Our text for today is John 14:27:
”Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
In a world of push and shove and compete and compete, this verse seems almost impossible. How does one find peace today? How do we fight stress in a stressful world?
Do you even know what stress is? Not like, “Have you ever been stressed?” but more like, “Do you know what’s happening when you’re stressed?” God designed each of us with this incredible response system hardwired into our bodies.
I once read the story of an electrician who responded to a call at a sketchy house. There was a big man there, but he had to go look at the electrical panel way back in a closet. He turned his back on the man to check out the problem and just as he did, an old ironing board fell against his back. He turned quickly and stabbed the ironing board with his screwdriver. The man said, to him, “Kinda stressed out aren’t you?”
Our stress system kind of keeps us feeling safe, and the times we experience stress are times when this system temporarily activates. Your heart rate increases, and your breathing pattern might change because your body is looking for help in managing the stress. You might even stab someone with a screwdriver.
During Jesus’ ministry, he met a woman who was also searching for ways to manage her stress. She had a condition where she was bleeding constantly (Matthew 9:22). She was experiencing physical, mental, and emotional stress, but then she touched Jesus or even just his clothes, and she was healed.
In our stress, we too can reach out to Jesus and have something better — or at least something different. We can learn much from this woman’s story about how to look to God when we need hope.
From time to time, each of us feel stressed out or anxious. When we do, we’ll need a plan. Thankfully, there are stories like this to remind us when you’re not okay, Jesus offers hope.