Living with stress

22Jun06

I love the old hymns. So much poetry and theology contained within such haunting melodies. A while back I was reading through an old hymnbook when I came across these words from the hymn ‘Dear Lord and Father of Mankind.’

Take from our souls the strain and stress

And let our ordered lives confess

The beauty of Your peace

We live busy lives. Everything is fast paced. We get hugely frustrated if we have to wait for anything. On top of this we live under enormous amounts of stress. It seems that whenever I ask someone how they’re doing the response is – ‘Life is very hectic and busy at the moment.’ Busy jobs, demanding hours and high expectations placed upon us are leaving many struggling to cope with life. In the UK, like many other nations around the world, depression is soaring. The number of prescriptions for anti-depressants has risen from 12 million in 1991 to 24 million a decade later. Many of us aren’t coping. However in the midst of the turmoil, there’s a voice that can still the raging storm.

Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him saying, ‘Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!’ He replied, ‘You of little faith, why are you so afraid?’ Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, ‘What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!’ Matthew 8:23-27

For the Jews at this time, the sea represented forces of chaos. They had a healthy fear of the water and were only too aware that these freak storms could be fatal. It’s no surprise therefore that when a furious storm came upon the lake, the disciples freaked out. They were terrified. Fearing for their lives, feeling totally overwhelmed, they turned to Jesus. That’s the first lesson for us. When life feels like it’s getting on top of us, when the waves are crashing in around us, the first thing we need to do is turn to Jesus. So often we try and cope on our own. We lean on our own understanding – but we need to turn to Jesus.

The disciples must have been surprised to find Jesus fast asleep. I love the fact that Jesus was so relaxed – so at peace. The disciples were panicking big style! ‘Save us! We’re going to drown!’ Jesus in effect says, ‘Chill out guys.’ He then gets up, rebukes the winds and the waves, and everything becomes calm. Amazing! A few short, simple words from Jesus and all is at rest. The voice of Jesus has power to still the raging storm. It also has power to bring peace to all the confusion, fear and hurt going on in our world. We just need to call on His name and have faith to believe. We need to allow time hear His still small voice and find hope and rest. As we turn to Him, no matter what is going on in our lives, He can take the strain and stress away – leaving with us ‘the beauty of His peace.’ A peace that passes all human understanding. A peace that will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.