the difference between pressure and stress

Feeling pressure in life and ministry is universal. There’s nothing we can do about that. In fact, pressure can be good for us, bringing out the best that’s inside of us. Stress, however? Turns out there are some practical ways we can handle stress when it rears its head. Read on…

In Today’s Email

1. 3 Tools to Undo Moments of Stress

2. Work Hard to Work Hard

3. Tim Keller on Prayer

3 Tools to Undo Moments of Stress

As a follow up to last week and our topic of rest, today, we’ll look at resting in ministry instead of from it. (Adapted from Bruce Garner, our 2024 Retreat Speaker)

Before we dive into 3 specific tools you can start using today to undo stress, we have to identify “stress.”

More specifically, our first task is to distinguish between pressure and stress.

Pressure = a demand for performance (a normal part of life… the things we all must do in our jobs, families, etc.)

Stress = the projection backward to regret or forward to the worst possible outcome

With that distinction in mind, let’s turn to some tools that you can immediately put into practice the next time you are experiencing stress.

Combat Breathing

In some moments, we may need to control what we can control with our bodies (our breathing, for example) before we are able to deal appropriately with what is before us.

1. Inhale slowly through your nose.

2. Hold for 4 seconds.

3. Slowly exhale through your mouth.

4. Repeat 4 times.

Stop Ruminating

Whenever you are caught in a doom loop replaying a moment from the past for which you feel regret or are stuck worrying about something just up ahead - you need to “wake up!”

1. Arrest your stressful thoughts the moment you notice them.

2. Turn to God in prayer. Talk to Him about it.

3. Ask yourself what you should be doing at that moment.

4. Do that thing!

When this cycle is practiced, we will grow in our ability to carry out the important things before us instead of losing minutes or hours of our day to rumination.

One-Minute Self Awareness

Sometimes, what we need to do is simply to identify the things that are causing us stress.

1. Ask God to search and know your heart. (Psalm 139:23-24)

2. In a sentence, write down EXACTLY what is burdening you.

3. Turn it over to God and take whatever courageous action is needed.

This practice of pausing in the presence of the Lord to consider what is causing our unrest can anchor us and allow us to remain present to what is required of us in the moment.

We’re grateful for the wisdom Bruce shared with us. He wrote a book called, The Resilient Pastor that has been a blessing to us. Check it out here.

Work Hard to Work Hard

It takes hard work to make it work. And you work hard to ensure Sundays can happen—week in and week out. That is no small task, and it’s not easy either. Over time, that can take a toll on anyone.

But in order to continue working hard, we have to do some hard work. Namely, the hard work of understanding what is going on inside of us under the surface. So, how are you doing (really)?

Take the Health Check today as your first step towards answering that question!

Tim Keller on Prayer

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