Modern business, by its very nature, is stressful. Time pressures are intense and unrelenting, while every technological innovation just adds another impetus to the ever-accelerating pace of the marketplace.

The plethora of self-help remedies, books and courses on relaxation and motivational techniques and the worldwide spread of new age religions and cults all point to a desperate need in our society for help. We reach out to almost anything that we think might work, be it scientology or yoga, meditation or mantras.

Jesus, in the Bible, is disarmingly clear and simple on this issue—He simply tells us not to worry. And He says it several times in different places, so He must really mean it:

• Do not worry about your life (Matt. 6:25)
• Why do you worry about clothes? (Matt. 6:28)
• Do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" (Matt. 6:1)
• Do not worry about tomorrow (Matt. 6:34)
• Do not worry about what to say (Matt. 10:19)

He also says "Do not be afraid" three times just in the Tenth Chapter of Matthew verses 26, 28 and 31.

Well, you might say, it's all very well for Jesus to tell us not to worry and not to be afraid—He didn't have to face what I face day in and day out, trying all the time to do more with less, in less time. In His day, there were no emails, sms's, mobile phones, faxes and wireless computer networks to keep the pressure on 24/7.

The truth is, of course, Jesus had every reason to be stressed—He knew He was facing rejection and betrayal, and a cruel and excruciatingly painful death. Yet He knew why He was on earth, and Who He served. He had a divine purpose, and that lifted Him above the hurly-burly of His physical existence.

So while facing abandonment by His friends and a brutal and violent death, He was still able to say: "Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (Matt. 11:28)," and "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you (John 14:27)."

How could He talk about "rest" and "peace" in the context of what He was going through? The answer is He knew absolutely and with total certainty Who He served, and why He served him.

And if we want to be able to rise up above our worries and anxieties, our stress and our workaday pressures, then we too, like Jesus, have to know WHO and WHY we serve. We have to know and trust that we are called to a higher purpose—that our job is our ministry, and our work is our worship.

Looking Unto God

When we understand that there is real meaning to what we do, then we are able to rest in the sure and certain knowledge that God is our refuge and our protection, and "underneath are the everlasting arms" (Deut. 33:27).

One of the great pioneers of the "marketplace ministry" movement was Professor Myron Rush, whose Management—A Biblical Approach more than 20 years ago was one of the earliest influences on my personal life, helping me to understand that there was more to business than just making money and "increasing shareholder value." Then in 1986, he wrote Lord of the Marketplace, one of the first books that specifically saw the marketplace as a fertile field of ministry (one of the chapters was entitled The Marketplace As your Mission Field).

In Lord of the Marketplace, Professor Rush included some good advice in the area of stress management, putting his finger right on the crux of the matter: "God's Word tells us that stress and anxiety occur as a result of our not trusting the Lord to totally meet our needs in any situation."

Professor Rush saw very clearly that if we didn't trust God, then we would have to trust ourselves—that it would be all up to us. He makes the point that this emphasis on human effort and all-sufficiency is at the very heart of the New Age movement, and the "religion" of Secular Humanism that permeates our society today. Secular Humanism ultimately is a tool of the devil to deceive modern man into taking God out of the picture and putting himself at the very center of the universe.

He says: "Satan's purpose is to kill and destroy. One of the ways in which he literally accomplishes this task is to get people to believe his deceptive philosophy, 'if it's to be ... it's up to me.' His goal is to persuade us to trust ourselves in our times of need, rather than to rely on God. In doing so, though, we develop worry, anxiety and stress, which in turn lead to all kinds of physical problems and sickness—even death.

"But notice too that Christ said He came to 'give life in all its fullness.' He wants us to place our trust in Him, not only for eternal life, but also for our needs in our businesses. As we do this, we will experience the calmness, joy and peace that come with true success.

"When I trust God to solve my problems, not only does He handle my dilemmas, but I get to stop worrying about them! And that is the key to freeing myself from stress ... to make Jesus Christ Lord of my life in each situation in my business dealings."

Be Stress-Free Today!

Professor Rush has developed a six-step stress management plan which, if followed, can take all the worries off your life and frees you to be open to the peace, joy and creative flow that comes through the Holy Spirit.

1. Examine yourself and the problem situation; confess any sin that may be in your life. In following this step, pray as David did when he said: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (Ps. 124:23, 24). Like David, we must ask God to search our life and motives. Then as He points out our sins we must confess them to God, asking His forgiveness (1 John 1:9).
   
   
2. Next, you must submit yourself to God, asking that His will take precedence over your will. In Luke's Gospel, Jesus tells us that "anyone who wants to follow Me must put aside his own desires and conveniences and carry his cross with him every day and keep close to Me" (Luke 9:23). Jesus Christ expects us to put aside our plans and expectations and to put Him first in every situation.
   
   
3. Ask God to direct you in your decisions and plans. God wants to make a direct contribution to our planning and decision-making. "I will instruct you," says the Lord, "and guide you along the best pathway for your life; I will advise you and watch your progress" (Ps. 32:8). Once we ask God for direction, we must be willing to let Him do the directing.
   
   
4. Be at peace with God in whatever He wants you to do. If we really are committed to serving God and doing His will, then we will want to please Him. That means we will be eager to obey Him. Scripture puts it this way: "Submit to God and be at peace with Him; in this way, prosperity will come to you" (Job 22:21).
   
   
5. Thank God for what He has already done, and for what He is going to do in the future. In his first letter to the church at Thessalonica, Paul says: "No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will for you who belong to Jesus Christ" (1 Thess. 5:18). It is God's will that we be thankful in every situation. However, we can’t be thankful and worry about things at the same time. Thus, God not only wants us to be thankful, but He instructs us to be at peace with ourselves and with Him.
   
   
6. Finally, pray about every situation, committing the five steps above to God as you talk to Him. We are told in Philippians: "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs, and don't forget to thank Him for His answers. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest, as you trust in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:6, 7).

God says, "Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me" (Ps. 50:15). The key to stress management, as in so many other areas in our Christian walk, is to fully trust and then obey God and His Word. Professor Rush, marketplace ministry pioneer, has set out a six-step plan that worked 20 years ago, and still works perfectly today.

He concludes: "If we follow these guidelines, God will fill our hearts and minds with the peace and assurance that He is in control. His answer already is being worked out. It's on its way, according to His plan and timetable.

"I can speak from experience: every time I apply these principles, God not only removes my stress and gives me peace, but His solutions are always far better than anything I could have accomplished on my own."