BENEATH THE SHEETS OF PAPER
By Jedd Francis De Luna
WE think of stress as a good motivator for us to excel and improve on our work or our task. But to some, stress can be considered as one big distraction and it often leads to frustration. But do we look at it as tension or do we see it as a big opening to a better solution?
Ever since I was a kid, I often get ‘good’ marks on my card, seldom got ‘great’ marks, and rarely got ‘excellent’ marks on it. My mom told me not to fear stress, especially in the tasks at school. She told me to take it as a challenge just like when she did back in her school to university days as a student. I always try but I’m not sure that my self-esteem was really that high to hold on to that saying to take stress – that man-eating monster whom I despise very much to just say “hey, come and get some,” and knock the stress off of me.
As the years go by, I always feel inferior to people. I’m more of a visionary, so to speak, which is why I tend to slack off. It’s because I’m too busy planning for the future that I often forget that I need to do something in the present so that I will be able to achieve it in the future. I’ve always considered myself to just leave it all to God: all my problems, stress, frustrations, but at some point, I seem to lack the ease to release the stress in me.
Someone once told me that with God, there is a two-way connection: You talk to Him through prayer, while He talks to you through His Word: the Bible. And for half a year when I was in second year college, I doubted that. I was anxious about Him and His existence, which is why I didn’t bother to really “communicate” with Him. In my mind I thought that was there really a point where things will be easier? I mean, surrender? And then what, do I get my problems solved? They don’t, do they?
NO, they don’t.
Talking to God, telling Him all your problems, and reading His Word won’t make any difference if first – you don’t do your part, and second – if you always think that when you put your faith in Christ, your life will never face any kind of storms at all. But that’s not how that goes. When we pray to God and ask Him to help us achieve a great score in our examination, we don’t just say ‘Amen’ and start playing games or slacking off. What do we do? We do our part. We study. We practice. We learn. We do anything that will help us in answering the exam. But why?
Steve Murrell said in his book, WikiChurch, that “Christianity does not promise a storm-free life. However, if we build our lives on biblical foundations, the storms of life will not destroy us. We cannot have lives that are storm-free, but we can become storm-proof.” Imagine that: a storm-proof life! I mean, yes, we will still face different problems, we will still commit different mistakes…the difference? How we handle these situations and how we face it.
Whenever I get frustrated, I usually pray. Prayer should always be our first priority, not our last-minute necessity. When we pray, it means that we’re strong. We are strong enough to admit that we can’t do this alone, that we need guidance from someone who can understand us, appreciate us, and make us strong.
Don’t forget to thank God for the frustration and stress! You might ask yourself, “Wait, what? Why?” Hold your horses and let me explain:
Living the Christian life is not difficult, it is IMPOSSIBLE. But do you know what’s amazing? I learned once more the real meaning of love and sacrifice, where in Jesus died for my sins, your sins, and everyone’s sins so that we may be free from bondage and hell. His relentless love for us is what makes this, for me, one great love story. Imagine that: God sent His only Son down here on earth to die for our past, our present, and our future sins. He corrected our errors, he fixed our faults, and he loved us (and still does) even when we feel that no one is there who is loving us.
And it is through our stress that we hold on to him more. But we should always remember that God should never be our last resort when it comes to problems. He should be the first one that we go to whether or not we’re in trouble. Before you eat? Praise Him; after you got an A+ in your midterms but got a C+ in your finals? Praise Him; lost a swimming match and placed last? Praise Him!
I realized what my problem was during months of doubt, anxiety, and depression: I never communicated with Him ever again. I was like the prodigal son in the book of Luke, wherein I ran away not knowing that what my Father was saying to me was right all along, but I dare not listen to Him. The LORD said in Joshua 1:5b (NIV) that “I will never leave you nor forsake you,” and added in Joshua 1:9 (NIV) “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
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God commands us to be strong and courageous, He didn’t pleaded it to us. He promised us that He will be with us wherever we go and that He will never leave us, neither will He forsake us. And to show it to us, He gave His only son, Jesus, to die on the cross in Calvary for us to be cleansed of our sins, and three days later rose.
My anxiety is gone because God showed me His relentless love and now, I serve Him and share His love to others as well. Now, whenever I get stressed or frustrated with problems, I pray and communicate with God. He knows that I can’t fight this battle on my own and that I need His help.
So death, where’s your sting? Stress, where’s your sting? Frustration, where’s your sting?
For comments and suggestions, you may contact the author at jeddfrancis21@gmail.com
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