HOW DO YOU HANDLE TIREDNESS AND STRESS?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
“Come to Me, all you who are weary
and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
(Matthew 11:28)

MEDITATION:
Have you ever had one of those days when all you could think of was,
    “I can’t wait to get home, eat, relax and go to bed”
Some days we are full of energy, but there are some days when just
making a decision feels like a chore. Even on those days when we are
energized, we can be burdened when things that require our attention
keep piling up (to us they feel like they are ‘piling on’). When we feel
over-burdened, it can sap our energy and confuse our thoughts.

Then there are those days (rare as they may be) when we aren’t stressed
and we are able to cruise through the day. While the stressful days seem
long and tiresome, the ‘easy’ days can seem way too short, can’t they?
We may ask ourselves,
    “Why can’t every day be like this?”

The good news for believers is, Jesus understands our challenges. He
knows that laboring folks need rest and relaxation. He knows it because
He was a laborer Himself. He was a carpenter, and also had many who
demanded His time and attention while He was serving His Father.

We need to remember that Jesus was both divine and human. As
a carpenter, we can assume His hands were calloused and possibly
scarred. He was adept at using a saw and hammer and at the end
of a day of carpentry, He was hungry and tired just like us.

He knew what it meant to work long hours and to come home at
night tired and weary. As He served His Father, there were many
following Him and anxiously awaiting to hear what He had to say.
There were also those who required some special one on one time
with Him.

We can understand why He would isolate Himself at times to pray.
In His human state, Jesus needed help from His Father to handle
the things He had to deal with. In His divine state, He knows that
we need help as well, because He has been where we are. He knows
how weary and over-burdened we can become at times.

Isn’t it refreshing to know that He understands our weariness and
is able to provide for our needs? Too often we can become stressed
to the point that we forget about His availability to help. We try to
‘get through the day’ by dealing with everything in our own strength.

It is similar to someone treading water to keep from drowning, when
there are life preservers all around them. All they need to do is reach
out to the help available and relax as it keeps them afloat. Jesus said,
“Come to me….”. He is our life preserver when we are sinking in the
waters of tiredness and stressfulness.

Some of us can become independent to a fault. We don’t want to have
to depend on someone else; we want to handle everything ourselves.
This is not a good idea for anyone in a supervisory position. They need
to delegate and trust (depend on) their staff to handle the tasks assigned
to them.

Ask anyone who is a micro-manager if they feel overburdened. More
than likely they will tell you that if they expect anything to be done
correctly, they have to manage each individual at every stage of the
process. Just as Jesus is there to provide help for us, the staff of a
manager is there to provide and they need to know their manager
trusts them.

We also need to trust Jesus to provide what we need, when we need it,
and to do that, we need to “come to Him”. Jesus has assured us that
He will ‘give us rest’.

ACTION:
How are you handling those days when you feel tired and overburdened?
Do you go to the Lord in prayer and receive His help, or do you still try
to handle everything in your own strength? Are you actively seeking His
guidance, or relying on your own wisdom? Where does your rest come from?

In one of my jobs, I was assigned a project with an aggressive deadline
with no ‘wiggle room’. It had to be completed by a certain date due to
the other systems that depended on its completion. Needless to say, this
was an extremely stressful project, and it also demanded much of my
personal time.

For six months, I had to work 10-12 hours a day, seven days a week.
This was frustrating as it prevented me from spending time with my
family and attending church each Sunday. If I expected to survive
this ordeal, and be successful, then I HAD to ‘come to the Lord’ for
help.

I can say without reservations that He helped me to endure the six
months (and I was successful). More importantly, I kept in touch
with Him through prayer (not just at night, but throughout the day).
Since I was not able to attend church, it was critical for me to stay
in contact with the Lord.

If you are weary and burdened, follow the Lord’s advice and
“come to Him”. You may take pride in doing a good job and
that’s a good thing. However, there is a risk of having a type
of arrogant pride, and God has stated clearly that He detests
that kind of pride.

At any rate, we may have to set aside our pride in order to,
‘come to Him’. It might make us feel uncomfortable, but we
need to remember that God wants our dependence (on Him),
and not our independence (relying on self).

Another benefit of setting aside our pride is, we open the door
for humility to become a part of who we are. God loves it when
we are humble, and there are benefits associated with humility.
    Whoever humbles himself like this child
    is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
    (Matthew 18:4)

    Whoever exalts himself will be humbled,
    and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
    (Matthew 23:12)

    But he gives more grace. Therefore it says,
    “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
    (James 4:6)

    Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
    (James 4:10)

    Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand
    of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you
    (1 Peter 5:6)

    And when he humbled himself the wrath of the Lord
    turned from him, so as not to make a complete
    destruction. Moreover, conditions were good in Judah.
    (2 Chronicles 12:12)

    And when he was in distress, he entreated the favor of the
    Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God
    of his fathers.
    (2 Chronicles 33:12)

    Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we
    might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him
    a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods.
    (Ezra 8:21)

    For you save a humble people,
    but the haughty eyes you bring down.
    (Psalm 18:27)

    He leads the humble in what is right,
    and teaches the humble his way.
    (Psalm 25:9)

    The Lord lifts up the humble;
    he casts the wicked to the ground.
    (Psalm 147:6)

    For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;
    he adorns the humble with salvation.
    (Psalm 149:4)

    Toward the scorners he is scornful,
    but to the humble he gives favor.
    (Proverbs 3:34)

    When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
    but with the humble, is wisdom.
    (Proverbs 11:2)

    Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the
    first day that you set your heart to understand and
    humbled yourself before your God, your words have
    been heard, and I have come because of your words.
    (Daniel 10:12)

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, as I reflect on the life of Jesus and
His labor here on earth, help me to remember that all
work is sacred when it is done unto You. Forgive me
for when I have failed to come to You when I am weary
and burdened. Help me to find rest so I may be refreshed
and seek to please You in everything I do. Show me where
pride still exists in my life and help me to become completely
humble, so I will receive the benefits You provide, including
hearing my prayers and giving me peace, joy guidance, and
encouragement.”

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