Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the demands of your job, as if no matter how hard you work, you just get farther and farther behind? You go into the office early so you can get some work done before the phone starts ringing, you work through lunch answering e-mail, you stay late trying to get the work done that you couldn’t do because you were in meetings all day, you take a laptop and a briefcase home at night -- and you still can’t keep up. Somehow, there’s always more to be done than can be done. You’re perpetually running behind.
Do you remember the TV show, MASH? There’s a recurring scene in which Hawkeye and B.J. have been in surgery for eighteen hours straight. Finally, they finish and drag themselves back to their tent. Just as their heads hit the pillow, we hear the faint sound of helicopters in the distance. And then, Radar’s voice over the PA system, shouting, "Incoming!" Ever feel like that? Just when you think you’ve caught up, just when you think you’ve earned the right to relax a little, another crisis hits.
Americans are stressed out. A recent survey by Integra Realty Resources reported the following statistics:
* 42 percent of workers reported that yelling and verbal abuse took place where they worked.
* One in ten said that physical violence had occurred where they worked.
* 34 percent had lost sleep because of workplace stress, and 23 percent had been driven to tears.
* Almost two-thirds, 65 percent, identified workplace stress as a problem for them personally. [And the other 35 percent must have been too busy the answer the question].
(Source: http://www.lycos.com/health/flash/stress2.html)
But you don’t need statistics to know that job stress is a problem. The stress in your own life is all the proof you need. In this church, we have quite a variety of occupations; including doctor, nurse, lawyer, accountant, computer programmer, engineer, teacher, custodian, office worker, and full-time homemaker. And every one of those occupations can be stressful.
So what do we do? How do we "survive" when the pressure gets intense, when the weight of all the demands, and expectations, and responsibilities threatens to overwhelm us? What do we do when our life feels like a treadmill that’s stuck on "high"? To answer that, we’re going to do two things. First, we’re going to look briefly at what causes stress, and how people try to cope with it. Second, we’re going to see what the Bible has to say to help us deal with stress and pressure.
What produces stress?
1. Excessive demands. Being expected to do more than you can reasonably hope to do. Perhaps the person making the demand [manager, customers, husband] just doesn’t understand that they’re being unrealistic. Or they do understand, but all that really matters is that their goals are met.
2. The work itself may be difficult, unpleasant, hazardous; the people may be hard to get along with.
3. Lack of control. Often, it’s not the work itself, but the fact that you have little or no control over it, that causes stress. You are told what to do; you are assigned work; someone else decides what you’re going to do; and how, and when, and where.
That’s what causes stress. How do people respond to it?
* The most common response is anger and rage. They may act out their anger, yelling and cursing and throwing things. Or they may internalize it, so that they become depressed and withdrawn.
* Sometimes people immerse themselves in pleasure or sensation in order to avoid feeling the pressure. They bombard their senses to shut out the pain; they anesthetize themselves with addictive behaviors -- alcohol, or drugs, or pornography, or over-exercise, or television, or food.
* And if all else fails, they just get sick. According to the American Institute of Stress [I’ll bet that’s a fun place to work], 43 percent of Americans suffer from stress-related health problems. (Source: Referenced in Fast Company, May 2000, "Cease and De-Stress", http://www.fastcompany.com/feature/stress.html)
People try all kinds of things to cope with stress. Yoga, meditation, aerobic exercise, deep breathing, visualization, biofeedback, diet, time management. But these don’t deal with the root issue. Because stress isn’t really caused by our circumstances; rather, a feeling of stress is a subjective response to our circumstances. It’s a response that’s driven by our beliefs and attitudes. So in order to relieve our stress, we have to change the way we think. The goal is not necessarily to change our circumstances. The goal is to change the way we perceive and respond to our circumstances; to see them as God sees them, and to respond with the strength and wisdom God provides, so that they don’t overwhelm us.
But before we can do that, we have to believe that God’s way is best. We have to believe that He loves us, and that He knows better than we do what will make our lives meaningful, and rewarding, and fulfilling. Listen to this:
"You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever." -- Psalm 16:11 (NIV)
"I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." -- John 10:10 (NAS)
God will never ask us to do anything unless the reward far exceeds the cost. Do you believe that? Are you willing to put that belief into action? Jesus Christ gave his life so that we could have an abundant life, not a miserable, stressed-out existence. Our part is just to believe, and follow.
Let’s look at the first cause of stress, excessive demands. None of you is an active duty member of the armed forces. So you don’t have to obey orders. You won’t be court-martialed and shot if you say "no". You have a choice. That’s very important. Because until you realize that you really do have a choice, you’ll always be re-acting instead of acting. You’ll always be a victim of your circumstances. You need to realize that, although you can’t control what people demand, you can control how you respond to those demands. You are responsible to set the boundaries of what you will and will not do, what you will and will not tolerate, what you will and will not sacrifice.
