Do you ever feel stressed out? I know i sometimes do. There are many reasons a person might feel stressed. It could be long-term stress, like "Where will i go to college?" or "Will my grandmother live for much longer?" or it could be stressing from something right in front of you, like "How am i going to get tomorrow's homework done, do my chores, get ready for platoon and eat dinner in the next 5 minutes?" or one common one for me is "Will i live through this car ride with Rachel?" For those of you who don't know, she is a very adventurous driver. I tend to be more conservative. One time i was riding with Rachel and we were on a lane that was about to merge with another lane. It's dark and a little rainy. I look over just before we get to the merging zone and see there is a truck and unless we either slow down a lot or increase to warp speed, we are going to run into the truck. Being the cautious and prudent person i am, i immediately start yelling like a banshee for her to SLOW DOWN SLOW DOWN PLEASE SLOW DOWN WE'RE GOING TO DIE! Rachel gunned it and we just barely made it in front of this truck. My heartbeat did not resume its normal rate for about 45 minutes after that. Stress stinks. Stress makes me stink from sweat. But tonight i want to share with you what God has been showing me about cutting out the stress in life.

As you hopefully remember, we're in the midst of a series on "What good is God?" A couple weeks ago we talked about Jehovah Tsidkenu, the LORD our Righteousness, who helps us lose the weight of condemnation and changes us through conviction. Last week we talked about Jehovah Roi, the LORD our Shepherd, who guides us and watches over us because we're too stupid to know what to do ourselves. Tonight we're going to see that God is good because He is Jehovah Shalom, the LORD our Peace. I want to tell you about three principles and a commandment that could radically alter the way you see things and increase the peace in your life.

How would you all define "peace"? I found these definitions of peace in the Merriam-Webster dictionary:

1 : a state of tranquillity or quiet: as a : freedom from civil disturbance b : a state of security or order within a community provided for by law or custom <a breach of the peace>

2 : freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions

3 : harmony in personal relations

4 a : a state or period of mutual concord between governments b : a pact or agreement to end hostilities between those who have been at war or in a state of enmity

5 -- used interjectionally to ask for silence or calm or as a greeting or farewell

- at peace : in a state of concord or tranquillity

I think there are three true principles that we should remember when we're trying to get the stress out of our lives. The first is that God loves us and wants us to have peace. Would someone read Matthew 11:28 and 29? <Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls> Psalms 29:11 <The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace> God clearly desires for us to have peace, and promises us we CAN have it. Sometimes in our very busy and hurried life, where we feel pulled in so many directions by what one writer called the "tyranny of the urgent", we feel like peace is an outdated concept. But it's not. Peace is for you and it's for now and it's for always.

The second principle in having peace is this: "God knows better than you." Isaiah 55:8 <My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways.> Proverbs 19:21 <Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails>

A lot of you are probably thinking to yourselves, "Of course God loves us and knows better than us, so what are you trying to say?" You know, earlier this semester i took this personality profile called the DISC survey, and basically it helps you understand better how you relate to people. I am a high C and a high I, and that probably doesn't mean much to you to hear me say that. But one characteristic of people who are high D is that they cannot stand it when people beat around the bush. I think Adam is a high D. I can identify some of you who are high D's right now because you're fidgeting and if I don't move on you might jump up and strangle me soon. Just a little sidetrack there. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is when you put those two true principles together -- "God wants you to have peace" and "God knows better than you", you get the third principle, which is "You can rely on God to guide you in every situation, and therefore you don't have to have stress or worry." God wants you to live in such a way that you are listening to Him and trusting Him for your future and your present.

Let's look at these principles in action. I told you that God is working on me in this area of getting rid of worry and stress, and I want to tell you a story about something that happened earlier this week. I have two friends from Chinese class who God has been allowing me to build a friendship with because I believe God wants to bring these two guys to salvation. On Monday, I got up early and skipped a meeting and a class to go with them to try to get tickets to see the Dalai Lama at UVA. Well, after waiting in line for four hours, we get to the front of the line and they're out of tickets. I wasn't gravely disappointed or anything; it would have been nice to get to see the Dalai Lama and spend some more time with these friends, but it wasn't that big of a deal. Now one thing i didn't mention is that i was scheduled to have a test in Italian that day at 1:25. By the time we finally hit the edge of Charlottesville, it was already about 1:00. I could have been stressing, but God was speaking to me and saying everything was going to be okay. My friend was going about 80 along these windy roads, and that's another thing that would have used to cause me to grip the door and tighten up my fingers, but again, God was telling me everything was going to be okay. I was safe, secure and stress-free in a situation that normally would have caused me to be gritting my teeth. But God is showing me more and more how i can rely on Him in every situation. By the way, when i finally arrived at my Italian class half an hour late i was informed that the professor had unexpectedly decided to push the test back another day.

OK, so those are the three principles. Now here's the commandment part. As part of thinking about living at peace and rest, i have been studying lately about the idea of the Sabbath, or day of rest. You know, honoring the Sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments, and probably the one which is least frequently talked about and least understood in the modern church. Exodus 20:8 says, "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy." Some Jews were very militant about this. You were not allowed to work in any way on the Sabbath day, unless you were a priest, and if you did you could under Jewish law be killed. When Jesus came He spoke some about how the traditions that had developed were too legalistic, and since that point people have begun to care less and less about honoring the Sabbath day. But as i've been discovering, having a regular day of rest is part of the way God designed us to function. Gordon MacDonald wrote an excellent book called "Ordering Your Private World", and in it there is a section on enjoying rest beyond leisure. In our society we think that the most effective down time we can possibly have is playing a sport, working out, or sometimes we just "veg out" by watching mind-numbing TV shows or movies. These things could probably be classified as "leisure activities". But the idea of the Sabbath goes beyone leisure and speaks about rest. Resting our minds and souls and spirits means we stop our hectic pace and look in three directions: backward to the things we've done this week, whether they were really worth doing, how we could have done them better, and so on. We also look forward to the upcoming week; how we can best use the limited time we have to do the things we are supposed to do. And most important, Sabbath rest involves looking upward; worshipping God, being in His presence, and hearing His corrections and directions. Having this kind of rest refreshes us, keeps us focused, and makes us better at doing the things we're called to do.

Those are the three principles and the commandment. Now let's contrast the way we tend to be with the way God desires us to be: in Luke 10:38-42, we learn about Martha and Mary. <read verses> What do you tend to do? Do you tend to rush around, distracted by all the things that have to be done like Martha was? She wasn't going around doing bad things, she was doing good things that she thought demanded her attention like cooking and cleaning and serving. But she wasn't getting it. Her sister Mary sat and listened to Jesus, and when Martha complained that Mary wasn't as frantic as she was, Jesus says, "You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better."

As the worship team comes up, take this time for a little Sabbath rest. Think about whether or not you tend to rely on God to take care of you, or whether every day is a nailbiter for you because you're trying to do a million things at once in your own strength. If so, find out tonight that our God is Jehovah Shalom, the LORD our Peace.