How to Handle Pressure

1. How to Handle Pressure By Jean-Pierre M Tshimanga

2. Introduction • What is Pressure? • Dictionaries say: force, weight, heaviness, stress, strain, anxiety, demands, load, burden, bulldoze, hassle… • Being under pressure is being compelled, pressed, compressed, forced, bulldozed, press-ganged, stressed… • Pressure is caused by external forces, demands and solicitations of life duties and obligations.

3. Being Under Pressure, a Common situation • Who has never been under pressure? • We always become very busy • Sometimes, we like it because we think it is a sign that we work hard • Some even say they can’t work unless they are under pressure • We don’t have time for social life and meeting • From bed, we go to work, meetings, evening classes, traffic jams, assignments, late suppers…

4. You Then Feel The Pressure • Time becomes too short to meet the duties • Deadlines are threatening you • Weekends are loaded and busier than weekdays • You need more than 24 hours to meet your demands • There is no time for relaxation and privacy • You feel like you are going to break • Then you lose focus on religion, devotion and piety to God. your mind is captured by the evil one and youare led into temptation when you are unprepared to fight the fight of faith. Most time we fail to succeed in the spiritual warfare.

5. The Lord Christ Jesus Faced Pressure • He was always on errands • People invited themselves to go see Him • People took Him hostage and never wanted to release Him • They followed Him everywhere and violated His privacy • Even when He wanted to rest, He had no place or home to go to. • Yet, He handled the pressure and accomplished His duty without losing focus on His father’s will • Remember, like Jesus, we will always be under pressure as long as we live and are to play leadership roles.

6. How serious was His Pressure? • Let’s turn to Mark, Chapter 1’ • Verse 9: He is baptized by John in the Jordan • Verse 10: Immediately He is anointed by the Holy Spirit • Verse 11: Immediately He is led to the wilderness to be tempted of the devil for 40 days- in other gospels, He fasts for 40 days and grows weary, then He is tempted • Verse 14: After that, there is news for John’s imprisonment. He bears the news. • Right away, Jesus proceed to Galilee.

7. His Duty in Galilee: Mark 1 • Mark 1: 16-20: He calls Andrews, Simon, James and John. They straightaway follows Him. There must be a Friday, because the following verse (21) talks about the Sabbath, where we find Him teaching in the synagogue. • Verse 23-24: He heals a man with unclean spirit, during or after the sermon • Verse 29-30: they come out, at lunch break probably, and go to Simon house and there He heals Simon’s mother in law • Verse 32: At sunset, just stepping out of the synagogue, the all city is waiting for Him, after a long day • He heals them by laying of hands on them ( which means one by one) –Ref. Luke 4:41 parallel story. • Today’s pastors will switch of the phone and go to bed, but not with Christ. • The Bible does not tell us where and how He slept

8. How is it the next day: Mark 1 • Verse 35-37: He rises up a great while before day ( it was still dark – may 3, 4 or 5 am) and went to a solitary place to pray • After a long and busy day of Sabbath, Sunday is going to be even busier • He appointed the Twelve and preached the longest sermon- The sermon on the Mount… • What a pressure? But what did he do in order to be able to face the pressure of the day?

9. How To Start a Day of Pressure • 1. Jesus regarded the duty of secret prayer as of great importance • 2. He looked for a quiet and solitary place for it • 3.He went away from the world, even from the disciples • 4. He scheduled prayer very early in the morning at the time when it could not be postponed or omitted- that’s the best time. • 5. He taught his disciples to emulate Him • 6. It helped to be ready and it prepared Him for the fight against the evil one, that is awaiting every human being daily.

10. What About the Rest of the Day? • Take time to pause and breathe • Breathe through prayer • David advice in Psalm 55:17, “Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice” • Daniel prayed three times (Daniel 6:10) in order to remain vigilant and sound in order to fight the pressure of adversity. • This way, the connection with the source of power is not broken and the pressure is mastered.

11. Recreation Is Necessary • Two extremes: those who say recreation is unholy, and should not be thought about and those who are extravagant about it. • Middle ground: recreation is very important • It renews strengths and improve performance • It refreshes the spirits and invigorates the body; recreation is essential to work (EG White, Adventist Home, 943:1,2; 934:1,2.) • Exercise, excursion, nature contemplation relaxes the mind and reduces pressure.

12. Conclusion • Expect pressure, it is normal if you really want to accomplish your tasks or do what you are expected of. • The only thing you need is how to face it and handle it without losing focus on the essential, our Spiritual life • This is found to be true, universally, that the religious enjoyment through the day will be according to the state of the heart in the morning; and can be measured by our faithfulness in early secret prayer. • Find a quiet time and place, have individual prayer time • Our Savior paved the way for us, ours is to emulate Him.