At least to me, my brain sometimes struggles to see the difference.
If I’m not stressing to “fix” a situation, then it feels like I’m expected not to care, or to pretend not to care.
How is that even possible?
How does a single parent who’s solely responsible for paying the bills, stocking the pantry and the fridge, clothing her kids, monitoring their grades, policing their internet usage, filling their “buckets”, knowing/influencing their friends, fostering their relationship with God, all the ins and outs of every day life in a family … How does that Mom manage to let go of anything?
How do you convince her, how do I convince myself that relaxing won’t make ALL the balls fall to the floor?
I asked my Pastor this question. He responded immediately with more wisdom off the top of his head than I could muster in a half-century of frantic stress.
His response was, "When I’m stressed, is my first reaction 'How do I fix this?' or 'Jesus, how do You use me in this situation to make a positive difference?'”
I’ve been stressing lately over work.
Giving all I can give never seems enough, which leaves me fighting confidence issues, worrying over my upcoming performance review, and even questioning my future in my career.
It’s a negative, spiralling cycle.
So… I’ve been praying hard about learning to trust God.
The weight I’ve been trying to carry is unbearable.
It has to be, though.
How else would I ever learn to let go and trust God?
That is the point, I believe.
God has been trying to get me to stop placing so much pressure on myself.
Many years ago, I heard a response to a common phrase which has stuck with me. The common phrase was “God will never give us more than we can bear.”
The response was “Yes, He will. He will never give us more than He can bear.”
Jesus said, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 NIV
If you’re unfamiliar with a yoke, this may not be as comforting as it was intended.
I know for many years, I thought it was an added burden.
Even small, how was adding to my plate supposed to be an encouragement?
Jesus didn’t mean that at all, though.
His yoke carries what we see as our burden.
When we give it to Him, though, that burden is light for us because He carries the weight, not us.
The oxen’s yoke is what the farmer has chosen to hand off to the ox.
What would be too heavy for the farmer is light work with the oxen’s help.
I’ve been practicing turning over the burden to Jesus and I do believe it takes practice.
One trick I’m using is that I’ve printed verses, such as the ones attached to this blog, that I post around my desk so that I’m constantly reminded.
Holding on to my stress is a choice not to trust God.
Letting go of my stress doesn’t mean that I stop trying or stop caring.
It just means that I acknowledge God’s power to work in any situation, and I am merely His instrument.
If you’re still reading, I’m interested to know what tricks you use. Do you catch yourself relying on your abilities instead of trusting in the omnipotence of God?
How do you balance the need to stay active and involved with the necessity to turn it all over to Him?
God Bless,
SB
*This post is an oldie but a goodie... Much of what I wrote is now outdated regarding my personal life. But the message remains the same.
