A recent newspaper article said that a large number of people felt like they were living a stressful life. Is stress a new condition which has originated just in our lifetime? It appears that stress is not something new. When one reads the Bible one can see many stressful events that took place. In 1 Samuel 17, when young David visited his soldier brothers, there seemed to have been great stress on the army of God because of the giant Goliath's challenge. It seemed that the whole army thought that, "Goliath is so big we cannot kill him in single combat!" David placed his faith in God and may have thought, "Goliath is so big I cannot miss him!" David overcame a stressful event because he placed his trust in God and took bold, positive action against Goliath.
Do you think Jochebed felt any stress when she hid her infant son, Moses, for three months or when she placed him in an ark on the river (Exodus 2)? Do you think Abraham experienced stress as he constantly traveled toward a land that God would show him? How about in Genesis 22, when God commanded Abraham to offer up his son, Isaac, as a burnt offering? Was Mary free from stress or anxiety as she contemplated the birth of her son? Or what about Joseph, in Matthew 1, trying to decide how best to deal with Mary's pregnancy and claim that she had not been with a man? Did Mary suffer from stress as she watched her son die on the cross? Was the early church under stress when Saul was on his rampage of persecution? Even Saul had some anxious hours in Damascus before Ananias came to him and certainly after he became a Christian (Acts 9:2 Corinthians 11).
As you can see, stress is not something new. It has been with man almost from the beginning. How people handle stress today may be new. Mary did not flip out on pills. Saul did not seek a prescription for Valium or turn to the bottle. There is no record wheTM any in the early church had to "have a little drink" as soon as they arrived home from work to unwind. Why do you suppose this was true? What did they have that we today do not have? Only one thing seems to be different between the first century Christians and the twenty-fn~t century Christians, they relied upon God. They believed the passages like Philippians 4:6-7, "Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God and the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." They placed their confidence in God not in themselves. Their anxiety pill was prayer. Their therapy was serving!
We think we live in stressful times, and we do, but never forget those who lived before us. First century Christians lived under the threat of imprisonment and death from Jewish rulers and from Rome. They suffered the ravages of severe draughts, few jobs, low pay, high taxes and discrimination was everywhere. Their numbers increased because Jesus was with them and to suffer for His sake brought them joy. It was counted an honor to be thought worthy of death because of their faith. How about us, can we not have this type of faith? Can we not have their type of confidence in God?