Your Daily Devotional for February 23, 2006

February 23, 2006

 

Victory over Stress

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

Life—it often demands more than we have to give! It pulls us in opposite directions—which can sometimes cause us to neglect things that really matter most—like God and our family.

 

For too many of us, busyness has become the “applauded addiction.” We are encouraged, sometimes even pushed, to fill our lives with meaningless stuff until there is no room for God or anything else that really matters. The problem is that this stuff—activities, work, money— doesn’t fulfill our deep longing for purpose. We will never find God’s best for us simply by trying to get ahead in our careers or getting a bigger piece of the pie.

 

In Luke 10:38–42 we see the story of a woman who was being pulled in opposite directions. She was stressed out!

 

“Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

 

Stress was found in the lives of the early Christians and is found in our lives today.  As Jesus traveled about the Galilean countryside, He found His way to many different people—people whom He loved deeply and they loved Him, deeply.  One of His favorite stopping points was in the little town of Bethany, on the east side of the Mount of Olives.  In that town was a home in which Mary, Martha, and Lazarus resided.  To really get a glimpse into Jesus’ heart for these people, John 11:5 tells us, “Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.”  Aren’t you glad Jesus loves your family?  He loves the entire world, but this was a family who literally had the joy of welcoming Him into their home during His earthly ministry.

 

In this family of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, there was a particular member who struggled with stress perhaps more than the others.  In fact, when Jesus came, it was a stressful day in Martha’s life.  In this text, Martha is a picture of stress.  Notice it in verse 40: “But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone?” We see that she is described as one who was cumbered about.  The word “cumbered” means to be driven, mentally.  She was a driven and, perhaps, a multi-tasking person.  Martha was skilled in the culinary arts and excited about the opportunity to serve.  She was the first to arrive and the last to leave; always in a hurry; and had more to do than she could possibly get done.  She was a picture of stress.

   

Sometimes you get to the place where you start wondering what is going on and the stress gets the best of you.  Many of us could say, “I live Martha’s life without trying.”  So instead of focusing on Martha, I want to look at the life of Mary.  I want to learn from this godly woman’s testimony.

 

In Psalm 46:10, the Bible says, “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.”

 

Think of those words: “Be still, and know that I am God.”  In our lives, we don’t have a lot of still times.  It seems like everything is passing us by like a mile marker on the highway.  But here we see Mary taking time to sit at the feet of Jesus. 

 

The key to victory over stress is found when you take time for Jesus. Listen to what He has to say. Appreciate His company. Discover His will for your life, and begin living with victory over stress!

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