Getting Rid of the Stress

January 16th, 2011

Written by Anita Carman
Dear Faithful One,

Are you tired of carrying the whole world on your shoulders? Do you need a way to relief the pressure and get rid of the stress?

John 1:6 tells us about John the Baptist who was described as a man sent by God to testify concerning Jesus. The verse reads, “He himself was not the light. He came only as a witness to the light.” Observe that John the Baptist was clear of his role: He simply pointed to Jesus.

In the same way, aren’t believers called to exhibit love or mercy or generosity or service as simply our way to point to Jesus? Whenever we start enjoying the accolades, life becomes about us. The problem is, we were never designed to be in the limelight. The stress we feel is when we think our efforts are what saved the day. What God wants is for His power to work through us so that His efforts are what save the day. We are simply the ones chosen to point others to see the greatness of God.

The level of my stress tells me that somehow I have gotten confused and have put myself on some kind of a performance treadmill. The key to having a life that is stress free is to point to God. If I succeed, I get to thank God for lending me His great ideas. The moment I pat myself on the back I will either start criticizing others for their lack of performance or I will start to feel overwhelmed by what I must do in order to stay successful. But oh to live in the overflow of God’s strength through me!

Like John the Baptist, we get to testify to the power of Jesus. The pressure therefore is on God. He is the one who has to defend His own reputation. The great news is, God is fully capable of defending His own reputation. We get to exalt the King. He gets all the accolades. Are you ready to hand over the reign and let God rule?

I pray this devotion encouraged you in a special way. When I pray for you, I hear a victory song. I believe in you because I believe in the power of God’s Word in you as you put His Word into action.

Love, Anita