Who Stole My Peace?

Are you like me? Is stress a frequent problem in your life? Do you catch yourself worrying just a little too often? Do you get that anxious and unsettled feeling? Do you sometimes lash out in frustration? Are those moments of feeling calm, peaceful and untroubled, a little less frequent than you’d like?

The more I talk with people, the more I realize we aren’t alone. The majority of us feel overburdened and overwhelmed. We yearn for life to just slow down a bit so we can catch our breath. But, as they say, “time waits for no man.” It’s pretty unlikely that our fast-paced society is suddenly going to turn down the treadmill and put on the elevator music to ease our anxiety.

I recently read an interesting statement about stress that has stuck in my mind:

“A person’s stress level has to do with what a person believes and not what happens to them.”

I’ve thought a lot about this in recent weeks and it’s starting to make a lot of sense. It’s not that I’m afraid of hard work. I’m pretty organized and I’m reasonably capable at working through big challenges. I have a history with my husband and my God that supports the idea that they’re always going to be there for me.

So, why then do I get so stressed? I have to admit that sometimes it’s because I’m not sure the results of my best efforts will be good enough. Sometimes it’s because I realize I have no control over a situation and I’m afraid of how it’s all going to turn out. Other times my trust in others is lacking and I’m worried they won’t do their part. Sometimes stress is just a thinly disguised resentment over some petty injustice like being expected to clean the house or wash the dishes while everyone else is kicking back watching a movie. And there are, of course, the times when I’ve let negativity get the upper hand and I’m just as convinced as Eeyore that life is going to give me lemons.

Every single memory of stress that I can come up with has had more to do with the voices in my head than with what was really going on. It always seems to come down to some belief like “I’m not good enough,” “It’s unfair,” “It’s out of my control” or “I can’t count on others.” Every one of those beliefs (and many others that are similar) rob me of my peace.

God gave us a solution for this, if we choose to use it. Throughout the scriptures he invites us to cast our cares on him. I must admit that every time I’ve felt the anxiety or stress rising and I have stopped in my tracks, wrote down what was overwhelming me, and prayed for God to carry it for me, I have walked away feeling lighter and more serene.

The challenge, for me, is to learn to do it more consistently. If I try to ignore the building pressure and just keep pushing through, the stress levels always continue to rise and my feelings of anxiety gets stronger. I’m the one that gets to choose whether I’m going to hold on to the things that are weighing me down or stop and give them to God and let him replace all my stress-building thoughts and beliefs with his truth.

“Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.” — Psalm 55:22