This year I have the privelege of directing the VBS at our church. I'm still amazed that they let a 15 year old girl do it, but, it's a ton of fun, and I'm thoroughly enjoying it! But, yesterday, I was going through a box that came in the mail, sorting out the teacher's books and CDs, and posters, and figuring out what I *still* hadn't gotten.
All in all, I stressed myself out about it. Now, I don't stress out easily. I just don't. I get excited, hyper, or worried....but, I don't stress very often. And, I found myself wondering why I was stressing. I had just, a few days before, sent out an email to the teachers and people helping in VBS, saying that prayer was the only way that this VBS woud be a success. Trust me, I would know.
But, what is stress?
the relative prominence of a syllable or musical note (especially with regard to stress or pitch); "he put the stress on the wrong syllable" tension: (psychology) a state of mental or emotional strain or suspense; "he suffered from fatigue and emotional tension"; "stress is a vasoconstrictor" to stress, single out as important; "Dr. Jones emphasizes exercise in addition to a change in diet" special emphasis attached to something; "the stress was more on accuracy than on speed" put stress on; utter with an accent; "In Farsi, you accent the last syllable of each word" difficulty that causes worry or emotional tension; "she endured the stresses and strains of life"; "he presided over the economy during the period of the greatest stress and danger"- R.J.Samuelson try: test the limits of; "You are trying my patience!" (physics) force that produces strain on a physical body; "the intensity of stress is expressed in units of force divided by units of area"
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
The ones I put in bold are the definitions commonly thought of as stress. But, think about it from a spiritual perspective: What does God define stress as? I couldn't find a Biblical definition of stress, as such. But, what other words can be used for stress? Anxiety, burden, fear, misgiving, mistrust, nervousness, tension, worry. Does the Bible say anything about those? Yeah.
But, I want to focus on just one of those: mistrust. Ouch. Flinch. I need a Band-Aid over here!
Let me clarify what I just said. To stress out about something is to not trust God about it. What does the Bible say about trusting and not trusting God?
"Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the LORD." Psalms 4:5
"Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock." Isaiah 26:4
"Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie!" Psalms 40:4
"For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name." Psalm 33:21
And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you." Psalms 9:10
Clearly, those who trust in God are blessed. Clearly, God desires us to trust Him completely.
So, stressing out about VBS isn't trusting God. So, I'm not gonna be blessed while I'm stressing?
I'm going to go one step further than that. Perhaps I'm stepping over the lines. But, I believe that not trusting God is sin. I believe that if we're stressing out, we're sinning.
Okay, so before you call me heretic, and decide that's just a little too close to home, think about it. Do you feel joyful stressing out? Do you feel like you are eminating Christ's love for us? Do you think Jesus would've stressed out?
I want to have a stress-free existence...and no, I'm not planning on moving and living in the middle of nowhere, with nothing to stress me out. Because, I'd find something to stress out about eventually. Don't think that you'll stop stressing out when such-and-such situation ends. Don't assume that eventually, you'll just mellow out, and stress will be a thing of the past.
Satan uses "stress" to attack us left and right, all day long. He beats us over the head with all the things we "have" to get done. I'm not advocating procastinating. I'm advocating trusting God with every ounce of your being....every area of your life.
But, back to that stress-free existence. Sounds pretty nice, huh? Well, it's possible. I'm planning on living stress-free for the rest of my life. I surrendered my life to God. So, really, it's not even mine to worry about. It doesn't make sense to worry about things not in your control, so I'm not going to. I'm going to trust Jesus, and rest in Him. Always.
And VBS? Well, I'll keep praying, and it'll get there. | 
