DAY 99

STRESS

1 Samuel 13 & 14 and Luke 10:1 – 24

Yesterday we read about how Saul was careful to seek the Lord. Today is another story altogether. Stress has caused Saul to get ahead of God: he offers a sacrifice rather than waiting for Samuel (the presence of the Philistines nearby has obviously affected him), and then we read of this vow that ultimately backfires on him and his son Jonathan.

Stress can do that to anyone; it can make us behave in ways we know we shouldn’t. It is one thing to follow God and his ways when we are having good days, but it is another thing entirely to follow him when our stress level is up. Jonathan seems to be able to handle it as we have the episode with him sneaking out and challenging the Philistines.

In our New Testament lesson Jesus sends out 72 disciples to spread the Kingdom of God. If you were in that group would you be stressed? After all Jesus says, take no money or knapsack or sandals…indeed you will be like lambs in midst of wolves…any stress here! Remarkably they come back rejoicing for all that God did through them.

It seems God also continued to work through Saul. We will read in the coming chapters the tragedy of Saul, but in 14:47 it says that he had success in his battles. One of the phrases you hear sometimes is “walk the talk”. We all know the Christian “talk”, but are we walking it, especially when it is hard. The word hypocrite derives from those acting. Over the years it has taken on a decidedly negative connotation. Jesus applies it to some of the religious of His day; it is often applied to Christians today. At the root of this is often our ability to stay close to Jesus when we are sinking in stress.

Is your life too stressful at times? Mine is and staying centered in Jesus is the key. I need to be less focused on the outcomes and more focused on Him. I realize this is a short blog, but I am off to a Board Meeting (this whole stress thing serves as a useful reminder).