for my every need.

May my racing thoughts slow down to your unhurried pace. Holy Spirit, help me settle into the peace of walking at your side.

May my anxious planning be transformed into listening ears…ears that gladly tune to your voice and a mind that rehearses, “Not my will, but Yours.”

May unfinished to-do’s, crashing spinning plates, and others’ expectations lead me time and again to gladly say, “I am not the Christ.”

May wisdom come just when I need it so that I can respond to situations with a resounding “Yes,” or a gracious “No.” Let me first seek your face and not others’ perceptions as I attempt to take the next best step in obedience.

May my blunders and sin against others be followed immediately by humility, repair, and repentance. And through my failure, will your Glory be all the more glorious.

Jesus, come quickly. Amen.

Photo by Nick Owuor (astro.nic.portraits) on Unsplash