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Jesus attracted crowds wherever He went. On one occasion, He noted that the people were “harassed and helpless” and He “had compassion on them” (Matt. 9:36). We are not given details about the problems the people were dealing with, but they elicited the deep empathy and concern of the Lord. It appears that, on the one hand, they were subjected to outside forces that had overwhelmed them but, on the other hand as a result, they were suffering deeply from feelings of defeat and despair─harassed and helpless. Today, we talk about stress in a similar fashion. And in our workplace or even our homes we experience circumstances that can be “stress inducing,” which ultimately can lead to us becoming ”stressed out.“
It is encouraging to know that the Lord has compassion when we suffer from stress in our lives. It is helpful to note His reaction and the practical steps He took. First, Jesus’ response to the needs of the crowd was to call for more workers. In other words, when the load gets too heavy and the stress becomes unbearable, we need to share the load! It's easy to feel like there is no help available, but we will never know if we don't ask and prayerfully seek out steps to get help.
In some cases the needs may warrant professional, physical, or emotional care. For many others, seeking Christian fellowship and partnership is the place to begin.
Secondly, Mark tells us that on another occasion Jesus’ disciples were so busy trying to meet human needs that they “did not even have a chance to eat” (Mark 6: 31). His instructions to them were, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest” (Mark 6: 31).
We can break down the Lord’s admonition as follows:
1. “Come with me”─turn to the Lord in your need, express your desires to Him, and expect Him to respond out of compassion.
2. “By yourselves"─take time just you and the Lord to meet together during the day for prayer and praise.
3. “To a quiet place”─make every effort to distance yourself from the “multitudes” for even a few minutes a day. Lay aside your load for a break and breathe in the quietness.
4. “And get some rest”─some of us feel that the needs of the multitude are so great that we cannot grant ourselves the luxury of a rest. The reality is if we don’t take a rest, stress might take us out of the picture. Or as someone said, ‘If we don’t come apart─we’ll certainly come apart.”
Having said all that, we must remember that there is a good and beneficial side to stress too. You’ve probably heard a fitness instructor saying, “No pain, no gain” referring to the intentional stress used to strengthen muscles and build up endurance. In the same way, for some of us, finding the right amount of stress can be a stimulus and empowering factor.
During my days of pastoring a church, I did not have a lot of time to contemplate and meditate on my writing assignments. So I suffered "writer’s block." The deadline for my manuscript would loom larger and larger until in the end I just had to write! And the inspiration came! Good stress!
First Peter 1:6-7 says, “Now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith…may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” In other words, Peter is explaining to believers who are under pressure that there is a purpose in the experience, that the Lord is allowing it to happen intentionally, and it will ultimately prove beneficial. Good stress.
Prayer: Lord teach me how to cope with excessive stress which threatens to disable me. Help me to be disciplined in my use of time and energy while taking the trouble to care for my own spiritual well-being as I seek to reach out to those in need around me. And help me to welcome good stress that will produce in me the graces and works that You plan for me. Amen.
