The word "stress" appears nowhere in the Bible. Does that mean that God never foresaw the No. 1 problem that modern human beings have to contend with? No, for the idea of stress permeates the Bible and it is full of remedies for it.
Remedy #1 is the invitation of the Son of God who says, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28). Being "heavy laden" is the precise idea of stress as we know it! But how do we "come" to Him? The very problem itself of our weariness and unending pressures so distracts us that we are so jittery that we cannot "come" to Him--so we feel. And the pressure becomes so bad that we crack.
Now the Bible suggests a way of relief:
(a) We have to eat or we would die of starvation. But we don't usually have to eat as much as we do; skip a meal and devote that time to "coming to Him." Yes, that does make sense: we are invited to "fast and pray" when we face difficult problems. Does it take you 30 minutes to eat? Devote 30 minutes on your knees and talk to the Divine Psychiatrist, the Savior whose full-time job is doing what He promised--giving you "rest."
(b) You have to take some time to sleep; turn off your computer and TV and go to bed early; then get up in the morning early and devote another 30 minutes to "coming to Him." Psalm 27:8 has a precious insight into what happens behind the scenes: "When You said, 'Seek My face,' my heart said to you, 'Your face, Lord, I will seek.'" This dialogue between the Lord and you is going on; it's for real. He is knocking on your door.
Remedy # 2 is the holy Sabbath day. For 6000 years the Lord has known that six days of stress is all that any human can endure at any time; the seventh day is permeated with His presence; in the beginning He made that day "holy." You don't make the Sabbath holy, He did; your job is only to "keep it holy." And the rest from stress that is in the holy Sabbath day is diffused throughout the busy week, because for the "six working days" (Ezek. 46:1) we "remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy" (Ex. 20:8). That very remembrance itself brings a renewed promise of "rest" that soothes our frayed nerves throughout the week.
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: February 24, 1999.Copyright © 2011 by Robert J. Wieland.
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