Victory over Stress

By Dr. Paul Chappell

Life—it often demands more than we have to give! It pulls us in
opposite directions—which can sometimes cause us to neglect things
that really matter most—like God and our family.

For too many of us, busyness has become the "applauded addiction."
We are encouraged, sometimes even pushed, to fill our lives with
meaningless stuff until there is no room for God or anything else
that really matters. The problem is that this stuff—activities, work,
money— doesn't fulfill our deep longing for purpose. We will never
find God's best for us simply by trying to get ahead in our careers
or getting a bigger piece of the pie.

In Luke 10:38–42 we see the story of a woman who was being pulled in
opposite directions. She was stressed out!

"Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain
village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her
house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus'
feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving,
and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister
hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And
Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful
and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary
hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her."
Stress was found in the lives of the early Christians and is found in
our lives today. As Jesus traveled about the Galilean countryside,
He found His way to many different people—people whom He loved deeply
and they loved Him, deeply. One of His favorite stopping points was
in the little town of Bethany, on the east side of the Mount of
Olives. In that town was a home in which Mary, Martha, and Lazarus
resided. To really get a glimpse into Jesus' heart for these people,
John 11:5 tells us, "Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and
Lazarus." Aren't you glad Jesus loves your family? He loves the
entire world, but this was a family who literally had the joy of
welcoming Him into their home during His earthly ministry.

In this family of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, there was a particular
member who struggled with stress perhaps more than the others. In
fact, when Jesus came, it was a stressful day in Martha's life. In
this text, Martha is a picture of stress. Notice it in verse
40: "But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him,
and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve
alone?" We see that she is described as one who was cumbered about.
The word "cumbered" means to be driven, mentally. She was a driven
and, perhaps, a multi-tasking person. Martha was skilled in the
culinary arts and excited about the opportunity to serve. She was
the first to arrive and the last to leave; always in a hurry; and had
more to do than she could possibly get done. She was a picture of
stress.

Sometimes you get to the place where you start wondering what is
going on and the stress gets the best of you. Many of us could
say, "I live Martha's life without trying." So instead of focusing
on Martha, I want to look at the life of Mary. I want to learn from
this godly woman's testimony.

In Psalm 46:10, the Bible says, "Be still, and know that I am God: I
will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth."

Think of those words: "Be still, and know that I am God." In our
lives, we don't have a lot of still times. It seems like everything
is passing us by like a mile marker on the highway. But here we see
Mary taking time to sit at the feet of Jesus.

The key to victory over stress is found when you take time for Jesus.
Listen to what He has to say. Appreciate His company. Discover His
will for your life, and begin living with victory over stress!