We live in a day of stress. Few are exempt.
The daily tensions people face are brought on by the countless responsibilities and the growing pressures of life. Age is not a discriminating factor, either.
I found this to be true and chuckled this summer when attending a Vacation Bible School program. A little girl was standing with her back to the wall beside a water fountain. I asked her, "What's wrong?" She replied, "I'm so stressed the boys keep getting ahead of me when I try to get a drink of water."
I laughed to myself thinking, "Young lady, your stress issues are just beginning and are guaranteed to intensify as you get older!"
The Psalmist sorely knew of stress but also had found the solution for his anxieties when he penned, "He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul" in Psalm 23:2.
Anyone dealing with stress can certainly learn from this verse, as well as benefit by putting into action other relief techniques.
May I suggest a few?
* When stressed, back away for a while. Take a walk, let your mind, body and spirit take a breath from what is going on around you.
* When stressed, reassess your situation. Often we let the trivial overtake the more important things in life. Someone has suggested, "Don't sweat small junk. Everything is small junk."
* When stressed, the believer has a refuge. Jesus said, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" in Matthew 11:28.
These ideas will not solve all our problems or permanently remove stress from our lives, but they certainly can give us some respites from the busy, multi-tasking lives we are all experiencing in today's hectic world.
Richard Mason is senior pastor at Brainerd Hills Baptist Church.