Stress. When I mentioned to a group of teen girls that our summer Bible study would begin with the topic of stress, I received feedback that this was a much needed topic. I know I'm not revealing some great mystery when I tell you that teen girls live with a lot of pressures.
When I asked the girls to tell me what stresses them out, some of the responses included: tests, knowing the right thing to wear, homework, sports, boys, the drama of high school, family responsibilities, getting and keeping in shape, getting ready for college, and keeping Christian friends. Okay, someone mentioned that her coach is a crazy driver and it totally stresses her out to drive anywhere with the team, but we are not mentioning names here. These are big issues for girls and as the conversation continued more things were added to the list.
Our study is called His Girl by Vicki Courtney. The goal with the study is to get us (and I'm including myself) to see the world from God's point of view. We want to live as a daughter of the King. So, how does God want us to react when we feel stressed?
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Hebrews 4:14-16
I have to be honest with you. Jesus was a guy. He lived a long time ago. He probably wore the same thing every day. Are you sure he can empathize with a fifteen-year-old girl's decision on what to wear on a dress-up game day? He could turn stones into food if he was hungry, but did he ever have to worry about being teased over his weight? Jesus was omniscient; did he ever stress out before a test?
A little deeper look into the Bible reveals to us that Jesus did indeed face many pressures. Thankfully, Jesus' actions also show us how we can react and face those stresses.
Here is where you need to open your Bible and read Matthew 14. Yes, the whole chapter. While you are reading, remember this all happened it just one day.
Do you remember who John the Baptist was? John was Jesus' cousin and he was a prophet. If anyone on earth had a chance of really "getting" Jesus, it was John. Jesus loved and treasured John. So, it is no surprise that when Jesus is told that John had been beheaded, "he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place." See verse 13.
Jesus was grieving. Have you ever lost someone you love deeply? You understand how Jesus felt. He wanted to get away by himself and mourn his cousin. Unfortunately, Jesus did not have time to grieve. A large crowd had followed Jesus and he felt compassion for them.
If Jesus had a to-do list for that day it would have looked like this.
- Get terribly sad news
- Take a boat ride
- See large crowd and feel compassion
- Heal all the sick
- Feed five thousand men and their families
- Dismiss the crowd
- Pray alone on a mountainside
- Walk across the lake
- Give Peter a water-walking lesson
- Heal more sick people
- Answer challenges from religious people
- Teach large crowd
- Explain teaching to disciples
He went alone and prayed. That was Jesus' response to the pressures of the world. And it should be our response as well.
Does it work? Scroll back up to Hebrews 4:16. God tells us that when we pray, we will receive mercy, grace and help. Notice, it doesn't say maybe we will receive or sometimes we will receive. It says we will receive.
Pray. Approach God's throne of grace with confidence. It works.
No comments:
Post a Comment