Greetings to my fellow labourers in Christ!
We all love the story of 1 Kings 18, where Elijah confronts the false prophets, in a contest praying fire down from heaven. The result? A mighty acknowledgement from all the people, ‘The Lord, he is God!’ The story continues with Elijah going to the valley of Kishon to personally deal with 450 false prophets, after which he goes back up the mountain, and prays for rain. After intense prayer, (to end a 3 ½ year drought) rain falls and Elijah runs quite a long way into the city of Jezreel ahead of King Ahab’s chariot. After these significant triumphs, is Elijah ‘pumped’? No, Queen Jezebel threatens his life, and he runs, alone, into the wilderness, and some say suffered a classic case of depression. ‘I want to die, I am the only one left serving God’. Was Elijah’s malady preventable, or inevitable?
Stressors, both good stressors like wedding preparations, and bad stressors, like overwork, are a part of everyday life. Everyone has to deal with them at some time. Too much stress is like a heavy back pack that keeps weighing us down, and gets heavier by the minute. When your stress level exceeds your ability to cope, something starts to break down. This fall, Ray and I are excited to offer some ‘stressbusters’ which we think will be a practical help for everyone dealing with stress.
Ray kicks off our ‘Stressbuster’ series this Sunday with assurances of Christs’ presence and help, and the series continues until Advent with tips such as how to win over worry, dealing with family stress, and job-related pressures. All from a biblical perspective. Join us, each week, in person or via zoom!
Pastor Lloyd
