How does faith make pressure easier to handle?
Calming the stress of life can seem like an impossible task. But there is good news! When life gets overwhelming, God can step in and teach us practical ways to walk through it.
Our world is one that promotes urgency and one that daily loads new pressures on us, whether that’s incessant emails, unrelenting bosses, or the burden of trying to be the perfect partner, daughter, mother, employee and boss. Yet, that isn’t even mentioning the pressure we put on ourselves to reach our goals and tick off the to-do lists of our lives. Not only do we have pressures put on us but we are also often encouraged by our striving culture to find more stress to put on ourselves.
Knowing Our Worth
Life’s pressures are made heavier by being linked to our identity. We are sold the idea that the more we do and the more stress we have, the better and more successful a person we are. But, having faith in God means that our identity and worth no longer have to be rooted in how much pressure we can endure or how much we can achieve.
Faith in God teaches us that we are enough because we were ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’ (Psalm 139:14). Believing in God means knowing that He chose to create you and no matter what, you will always be enough for Him. The Bible is very specific about the fact that we are not defined by what we do or how well we do it. A relationship with God is never a prize for good deeds or human striving but depends only on God’s kindness, which is constant and unconditional. Whether we thrive under pressure or whether we buckle under it (like I tend to!) we are no more or less worthy to be loved and accepted. The pressure of getting life right has no place in a relationship with God and therefore can take a huge weight off our shoulders.
“True freedom from the pressure of challenging times comes with seeing them as an opportunity.”
Receiving Rest
Knowing our true identity can free us to care for ourselves amidst pressure because we know we are worth looking after. Choosing rest can help us navigate stressful seasons in our lives in a healthy and productive way that radiates self-love and care. It’s written in the Bible that ‘so many people were coming and going [and] they did not even have a chance to eat’ (Mark 6:31). I feel like this is something we can definitely relate to in the times where we’re chasing a deadline and just can’t find the time to put the work away and sit down to a meal. But Jesus urges that we rest and practice stillness. By doing this, the tightening feeling of pressure can calm.
God encourages rest but He can also bring it. ‘He gives strength to the weary. And to [them] who ha[ve] no might, He increases power’ (Isaiah 40:29). When we feel as if we don’t have anything left to give, God can give us the ‘power’ to carry on. Knowing that we have His energy to fall back on can surely release some pressure.
Letting Go of Control
When life’s pressures start to pile up and intensify, so can our desire to control what is causing them and everything else around us. The harsh truth is that we can bring as much order to our lives as we like, but we will never be completely in control. By believing that God created the world and each of us, we can have peace in the fact that He is in control of those things.
The Bible says that your life is so precious to God. Trusting in Him allows us to relax into the knowledge that our lives are taken care of and that He is guiding and looking out for us in the stressful times. The pressures of life are lightened when we can trust that we are in safe hands and are valuable to Him.
“When we feel as if we don’t have anything left to give, God can give us the energy to carry on.”
A New Perspective
Not only does faith in God allow us to relax amid the pressures of life by feeling valued and provided for but it also can teach us to see stresses in a positive light. The Bible describes hard times as a refinery. This links stress to the process of creating precious metals and diamonds, which can only be made by being exposed to extremely high temperatures. We are the material and pressure is the fire.
True freedom from the pressure of painful times comes with seeing them as an opportunity for us to be improved and as the ticket to becoming as beautiful as precious stones. But let’s be honest, seeing our challenges as purely great and constructive is a hard task to master. I would encourage you not to strive to become an unfailing expert at it but to start small. Maybe that just looks like taking a deep breath and saying to yourself for one second of your day, ‘this doesn’t feel easy right now, but I can trust that there is a good reason why I’m experiencing this pressure’.
God encourages us that, yes, the world will throw burdens at us but that we can take heart because He is in control of the world and our lives. We can walk through anything with God.
Words by
Charlotte Paradise
