“Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” Luke 22:39-44
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." -Philippians 4:6-7
We’ve all been there. Everything is going great in life, your bank statement is no longer in red, your roommate let you pick this months dish soap, and all is well.
And then without any warning, aside from the syllabus with everything from January to May written in plain English, midterms magically appear.
And suddenly we become the best Christians God has ever seen. We start praying on our knees morning and night, singing hymns instead of Chance the Rapper, looking at those maps they put in the back of Bibles. Anything to prove to God we are worthy of his help.
It is human nature to feel stressed. Even Jesus, as a human, felt the stress of his coming death, and began to sweat blood. But in his time of stress and anxiety he prayed to God, never ceasing to ponder his own strength, but completely submitted to the strength of God.
We have the same strength in God. Because Jesus died on the cross and rose again, we have been welcomed into the Kingdom of God and can lean on His strength in our times of weakness.
Whether you’re going through midterms, school applications, job applications, moving to a new home, facing an illness or troubles in your marriage, Jesus hears you. And he has given you full permission to tap into his strength when you just can’t seem to lift your head.
Your stress is not from God. Stress is the absence of God, and when we bring God into our areas of stress, we become closer to him in our surrendering of that stress.
When we leave our stress at the foot of the cross, we can begin our walk with Jesus without the heavy burden of our own worries, and live worry free knowing his strength is enough.
His strength was enough to save mankind. It is enough to save you.