The Stress Syndrome
Matthew 11:28-29 NKJV
Life has a way of piling weight onto our shoulders. Over time, that weight leaves us tired and worn thin. In this message, we listen to Jesus’ gentle invitation to the weary. He doesn’t call us to escape our responsibilities or push harder, but to come closer. To trade the heavy burdens we carry for a way of life shaped by His grace. As we learn to walk with Him, we discover that rest isn’t found in doing less, but by learning to move at the pace of the One who carries us.
1. Have you ever had an over-choice moment, or do you feel like you are living with “Future Shock”?
2. Which one of the three C’s of stress are you going through right now: change, conflict, criticism, concerns, or crisis?
3. Adding in Pastor Hinz’s definitions, Matthew 11:28 reads like this: You are commanded to come to Me, all who are burdened who labor in weariness and are feeling dumped on, and I will rejuvenate you. Sometimes we become too familiar with a verse, and it loses its meaning. Does reading this familiar verse this way strike a chord within you?
4. Read Isaiah 64:4-6 & Luke 11:46 — What have you caught yourself “doing” when you should be trusting?
5. Are you struggling towards an unattainable goal? Who set that goal?
a. Is the struggle causing burnout?
b. Is it a goal that honors God?
6. Read Matthew 9:36-38 & 28:18 — Do you feel like you are achieving God’s goal of making disciples? If not, what is preventing you?
7. Read Colossians 1:21-29 — If you merge your goals with God’s goals, and surrender to Jesus’ authority, how will that rejuvenate you?
a. Read Matthew 11:28-29; 1 John 5:3; and then Colossians 1:29 (in the CSB or NIV translation) — How do these verses work together to give you a game plan to achieve without burnout?
8. Read Matthew 6:10 & Psalm 143:10 — What kind of peace would you have if you only had one agenda to accomplish? What stress would be shed?
9. Are you being encouraged through fellowship with Jesus and other Christians? Is it rejuvenating or exhausting? Why?