Stressed OutSýnishorn

The Assyrian army was surrounding the city of Jerusalem. Their army was known to be fierce and brutal—destruction loomed at Hezekiah’s gates. The king of Assyria, Sennacherib, sent disturbing messages to King Hezekiah mocking God. So, worried and afraid, Scripture tells us: Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord (2 Kings 19:14). Instead of doing the seemingly most productive thing like strengthening his army, Hezekiah took the physical demonstration of his stress and laid it out before God. Then he asked God for help. That night, God answered. He sent an angel to destroy 185,000 men of the Assyrian army. With his army decimated, Sennacherib retreated and Jerusalem was saved.

We can do exactly what our predecessor in the faith did. We can write down the things that are causing us stress, set them before the Lord, ask Him for help, and leave our stresses there. Worrying about our stresses does nothing to improve them, but when we talk to God, the Operator of the Universe, He hears and answers. We are doing the most productive—and the most effective—thing we can do when we ask God to get involved.