pIronic, isn’t it. Being on point, efficient, and successful is the name of the game in this world that we live in. But so is stress, worry, and for many, anxiety. Those lists do not go hand in hand. In fact, they directly cancel each other out. Worry’s an assassin, taking out our ability to get stuff done, to rest, and to keep hold of healthy relationships. We’ve known that since before Solomon’s time, (he wrote, ‘Worry makes the heart heavy…’ (Proverbs 12:25 NIrV).That’s why Philippians 4:6 is a prod to pray. It reminds us of the only way to centre ourselves. You see, without a focus on God, our own efforts to *do* stuff, or meet expectations can destroy us. And sometimes, worry or stress move in and take over, leaving us with no space (or sometimes, even energy) to focus on anything, let alone God. Of course, that’s a peace-destroyer too. We’re not built to live our days without peace; our minds, souls, and even our bodies start breaking without it.br /
The only source of peace is God. So let’s deliberately, structured-ly make some space to breathe with Him. Go do the ‘What now?’./p
pWhat now?br /
There’s this thing called the ‘Pomodoro’ technique, where you break your work down into little chunks - working solidly for 20 minutes, then break for 5, repeated until a longer break after a few chunks. Try it during today’s most stressful hour (or all day if you’re up for it). Go about your normal activity for 20 mins, then stop, and pray for 5. If you don’t have the energy to pray words, just say, ‘God, be here with me’, then have a distraction-free 5 minutes of chill./p