How is your rubber band doing?

This is a devotional that I wrote for the MKs found at www.upwithmks.com We write four devotionals weekly for the different ages. IF YOU ARE AN MK- they are for you- read on!!


I was at Costco on Monday Night using my power coupons to buy way too much toilet paper and paper towel and detergent. Seanna wanted to know how MUCH company we are having over the next few weeks that we needed that much STUFF.

I am a constant eaves dropper- (you know you are too) and I overheard two ladies talking. They were trying to out-do each other in what was going on in their lives. They finally came to a stand still and one declared- I am just stressed out. I feel like a rubber band that is being pulled in too many directions.

Stress is actually an engineering term that referred to the amount of force a beam or other physical support could bear without collapsing. Today, the dictionary's definition of stress includes "mental, emotional, or physical tension; strain, distress." Stress is something that is familiar to all of us. Almost everyone has some kind of stress every day.

God made us capable of handling certain amounts of daily pressure, it is when we push ourselves beyond our limitations that we experience problems. So here is the question for today....are you pushing yourself too hard?

Do you know what you limits are?
Can you and will you say no?
Are you allowing your body to have a proper season of rest daily?
Are you renewing your Mind and spirit in the Word and prayer daily?

Many people are in a constant state of overload- at the verge of a collapse. They keep stretching their "rubber band" to the limit until one day they snap.

A rubber band has the ability to be stretched to its maximum length and then return to its original form, but how many times can it do that without breaking?

Have you ever used a rubber band, broken it, needed it to close a bread bag, and tied it back together again? Sometimes in our lives we are broken and we pick ourselves up and ties our ends and put ourselves under the same amount of pressure again. We think WE have fixed our problem forgetting it was our actions that caused us to break in the first place.

Now back to our rubber band. Once it breaks, we tie the knot - it usually then breaks in another area, so we tie the ends together in another knot. In our daily lives, when we keep stretching, breaking, and tying the ends back together- until we feel like we are living with virtual knots on the inside and out.

So you say well the solution is simple- get rid of the things that cause stress. While that might work for a while- that is not the final solution. It's impossible to get rid of all stress in our lives. The only answer is to adjust or perspective and change the way that WE RESPOND to the stress of everyday life.

Stress causes us to resemble that worn out frazzled rubber band. Exhaustion- both physical and emotional- begins to take its toll. When stress has its way it weakens our bodies, our immune system weaken, sickness and depression can set in.

Ignoring God's laws and his ordained limits for our lives will cause burnout.

Evaluate your life today....

-Is there activity that you are doing that is just to please others?
-Are you living under the stress of competition and comparison?
-Are you a perfectionist with unrealistic goals?
-Who is setting the pace in your life?
-Are you ignoring your relationship with God, your spouse, your children, your extended family to pursue your goals?

You can live stress free (I am not there yet) it takes some radical changes in your life. Start by changing your daily habits, be in tune to GOD'S Will for your life. Stop being a people pleaser and be a God Pleaser.

Respect your body and treat good health as a priceless gift.

"You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind {both inclination and its character} is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You and hopes confidently in You. Isaiah 26:3

Do you want to look like a worn out rubber band? Or a snappy new one that just came out of the bag? The choice is yours today. Now as for me I get to put away 72 rolls of toilet paper, 20 rolls of paper towels, and drag 4 gallons of laundry soap upstairs- what can I say? I used coupons okay?