Managing Stress Like Jesus

Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada with a word about living with pressure.

Actually, we could say a lot of words, couldn’t we?, about living with pressure. So many of us – so many Christians – are struggling with stress right now. It’s our culture; it’s the world we live in. We get caught up in it in a minute. But all stress and pressure does not come from an overloaded schedule. It’s not always from over-committing ourselves. That can be addressed, right? An overcrowded appointment calendar can be avoided. But what about stuff that can’t be avoided? Sometimes you get stressed to the max by things in life that are completely out of your control.

And man, do I understand that kind of stress. My quadriplegia is at the root of it all. My disability with all its complications and demands – it’s often the source of my stress. If it were just quadriplegia, I might do okay. But sometimes it’s pressure sores or a lung infection that I must deal with. Or a seat cushion that needs repair, or wheelchair batteries that go on the blink, or the mechanical lift on my van breaks down; I hate that part! Sometimes it’s the problems with my voice activation software which causes delay at my computer. Sometimes my husband feels stress from caregiving. And frankly, even an ordinary dinner invitation from a friend can stress out Ken and me. I mean, you know, we gotta take our portable ramps to the home of our friend, getting into their inaccessible house, then fitting under the table – that often doesn’t work; or finding someone to come over later that night to help me lay down. That’s the hard one. I often feel a lot of pressure trying to find people just to help me lay down or get me up in the morning. Now, please, I’m not complaining. Really, I’m not. It’s just for me, this is life. But I don’t want to avoid my life; I just want to be able to manage it with a little less stress. And I bet you feel the same. And if that’s you, let me tell you where I get my inspiration.

Remember in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus fell to His knees and He prayed? He was faced with overwhelming circumstances: a cruel death on the cross. And He agonized, He stressed over this. He fell on the ground and He prayed, “Oh, my Father, if it’s possible, let this cup pass from me.” Jesus was asking to not have to face the cross – to not have to bear it. He was asking His Father if there might be some other way. But then, in the very next breath, He also prayed, “Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Jesus was quick to tell the Father that He was ready to accept anything from His hand, even an agonizing death on a terrible cross. And so moments later, when the soldiers came to arrest Him, Jesus had a totally different frame of mind; He did not resist. And when Peter drew his sword to fight everybody off, the Lord said to him; “Put that sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” Wow! Did you get that? Jesus’ mindset was no longer to avoid the cross if possible; no, now, He was ready to unflinchingly embrace the cross.

That so speaks to me, and I hope it speaks to you, too. Because if you’re faced with a stress in life that you can’t avoid, by all means pray that if it is God’s will, He’ll remove it. But once you have prayed, leave the trial with Him, and be willing to take up your cross and follow Jesus down that hard path. He overcame His cross so that you might have the power to overcome your burdens, as well. And this is your good news; no, rather it’s great news for you today from all of us at Joni and Friends where we love sharing hope through every hardship. And if you need help with that, please let us pray for you at joniradio.org

© Joni and Friends

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