Now you say, "Well, of course, I’m not legally obligated to do what they want, but it’s unrealistic to think that I can just say ’no’. I could lose my job. I could get passed over for a promotion or a raise." And that’s true. Actions have consequences. But it’s not a question of whether to say "no". Every choice you make requires you to say "no" to someone or something, every choice is a tradeoff.
* when you say "yes" to working late, you’re saying "no" to having dinner with your family.
* when you say "yes" to going in to work early, you’re saying "no" to having morning devotions.
* when you say "yes" to a business trip, you’re saying "no" to your daughter’s birthday party.
I’m not saying you should never do any of these things. But the question isn’t whether you’re going to say "no". The only question is what, or who, you’re going to say "no" to. And that takes it out of the realm of obligation, and puts it into the realm of choice. Then, you have to ask yourself, "Why am I doing this? Is it really worth it? What is motivating my choices?" If you don’t ask those questions, then you’ll just be driven along by your circumstances; you’ll always be operating according to someone else’s values and priorites. And what should your priorities be?
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? . . . But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." -- Matthew 6:25-26, 33 (NIV)
What does this mean? Just this: if you want the abundant life Christ promises; if you want the peace, and joy, and fulfillment that He offers, your answer to Him must be "yes". You must put God first in your life, even if that means saying "no" to someone else. Jesus tells us, not just to seek God, but to seek Him first. Our commitment to Christ isn’t just one of many factors to consider when making a decision. It isn’t just something that we weigh in the balance with things like building a career. Doing God’s will must be the primary factor in every choice we make. Is that true in your work and your life? Are you even thinking about what God wants?
For instance, if you’re deciding whether to work on Saturday. It’s not enough to say, "I need to do this to get a raise." That’s as far as most people go: "I want a raise; I have to do this to get a raise; therefore I’m working on Saturday." But a Christian needs to think more deeply. You have to ask yourself, "Why do I want a raise? How will more money help me to follow and serve Christ? In God’s eyes, is what I can do with the additional money more important than what I could be doing with my time if I didn’t work on Saturday?" I can’t tell you if you should work Saturdays. But those are the kinds of questions you have to ask. And if you pray and seek God, He will guide you.
Or say you’re a vocational homemaker, a "housewife". You’ve been asked to "volunteer" at your daughter’s school twice a week. For many women, the calculation would be pretty straightforward: "They expect me to do this. They’ll think badly of me if I don’t. Therefore, I have to." But those reasons have nothing to do with following Christ. The question you have to ask yourself is, "How will doing this help me to live for Christ? Is this more worthwhile than the other things I could be doing with my time?" We need to practice relating our choices back to our commitment to Christ.
As you probably realize, what I’ve been suggesting is not an easy thing. Putting God first in our lives takes work. It takes thought, and prayer. We’re accustomed to making decisions on more pragmatic grounds; we’re not used to making decisions based on how we can best seek God’s kingdom with our lives. In order to do that, we have to read the Bible, so that we’ll know what God values. We have to seek counsel from other Christians. We have to pray. But let me give you some encouragement.
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." -- Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)
If you’ve been trying to live life in your own strength, if you’re trying to cope with the stresses of life without putting God first, then you know that one thing it doesn’t bring is peace and rest. But if you are following Christ, He promises that your burdens will be light. Not that your circumstances will necessarily change. Not that your work will become easier, or more pleasant, or less demanding. But he will give you His strength, He will shoulder the burdens with you, so that they don’t overwhelm you and crush you. He will give you abundant life. He will give you joy, and peace, and rest.
Now, I realize that the implications of what I’ve been teaching this morning are huge. Truly taking these things to heart could result in significant changes in your life. A change of job. A change of lifestyle. A change of goals and plans. A change of status. And that’s nothing to take lightly. But in the end, the only truly safe course is to bring every aspect of our lives under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, whatever the cost and whatever the risk. When we do, we have His promise to care for us:
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." -- Matthew 6:31-33 (NIV)
"God has said, ’Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’" So we say with confidence, ’"The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?’" -- Hebrews 13:5-6 (NIV)
"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." -- 1 Peter 5:7 (NIV)
God cares for us. He will never abandon us. We can entrust ourselves, and our jobs, and our families to Him. We can give our fear and worry and anxiety and stress over to Him. If we will put Him first in everything, then He will take care of us, and He will bless us beyond anything we can imagine. Will you trust Him today?
(For an .rtf file of this and other sermons, see www.journeychurchonline.org/messages.htm)
