UNDER PRESSURE
Key Scripture: You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. ~ Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV)
For the past couple of months I feel like I’ve been under pressure. Slowly at first, but increasing incrementally until the weight is almost palpable. Like one day I was just floating peacefully in my little boat on the surface of the ocean of my life, but then a slow leak started a nearly imperceptible decent into the deep dark depths of stress.
I can usually navigate these waters pretty well, even with “my little boat” almost always being crammed nearly to the point of sinking with stuff… from work responsibilities, volunteering commitments, and other self-imposed pressures. But a couple months ago I was struck with something that made a hole I didn’t realize, and stress started seeping in without me realizing it.
It was decided that my office be relocated, so I (and the rest of the guys who work with me,) would have to start working from home. We were told, “sooner rather than later… like weeks, not months.” That’s fine… I have a home office and have always loved working from home. However, this wasn’t my plan RIGHT NOW, so moving ALL the stuff from my good-sized office to my normal sized home office (that I SHARE with my husband,) was… uhhhhmmm… challenging, to say the least. I ended up getting rid of a lot of things, (including beloved plants! *sob*) to make everything fit into our home office without it being suffocatingly crammed with crap! This is the subtle stress of having to change your home - if even just slightly - for reasons you (and your husband!) did NOT choose. I’m still in the process of getting rid of office furniture and other things, because I refuse to throw anything away that SOMEBODY may be able to use!
On top of MY move, I’ve been working with the rest of the team in this location to try to help as best I can… not only with the logistics, (which I haven’t really been able to help much with - which is its own kind of stress!) but also with the emotions, as this wasn’t anybody’s choice and we’re like a family - they’re like my work kids! - and we’re gonna MISS each other!
And life still must go on in the midst of all this, of course… there are deadlines to meet and meetings to attend and appointments to go to if you didn’t think about rescheduling them in time to not be charged for not going.
So, my husband and I went camping. YAY! We went to one of our favorite places, but it had been almost completely destroyed by a wildfire last year, so that was devastating in more ways than one! We chose to still have some amazing adventures, soaked in incredible beauty, and were very intentional about doing nothing for long periods of time.
Upon our return however, we learned that my 97 year old grandmother had passed… which had been anticipated, but death is difficult no matter what. My mother has been taking care of her for years, and now she’s figuring out all the details that need to be taken care of AFTER her passing… which can be overwhelming, especially since my mom is in her 70’s and is the one responsible for everything and therefore hasn’t had her own opportunity to grieve. I’ve planned a trip to see her, but it doesn’t feel soon enough to be able to help her in any way… so my being so far away from her right now is also leaking stress into my heart.
And then my husband had the retina in one of his eyes detach and tear, so he needed emergency surgery… which was (thank God!) very successful, but he’s not able to do a lot of simple things he’s used to doing and has to sleep at no less than a 45 degree angle. Yuck.
I know I’m not alone in this. We ALL have stress like this in our life… from big stresses that are like angry storms throwing big waves into our little boats threatening to capsize us, to all the little things that are like tiny holes in our boat allowing the stress to slowly seep into our core until we’re sinking and can feel the pressure of it all closing in on us.
And this is the enemy’s plan.
Let’s look at two of the favorite things the enemy likes to do to us.
DePRESS and opPRESS.
Both are their own types of PRESSure that do NOT come from God.
I have found that a LOT, if not MOST, of the people I know suffer from mild to severe depression… a heavy weight on their soul they just cannot shake. I think this is because, just like I say in my article about why we’re so angry, this is a fallen, broken, hurting world, and - no matter what our spiritual beliefs are - we ALL know deep in our core this was NOT how it was originally planned. God has put this ache in each of our hearts… this desperate groan in our souls… a ravenous desire for things to be “right”… for things to be the way they were MEANT to be. We look around and see that they’re NOT. And it’s depressing.
And the same can be said for oppression… the enemy puts unnecessary pressure on us that steals our peace and/or joy. The most frequent way I see this is through stress (even to the point of pure anxiety!) and again, most of the people I know feel or have felt the crushing weight of this pressure at some point in their life… if not most of the time!
I find myself under the weight of anxiety first thing in the morning… just before I’m fully awake. My heart is racing and I have this frantic feeling of panic, as though I’m about to miss my flight or something. Even if there is a root cause - like a looming deadline or something - the fear is waaaaay more amplified than necessary.
And that’s typically a sign that it’s NOT from God.
In my experience at least, when God is trying to get my attention about something, it’s usually conviction… I’m feeling bad about something I’ve said or done (or NOT done!) and He’s redirecting me. There’s not a fear or a panic or a pressure to it… it’s just a knowing that something’s gotta change in my heart or mind or spirit or life.
When it’s stress or anxiety or depression… it’s suffocating.
That’s not God.
The only thing that makes me feel better, and relieves the pressure from my heart and mind when I’m feeling the PRESSURE from being dePRESSed or opPRESSed, is to turn to Him. Immediately. I literally just start praying and asking Jesus for His peace and His Spirit and His wisdom and His joy. I pray that He would show me His way and give me His strength to follow.
The more I pray with Him, the more peace I have, because He does show me. He shows me that His ways are not my ways… and that His way is always better, and that as long as I’m following His ways and keeping my mind fixed on Him, He will keep me in perfect peace.
Even when life is hard.
Even when my boat is full to the point of capsizing.
Even when the storms and waves threaten to overwhelm me.
When I pray, He gives me a peace that surpasses understanding.
And He keeps me in that perfect peace when I keep my mind on Him, because I trust Him.
Always.
In Jesus’ name.
Amen.
SCRIPTURES
Isaiah 26:3 ~ You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. (NKJV)
Ecclesiastes 3:11 ~ He has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart [a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God]—yet man cannot find out (comprehend, grasp) what God has done (His overall plan) from the beginning to the end. (AMP)
Isaiah 55:8-9 ~ “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,”declares the Lord.“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (NIV)
Matthew 14:27-31 ~ But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Philippians 4:6-7 ~ Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (NASB)