Devotion - Tuesday, April 20

My prayers this morning were consumed with concern for all of you. This is a difficult week. One student told me yesterday, “Exam week is easy. You go in and take your exams and you are done with it.” It is the papers and final projects which never end. It is these class requirements which are never really “done.” The only relief is the realization that there comes a point in time when they are due.

My prayers may have been affected by the caption, on the sports page in the newspaper that Coach Spurrier is having a birthday today. He turns 65 years old. The article says that he “works out, avoids stress.” I am not one of those people who think that college football coaches are the greatest people in the world, but I do think that they have incredibly stressful jobs. How then, can Spurrier live stress free?

I don’t know. I don’t know how he does it. But I do know how stress is reduced in my life. And I believe that this might be helpful for you, too.

Yes, it comes back to time alone with God. It is anchored in my rising early in the morning and making my way to my Bible. The lost sleep is nothing compared to what I would lose were I not to have a few minutes with God.

That time reminds me of the things which are most important in my life. They remind me that accomplishing my academic or personal goals is not as important as accomplishing my spiritual goals. I am reminded that regardless of how I might be evaluated by others, God’s evaluation of me ends with “Well done. With you I am well pleased.”

Yes, these are stressful days. But let’s be on a mission to remind one another of God’s desire and ability to remove from us so much of that which would seek to drag us down. Return and remember God’s goodness and mercy, and let us be recipients of God’s peace.