Stressed and Blessed
Dave Faust
Are you ready for a break? Sometimes Jesus had his disciples “come apart” with him and get away from the crowds for a while. It’s been said that if we don’t come apart with Jesus, we simply come apart. Henry Kissinger said, “There cannot be a stressful crisis next week. My schedule is already full.” I can relate to that.
Work is stressful. Insecurity plagues the American labor force. Workers and managers in every sector of society feel the pressure. Many are being asked to “make bricks without straw”—to produce more results with fewer resources.
The news is stressful. It’s unnerving to hear daily reports about instability in Europe, North Korea, and the Middle East. Here at home, public trust in our national leaders has plummeted to unprecedented lows while violence, drug addiction, and financial woes plague our major cities.
Even church is stressful. The percentage of the population attending church at all continues to nosedive. Tensions rise as the torch passes to a new generation that appreciates different music and embraces a different leadership style.
We’re stressed—but we’re also blessed beyond measure.
Lately have you been content, or have you been cynical? Do you mainly complain about what you lack, or appreciate what you have? Jesus is realistic: “In this world you will have trouble.” Then he goes on to say, “But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:31). We can be realistic about our problems while appreciating our blessings. In the midst of stress, we can thank God for our jobs, our nation, our families and friends.
Faith Is the Victory
We live by faith. Pessimists see the cup half-empty. Optimists see the cup half-full. Believers simply thank God for whatever water he’s given. John sums it up by saying, “For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4).
Remember Paul’s triumphant question and answer session in Romans 8:35, 37? “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? . . . No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
Faith gives us victory as it alters our interactions with others and shapes the attitude we take with us to work and to church. Faith enables us to exist in the realm of the seen while trusting in reality of the unseen. Years pass quickly, but faith in the eternal God changes the way we view aging. As G. K. Chesterton put it, “We grow old, but our Father is younger than we are.”
Unbelief Is the Defeat
It’s sad to witness so much skepticism about God in our culture. If we no longer confess the words, “In God We Trust,” then in what or in whom do we believe?
Without faith in the living God, life is pointless and death is hopeless. Without faith, we are victims of our circumstances. Without a vibrant and healthy faith, religion degenerates into rigid dogma and joyless performance. Without faith we lose sight of the positive, wallow in the negative, and have no one to thank when we feel the impulse to be grateful.
Let’s take a break this week and ask God to strengthen our faith. And while we’re at it, let’s thank him that even though we’re stressed, we’re also greatly blessed.
QUESTIONS:
This column first appeared in The Lookout on Nov 23, 2014.
Straight Talk
Recently I was trying to give my daughter directions to a church she wanted to visit. She wondered, "How far away is it, Dad?" "Um, maybe 10 miles altogether. Six miles as the crow flies." "What on earth does that mean?" "Well," I said. "It's what the distance would be if you could travel directly as a straight line, without any turns or bumps in the road. You know, the way it looks if you were a crow." Satisfied, she continued, "But does it have to be a crow?" I answered, "It doesn't have to be a crow. Any bird will do. It's just an expression people use."
Stretch Out Your Hand
I held my mom’s hand while she took her last breath.