But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed. (Acts 16:25-26 NKJV)
Do you ever feel like you’re living inside a pressure cooker? The demands of life resemble a steep mountain you haven’t the strength to climb. There are appointments to keep, and if you carpool the kids, you can double that number. There are virtual conferences and zoom calls. There’s shopping and preparing meals. There’s mid-week service now that things are opening up, and we haven’t begun to list all the requirements you must meet at work. Why is life so stressful?
The enemy wants to apply pressure to Christians, because he loves the effects of a pressure-cooker lifestyle. Prayerlessness results from a full schedule. Those on-the-go prayers just don’t comfort our racing hearts like we need. An overwhelmed life often leaves the Bible in the car from Sunday to Sunday. When was the last time you cracked open your Bible or Bible app? Joy is fleeting, and hope is forgotten. Then one day, you see the gulf between you and God. God doesn’t demand we keep our appointments with Him, so usually we break them in order to make room for everything and everyone else.
Stress is a great tactic for the enemy, so what do we do about it? Paul and Silas were imprisoned in Philippi. That alone is stressful. Their legs were stretched to an uncomfortable position and placed in stocks. Chains weighed the prisoners down.
Stress surrounds us like prison bars. We are stretched to the point of breaking. The weight of too many requests drags us down like a heavy chain.
Paul and Silas began praising God and praying. God must be first in our lives, or nothing else will fall into place as it should.
I read once that we need to pray more on our busiest days. Usually that’s when I pray less and expect God to understand. Ever since I read that, it reminds me that I need prayer even more on overwhelming days. Also, I have found that when I give God my full schedule, I accomplish more than I ever expected.
Here’s a few practical tips we can try:
*Learn to say, “No!” Not all things are expedient.
*Shuffle things around. Go out to eat instead of cooking on busy evenings.
*Plan meals ahead for the busy days.
*Purchase more at the store and make less trips. It takes as much time to buy 2 jars of spaghetti sauce as it does to buy one.
*Set your phone to Do Not Disturb so you will not be interrupted when completing a task. This should be a priority during prayer and Bible study.
Do you have any time-saving tips you’d like to share in the comments?
Lord God, we realize stress isn’t normal, but a weapon of the enemies. Give us the wisdom and discernment to change things up and make better decisions about our time and tasks. Help us spend more time with You and make it a priority. Amen.
DIG DEEPER
HIKING THE TRAIL
Begin viewing stress as an enemy that God has given you weapons to conquer. Win the battle of Stress.
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Originally posted on June 14, 2021 @ 3:00 am
Great reminder!