One of the most limiting factors I believe we face in modern society is stress. This stress can be brought about by internal struggles like insecurity, anger or entitlement. It could be external factors such as family, work, demanding schedules. It could be the environments we find ourselves in: constantly getting louder and demanding more of our valuable attention.
This is completely opposite to what God wants. In the Bible he speaks about bringing us into wide, open spaces – where we have a firm place to stand. He speaks about running and not growing weary. He speaks of our world getting larger and larger. But in all of these scriptural references, there are keys – principles that help us unlock ourselves from the constricting hold of modern life.
Dependence
One of the defining lies of stress is that you have to carry everything. The world does not run because of you. I know it is very fulfilling to think that what you do matters so much that everything would fall apart without you, but that is simply pride. Yes, we should be dependable. Yes, we should all be vital parts of our environments. But in the end, the world does not turn on the axis of you. God is still in control.
In Psalm 18 it speaks about how David cried out to God and he was rescued – placed into a wide, open place. His simple cry is what caused God to rescue him and change his landscape. I spend my life learning over and over again that I cannot live the life I was made to without God. The quickest way to get stressed is to forget about God. If he is the reason for you being where you are, he also has a way for you to live in freedom in the place you find your self.
If you don’t know God, but have recognized how hard it is to make sense of your daily situation – I want to encourage you to call on God. He has not always changed my physical circumstance, but he definitely brings peace, perspective and freedom within that struggle.
Hope
I can say from personal experience that stress is inversely proportional to hope. The more I have allowed hope to die, the greater the weight of the world weighs on my shoulders.
At the end of Isaiah 40 it speaks of those who put their hope in God: that they will run and not grow weary, walk and not faint, rise on wings like eagles. Now you cannot run forever in a small area – this scripture is not referencing a hamster wheel, lab test kind of endurance. The expansive sky is what God wants us to live in. He wants you and me to soar in life. Yet it seems like everything in life is trying to cage and tame who God has made us to be.
That’s where hope comes in. Hope is the belief that there is something greater up ahead – that the part I play in life is only an aspect of a bigger picture that is yet to be seen. It is the belief that the best is truly still ahead.
But hope can also be misplaced. You can place hope in your ability – which will result in stress as you try to prove yourself to yourself. Alternatively you can place hope in a system – which can falter, leaving you disappointed and desperate. You can place hope in other people – who all have their own faults and will inevitably disappoint you in some way. Locating your hope in those areas will enable you to run for a while, but you will become tired.
The most freeing thing you can do is place your hope in the eternal, faithful love of God. He was constant before time began and will outlast anything we try to build on this earth. If our source of hope is drawn from the One who is endless, then our hope will be endless. And we will have the strength to try and span the breadth, height, width and depth of this wide open life he has given us.
Generosity
This may be a little bit of a contradictory one for some. I almost burnt out trying to be ‘generous’ to others. But self-sacrifice is not a sustainable form of generosity. Generosity is a principle that is continuous. Where self-sacrifice demeans and denies you, generosity esteems and empowers you.
One of the most meaningful gifts I ever received was from my little cousin. He had recently won his first ever medal for a sport activity – he was obsessed with all of trophies I had in my room. But one day while I was receiving gifts from my family, he ran home and came back with a big gift bag. Inside was his small medal. His generosity was not expressed in monetary value, nor in size, nor was it impressive for those who witnessed me receiving it. But it grew him. And it grew my gratitude as well.
In Proverbs 11:24 it speaks about how the world of the generous is constantly expanding. Where stress highlights what we DON’T have – causing us to shrink and tighten our grips on life; generosity highlights what we DO have – allowing ourselves to embrace those around us.
Generosity also operates on the understanding that God is in control. If you are desperate for your world to open up. If you need a greater perspective and want freedom from the demanding pressure that this life can give us, the only true solution is engaging with Jesus. Click on the link below to find out more.