“As pressure and stress bear down on me, I find joy in your commands.”

A buddy went through a major acquisition process. He told me that in the last five days of the process, he slept nine hours total.  Now, I don’t know about you, but that I don’t think I could do.  But, if we have to, we can.  There is something about the stress that keeps us going…until we can’t. In February we got to see the winter Olympic athletes as they competed at the highest levels of competitive stress.  There were lots of falls, slips, and unforced mistakes that could only be attributed to the pressures of stress. The US Biathlete (skiing and shooting) Clare Egan provided these stress “relievers”, which in her sport stress alleviation is critical to control.  And, these are good for all of us who don’t compete at the Olympic level or don’t even compete in any sport but look for how to reduce the stresses of work and our careers:

• Be prepared
• Exhale slowly
• Be mindful
• Focus on the task, not the results
• Compete against only yourself

There are many accounts in the Bible of some serious times of stress.  And none of them that I can remember teach us to give up, pack it in, don’t push through, etc.  Jesus persevered hrough under the greatest of stress and He kept going towards and through the cross, regardless of the stress upon Him.  He followed the commands of His Father, which is exactly what we are to do. Let’s also remember today that when everyone around us is stressed out, our calm and peace with what we have been given and teachings and commands to find our way through, is a different way.  And different ways; they are noticed.

Reference: Psalm 119: 143 (New Living Translation)