It’s safe to say that we all feel pretty stressed out living in this fast-paced, digital world. A recent article in Time magazine noted that the current generation is the most anxious and stressed generation of all time. Experts agree that our digital devices are keeping us in a state of heightened awareness.
Scientists say our overuse of technology is rewiring our brains for distraction, and this affects more than just our minds. It’s affecting our physical and spiritual health, and over-stressing our hearts and minds. There are all these dings and pings that constantly demand our immediate attention. I actually had a heart scan done a few weeks ago. The doctor told me I needed to reduce my stress, so I’m trying to stress less and find peace in the midst of my digital life.
Philippians 4:7 says, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” If you’re like me, you long for the peace of God that will guard your heart and mind, but it seems so hard to attain. Peace is becoming a rare but much-needed commodity.
Being stressed means “excessive strain, pressure, disturbance, or anxiety. Contrast that with peace, which means “freedom from disturbances, quietness, rest, calm, and tranquility.
The antidote to our stressed-out living is Jesus Himself, living within us. The peace of God is peace within ourselves, and the unrest of human life comes largely from our being fragmented by so many disturbances. I hear Jesus’ familiar words in Luke 10:41, “Martha, Martha, you are worried about so many things, but only one thing is necessary, and Mary has chosen it.” Mary was at perfect peace sitting at her master’s feet. Like Mary, the peace will come when we stop being so busy and distracted, and we stop allowing anything, especially digital devices to disturb us.
Mother Teresa said, “We need to find God, and He cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature—trees, flowers, grass—grows in silence; see the stars, the moon, and the sun, how they move in silence. We need silence to be able to touch souls.”
Learning to Be Still
If I’m being honest, I know I need to silence my phone more and just be still in God’s presence. If I’m also being really honest, I don’t always do that!
Thankfully, I’ve found this stress management exercise below to be a good tool to help me handle all my digital stress and experience more peace. Here are some simple instructions.
- Take a deep belly breath in and then as you breathe out, say peace and press the stress out.
- Take a deep breath in and say peace. As you take the deep breath in and press the stress out as you breathe out—feel peace.
As you do your part to stress less, you will find God’s peace that will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus.
And a gentle reminder: Please silence your phone.
“By waiting and by calm you shall be saved, in quiet and in trust your strength lies. (Isaiah 30:15)
