Rejoice Always!

The spring semester has started and I am quickly reminded of how stressful college is. I believe the first week of school is one of the best and worst. In that week, most teachers only go over the syllabus, tell you how the semester is going to go and then let you out early with no homework to worry about. Pretty easy, right? But even though that seems fairly simple, you have to go to 4-5 (or more) classes and hear from all of the professors the many things you are going learn, the many projects you will have to complete, and how important each grade is. Some professors even remind you that they do not give bonus and they will not feel sympathy for you when they receive the infamous "I need some points to bring my grade up. Is there anything I can do for extra points?" e-mail that you might be sending at the end of the semester. I left every class the first week telling myself "You cannot skip. You cannot procrastinate. You have to do good." But even this prep talk leaves me feeling stressed, because in the back of my mind I know I will fail these three things at some point this semester.

I, like many high school and college students, struggle with being constantly stressed and worried. It's not a good feeling at all. And why is that?

Because the feelings of being stressed and worried is not from God. 

I've been reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan over the past few months. There are three pages of this book completely focused on stress. I have read these three pages so many times, because they are written so amazingly. Francis starts off by explaining his worries that he used to have, making himself relatable to the reader. But then he reminds us of Philippians 4:4: Rejoice in the Lord always. I say it again, rejoice! This verse doesn't tell us to rejoice only when times are going great, but it's a command for us rejoice always. Yes, that means even on finals week. This verse is followed up by "Don't be anxious about anything" in verse 6. This realization was so eye-opening to me. Just realizing that God didn't create us for feelings of stress and worry brought me a fulfilling peace.

Francis then writes:

"When I am consumed by my problems- stressed out about my life, my family, and my job-I actually convey the belief that I think the circumstances are more important than God's command to always rejoice. In other word's that I have a 'right' to disobey God because of the magnitude of my responsibilities." 

This quote made me believe that worry and stress can come out of selfishness of my own life. If I take a step back to realize that my focus should be on God and not on myself, I wouldn't feel the pressure to have everything perfect and in order all of the time.

The next page from this book is one that I wish I could copy and hand out to every student on campus. I don't think it could have been written any better.

Francis explains to the readers exactly what worry and stress are and what that means for us:

"Worry implies that we don't quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what is happening in our lives.

Stress says that the things that we are involved in are important enough to merit our impatience, our lack of grace towards others, or our tight grip of control.

Basically, these two behaviors communicate that it's okay to sin and not trust God because the stuff in my life is somehow exceptional... Worry and stress declare our tendency to forget that we have been forgiven, that our lives here are brief, that we are headed to a place where we won't be lonely, afraid, or hurt ever again, and that in the context of God's strength, our problems are small, indeed." 

Every time I have felt stressed or worried, I come back and read this one part. In this, Francis reminds me how substantial God is and how minuscule my problems really are.

I know it can be hard to focus on God in times where everything is life is weighing down on your shoulders, but He will always be waiting for us to ask Him to take our burdens. He tells us in Matthew 11:28: "Come to me all who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."

So, next time your feeling overcome by worry and stress, re-read what Francis Chan says about these burdens and remember that Jesus wants to take your burdens and commands you to rejoice always!

With love,