Matthew 11:28-30

Jim Lowe reflects on how Jesus helps us when we are stressed.

Jim Lowe

I've got a confession to make: I'm a Christian and I often get stressed!

I'm one of those people who likes to plan everything. So when I face something I haven't planned for, or something doesn't quite go how I want it to, I can feel a little bit out of control, then a little fearful, then I can quickly start feeling rather stressed.

I wonder, do you ever get stressed?

Most of us will get stressed at some time or another. It's a problem all humans suffer from, even those who are pretty good at hiding it.

But what is stress?

The NHS website says this about stress: Stress is the feeling of being under too much mental or emotional pressure. Pressure turns into stress when you feel unable to cope. People have different ways of reacting to stress, so a situation that feels stressful to one person may be motivating to someone else.

We all react to stress differently. We all have different stress tolerance levels, depending on what we are facing, because we are all unique and have different experiences and worries.

When we get really stressed, you know when you're worried your job is at risk, or you're getting bullied, or family members are getting divorced, our bodies and minds start to suffer. You can't concentrate, you don't get a good night's sleep, your appetite decreases, and you get irritated and lose your temper more.

Often as Christian's we can either feel angry at God for allowing us to go through such things, or we feel guilty that we're not trusting Him enough. We can hide what we're going through from others, because we can get the false impression that Christians are people who have it all together.

One of my favourite passages is Matthew 11:28-30, 'Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light."'

It's a passage that gives me so much hope.

Notice what Jesus says at the start, "Come to me..." The word "come" here is an invitation. Jesus is inviting all who are struggling, weary, burdened and stressed to come to Him, because He wants to give us rest. I think it's incredible that Jesus calls those of us who are struggling to come to Him, to give us the one thing that often we really need, rest.

When I'm stressed, often the last thing that I want to do is rest. I want to sort the problems out that are causing me stress, but the very thing we need is rest. In the Bible there are loads of references to resting. It's such an important thing for us to do. When we are facing stress that is often when we need Jesus' peace for our situations. I've found that I need to go and spend time praying and reading the Bible, to take Him up on the offer of help and rest.

Jesus then goes on to talk about putting on His yoke. But what is a yoke? Surely He can't be asking us to wear an egg?!