We have all been there. The stress to get a project completed, handling an event, making sure everything is ready for the baby, wedding, party, etc. Our world is full of stress, not all stress is terrible it pushes us on, overcomes laziness, helps us do better. Then there are the times when it is just overwhelming! Paul's answer
"and to give you who are troubled rest with us" 2 Thessalonians 1:7
The Thessalonians were constantly persecuted. They were not only being persecuted by the Romans but just as heavily by the Jews. Many had been tortured, some killed, businesses stolen from them, enslaved. This church was unable to get a break. Yet despite all of this, the church stood strong and would not give in to the threats and persecutions, they stood their ground to overcome.
It is truly honorable to do this, but continual stress will eventually wear you down. The Holy Spirit through Paul is saying "rest." We must understand the word "troubled" first to its fullest. It means everything I described above but add to that the feeling that you are being crushed under a heavy weight. This was a torture method that was used, they tied a person down then placed a heavy boulder on them to slowly crush a person. This is how extreme the stress felt to the church. Do you remember feeling that way at times?
Then the "rest" word comes in. Sometimes the pressure comes from the outside, but many times we put it on ourselves. This word means to relax, lay down, let off on the pressure, shake it off, and let it go (no Disney singing here please). The word choice and placement encourages us to take some time to smell the roses, do some fun recreation, find something you love to do and do it.
Remember being overwhelmed, or being overcome by stress is never God's plan. Paul's encouragement is, there are times you just have to stop and do something to relieve the pressure. It may give you a better perspective on handling the problem and also give you the strength you need to do so, as well. He fights our battles for us...let Him!
1 comment:
Lol I did sing a little!!! How true this is, if we can learn to rest in Him then the pressures of life won’t crush us. Also sometimes I work better under pressure but not to the point of breaking.
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