Stress

I don’t have much of an introduction for this poem, but stress honestly doesn’t need an introduction. We all have experienced stress. And we all hate it.

Why does stress have to be so hard? It causes our hair to fall out and acne to break out across our faces. We sweat excessively and feel our heart racing. Stress causes us to lose sleep, lose our appetites, and lose our sanity.

We hold onto stress because we are natural worriers, and we believe the lie that a good dose of stress is healthy because it keeps us on track to succeed and accomplish. But, honestly, we often stress about things that don’t end up happening. And, on top of that, life is ultimately out of our control because our God is sovereign.

So what would happen if we just let go of our stress?

 

The struggle

The torment

The burden

The worry

 

Consumes

Ensnares

Destroys

My life.

 

The fear

The mess

The pain

The weight

 

It drains

Exhausts

Empties

My soul.

 

It steals

My time

My faith

My joy.

 

It bids

Me near

To dread

To fear.

 

The weight

Is great

Upon

My back.

 

I just

Can’t do

The stress

Again.

 

But I

Cannot

Cast off

Its grip.

 

It holds

Me back

From all

I love.

 

It keeps

Me from

My hope

Above.

 

God, please

Just take

This stress

Away.

 

I do

Not have

To grip

The stress

 

To bring

Me out

Of my

Own mess.

 

No, I

Can hold

My God

Instead.

 

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” (James 4:13-15 NASB)