As a High School Senior, a new meaning has been brought to the word “stressed.” Life is about more than school, homework, and family; life is about what comes next, figuring out where I’m going. The standard is higher than ever before, and it often seems like I have no time to relax. With such a busy schedule, how can there be any room for rest? The Bible is constantly reminding us that there is always rest to be found in the Lord.
A big way through which we can have rest is by relying on the Lord, and waiting for Him. In Isaiah 40:31, God tells us: “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.” The idea is particularly that we are not waiting on ourselves, but waiting for God to take care of things. Only with this mindset can we find rest, as the verse continues: “they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” If we rely on God for our strength, the stress of this life will decrease because it is not our own weak, fragile strength that gets us through each day.
Riding alongside this idea is that of taking life one day at a time. Because we are human, we have no say in what will happen in five minutes, much less what will happen tomorrow. We can trust that God will take care of tomorrow, and be content with the fact that He gives us grace for each day. “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23). It is only because of God’s mercy and lovingkindness that each day does not destroy us with its troubles.
Every day that we live, God has mercy sufficient for that day. He provides for our every need, one day at a time. The tremendous blessing and rest found here must not be underestimated. When was the last time a day felt like too much? Maybe it’s today, maybe it was yesterday, maybe it will be tomorrow. In all of your days, in all of your struggles, despite all of your stress, God is there. God is faithful. You can trust Him. Life-determining decisions, relationship decisions, every-day decisions, all of these will come, and then they will go. Still God will remain. In Him can be found rest amid the stress.
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