By Chris WittsFriday 12 Aug 2022Morning Devotions with Chris WittsFaithReading Time: 1 minute
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Transcript:
When I mention the word pressure, what do you think? Sometimes it can feel like you’re carrying a piano on your back. Pressure can really weigh you down. Too much pressure can make a lot of us angry, fed up or sad or simply over time, knock you out cold with burnout.
There’s the pressure to perform, to be good enough and to live up to everybody’s expectations. To keep going, to make more money, to have more stuff, to take care of the kids, to perform at work and the list goes on, and I’m sure that you’ve experienced pressure at some point in your life. We face enough stress in life without putting more on ourselves. But you know that’s exactly what many of us do. One way or another, even without realising it, the first step towards easing off yourself is to realise when you might be taking things harder on yourself unnecessarily.
Statistically we shouldn’t worry
Pressure can cause us to worry. But there are some statistics to keep in mind. 40% of your worries will never happen. 30% concern the old decisions that can’t be altered. There’s nothing you can do about that. 12% that centre on unfair criticism, and living with others will usually involve someone criticising you wrongly. 10% can relate to health, which worsens as you worry more. 8% involve something that you can change – only 8%.
So what this tells me is that pressure should only cause worry 8% of that time. In other words, how do we survive pressure, especially when that pressure causes us to worry? Do you feel like you’ve got just too much to do and too little time for the most important things?
If so, you probably need to do some decluttering in your life, eliminate some of the less important stuff. Take time to think this through because you do always have a choice. Sometimes there will be big consequences if you choose to do or not to do something. But you always have a choice. If you choose to spend more of your time on the most important stuff and less on the unimportant things of life, this will most likely improve any area that applies to your thinking.
Steps in dealing with pressure
So here are a few tips. Step 1 – Believe what God has to say about this life we have with Him. The Scriptures are full of promises from God that remind us that he is ultimately concerned about us. And he loves us. 1 Peter 5:7 – “cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you”.
Psalm 55:22 – “cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you. He will never let the righteous fall.” And over and over throughout Scripture, God tells his people not to be afraid. Deuteronomy 31:6 – “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them for the Lord your God goes with you. He will never leave you or forsake you.”
Hebrews 13:5 says – “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have. Because God has said never will I leave you Never will I forsake you.” All that says is that you don’t have to travel through this life alone. It seems where we want to solve our problems in our own way and we forget that God is there. He is.
Step 2 – Listen to God. Now I’ve learned that this can sometimes be as difficult as believing in God. What voices do I listen to? It becomes hard to discern which voice belongs to God, sort of like an old fashioned radio. We used to have, you know, the old one that wasn’t on any particular station and lots of voices could be heard. You couldn’t discern clearly what the voice was.
And what we need to attempt to do is to tune into the one station in which we will find God’s voice, so to speak. And part of doing that is slowing down long enough to listen. Sometimes when we’re praying, we rush in to talk to God because we’re in a hurry to get on with life and participate in the real world. We don’t feel like we’ve got time to really listen.
But to survive this pressure we feel plus the worry, we’ve got to slow down and listen to God. Read what he says to mankind in the Bible. Take these words seriously, and speaking to God about your issues does not guarantee that your problem is going to go away. But it does enable you to replace the inner worry, stress and anxiety with a true inner peace that comes from God. Learn to share all your problems and needs with him.
Let’s Pray
Oh Lord, I believe that you are the Father of all mercies and the God of all comfort. Please help me today in whatever situation I find myself in. Amen.