It’s been full days of late. Long days of putting out fires and feeling the weariness. I cannot imagine a life when I would have to tackle my days without the Lord. I need Him every minute. A few weeks earlier, a dear young person asked me how I deal with stress. I was heading home with people waiting for me and not expecting to have a meaningful conversation at that moment. I stopped. He restated his question with a preface, you probably have to deal with stress all the time, how do you handle it? My first response was “poorly.” And I rambled on about things I should be doing. I’m often a wreck and full of regrets. I could have done this or said that or not did that nor said that! Hindsight always appears 20/20. 

And yes, I am facing stress all day long. When you have to follow a schedule for appointments, it’s like meeting a deadline every 40 minutes. And there are often situations where I don’t know how to solve a problem I am expected to solve. I don’t know why you are having trouble seeing through your perfectly made glasses? Or the weight on my heart of dear ones going through tough situations with no apparent solutions. So much going on. 

So my stress-solver? 

My response to his question was, “O Lord Jesus, I need You.” I call on the name of the Lord in loud cries and hushed whispers, “Lord Jesus, I need You,” not q.i.d. (four times a day) but more like q.o.m. (every other minute)! How is calling on the name of the Lord is so powerful? The Bible tells us that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved!* Not just our initial coming to believe that Jesus died for me and lives to give me Life eternal, Life in resurrection, but every day He is still saving me by His Life! He is saving us every day, moment by moment. 

When I call on the name of the Lord, I am discovering that He has been calling out to me. “Come to Me.” While I sincerely have a present need, when I call His name, I find He has never left, I just haven’t given Him any thought or consideration. And calling on His name turns my heart to Him. He wants engage me but I am so distracted. And when I realize that He is here with me, in my experience, a few things happen. 

*Romans 10:13.