Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:00 — 4.1MB)
Knowing consistent peace in our lives, even though we have pressure and stress to deal with, should be a trademark of Christians.
Of course, Jesus is our supreme example of this ability to be peaceful regardless of the pressures. People were always crowding him, trying to talk to him, trying to touch him. He had a hard time finding any space or time for himself. He was constantly under pressure. But I notice that no matter how busy he was or how much there was to do, he found time to be alone with God. R. A. Torrey wrote something which I copied in the front of my prayer journal and to which I frequently refer. He wrote:
“Some people are so busy that they find no time for prayer. Apparently the busier Christ’s life was, the more he prayed. Sometimes he had no time to eat, sometimes he had no time for needed rest or sleep, but he always took time to pray; and the more the work crowded the more he prayed.”
Lots of times when our schedules get very full, and the pressure starts to come in on us, the first thing we sacrifice is our time with the Lord. That’s one reason many Christians don’t have real peace in their everyday lives. They’ve not spent time with the Prince of Peace, they’ve failed to go to the source of peace, and so they face their pressures on their own.
I remember one period of time when the pressures and deadlines were great, and so I sacrificed my prayer time for a few days. In his oh-so-gentle way, God showed me that when I sacrifice prayer time to relieve pressures, I do just the opposite: I increase my pressures. He said, “Spend time with me, draw on my strength. You need me now more than ever. And I’ll take the remaining time and make it stretch to meet the responsibilities.”
Your lack of peace in the midst of pressure may be because you’ve sacrificed time with the Prince of Peace. Sorry, but it just won’t work. Give God the time you need to be with him and see how he stretches the rest of your time for you.