Wednesday's Word

Psalm 23:1 (NIV)

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Stress is a familiar and faithful companion. It doesn't matter where life takes us, we will encounter stress. And unless we learn to manage and deal with that stress - God's way - we will find ourselves trapped and an easy target for the enemy.

I was recently reminded of the story of the farmer who frequently advertised for hired hands for his large farm. Most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic because of terrible storms known to be frequent in the area. As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job, he received a steady stream of refusals. Finally, a short thin middle-aged man applied for the job. "Are you a good farm hand?" the farmer asked. "Well, I can sleep when the wind blows," answered the little man. Although puzzled by this answer, the desperate farmer hired him.

The farmer was delighted with the man's consistent hard work. Then one night, the howling wind blew in from offshore, signaling the approach of a monstrous storm. Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rused to the hired hand's bunk house. "Get up! A storm is coming!" he yelled. The man rolled over and firmly responded, "No sir, I told you, I can sleep win the wind blows." The farmer was furious and was tempted to fire him on the spot. Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm only to discover that all of the haystacks had been covered with tarps. The cows were in the barn, the chickens were in their coops, the doors were barred and the shutters were tightly secured. Nothing could blow away. The farmer understood what his hired hand had meant. He, too, returned to his bed to "sleep while the wind blew."

Spiritual discipline that begins with diligent preparation in all areas of our lives is the best stress management I know of! We have to be diligent in being ready for the storms in all areas - mental, emotional, physical and spiritual.

Truly, Jesus, is our best example of stress management for He, too, slept while the wind blew. You remember that story, I'm sure. It's found in Matthew 8. The disciples were in a panic because they were in the middle of the lake when a huge storm came up, but Jesus was sleeping! He was resting easy!

Admittedly, I am often terrible at this "sleeping while the wind blows" thing. I often walk a thin line between being productive and having my life spiral out of control. I have repeatedly tried to defy my God-given need for rest, thinking that I'm somehow "above and beyond" both the exhaustion and its consequences. Stress screams at me, "Get busy! You have so much to do!" Stress dances like the devil with a blue dress on as I keep on "doing" instead of "being". I've realized that when I'm tired, it's much harder to handle stress. Just as ninety percent of income goes farther when we tithe ten percent, so does our energy when we tithe it in rest.

Hmmm, I surprised you with that little sentence about tithing, didn't I?! There's a whole sermon in that part of this writing, but I'll save it for another day. I do want you to ponder that, though ... do you tithe in all areas? What about your time each day?