Outline
Michael Harvey discusses how we handle stress. Manage, Avoid, Endure
Hans Selye coined the word “stress”, and “eustress”, a positive form of stress. Kelly McGonigal, the good side of stress. Instead of being a victim of stress, you can turn it into a challenge, and not just go through stress, but grow through stress.
Gethsemane was a garden, that Jesus went into just before his crucifixion. Jesus sweat drops of blood so he was under great stress.
How did he face stress? Micheal outlines this using the acronym “FACES”, in reverse order.
- Social support (05:42): Jesus surrounded himself with his 11 disciples in the garden.
- Express emotion (06:30): Jesus cried out with emotion. Repressing and depressing emotion.
- Coping actively (07:49): Jesus prays to His Father.
- Altering perception (08:18): “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.” Jesus acknowledges both the fact the horrible situation he is going through, but also his resolve to submit to the Will of the Father.
- Faces the cause of his stress (09:22): Jesus walks towards the person who will betray him. He walks towards his death. But he was then raised to new life. In a way, stress enables us to die to one form of ourselves, and be raised to new life, to become the person God calls us to be.
Exercise
- How do you handle stress in your role as a church leader? What impact has that had on your church?
- Are there any stressful situations you are facing at the moment? How can you face them, following Jesus’ example?
