Nobody experienced any more stress than Jesus Christ...He was criticized constantly, He was misunderstood, there were constant demands on His life, He had very little privacy...and there were people who were constantly trying to kill Him! Yet, in spite of all of that He walked and lived with an amazing peacefulness ...mo matter how difficult the situation Jesus modeled a calmness and resilience...(I think there is something to learn here)
This is why the writer of Hebrews tells us…”keep your eyes on Jesus…” it only makes sense.
Look at the life of someone that dealt with the most unbelievable level of stress one can imagine and still walked through it...JESUS CHRIST!
- Remember How Much God Loves Me
Jesus CHrist had no doubt in His mind that God, the Father loved Him. Knowing and understanding that God loves you unconditionally, continually, and extravagantly can give you the strength to to bounce back when life tries to stress you out!
2. Remember Who I Am
If you are not sure who you really are the Devil will be happy to tell you...your friends will...the world will...culture will!
-Your problems will...your habits will...your hang-ups will. Everything in your life is lining up to convince you of your identity...let Jesus!
When you are convinced of who you are then you DO NOT need the opinions of others for validation and that makes you unstoppable!
Matt. 3 gives the account of Jesus being baptized, the Spirit descending like a dove and God the Father, says, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased…” It may have made more sense if the voice of the Father would have said something like, “Listen Jesus...in just a few chapters you are going to go through the most painful death any human could possibly experience...you will experience the cross.”
3. Know Who You Are Trying to Please
Another way of putting that would be, “know who you are living for.”
I love the word ‘motivation’ it’s root word is moto...where we get the word motor. A motor is what empowers the car to move...it’s what drives the car...it gives the car boost, incitement, momentum.
4. Know Your Calling
Your calling is God’s invitation for your participation in the reason for your creation…
You must know exactly what God wants you to do with your life...what is your calling?
Here’s why that is so important...when you know what God has called you to do, you also learn what He is called you NOT to do.
· When you know what’s your business...you should also know what is none of your business!
5. Focus on What Matters Most
When you know where you are headed and you are focused then you are not distracted by less important things. You know what matters most and you focus on that...that is a key to resilience! Jesus refused to be distracted…
Luke 9:51 Living Bible “As his time drew near to His return to heaven, he moved steadily on toward Jerusalem with an iron will.”
-Jesus knew the plan...He was persistent, consistent, and insistent...at one point he even told Peter, “...get behind me, satan…” Matt. 16 In other words...unless you want to be run over, you probably should get out of my way…
-There were a couple of people in the Bible that gave that same excuse to Jesus...Lord, let me first go do these other things, and then I’ll follow you….Matt. 8
Unfortunately the word LORD and phrase ME FIRST...can never go in the same sentence.
Luke 9:62 Living Bible “Anyone who lets himself be distracted from the work I have planned for him is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”
