Alleviating the Stress

Dr. Lennox begins this final lesson with some sobering statistics. 19% of people in the workplace are miserable. A million skip work each day because of stress. 65% of us find it difficult to focus because of the stress of the workplace. 66% of workers are losing sleep because of stress.

He suggests two very positive features of our roles as workers in relation to the stress of the work environment. We will address the first on this page and the second on the next.

The first positive aspect of stress in relation to us as workers is that God can use us as “marketplace ministers” to reduce the stress of the workplace environment. God can use you to make your workplace a less stressful place. He can do this ministry through you because of the fact that he is restoring the image of God in you. He is healing you in terms of the four basic relationships you have. God’s work in you will inevitably spill over into the workplace.

First, because your relationship with God has been restored, you can be an instrument for others to find their relationship with God restored. In the early church, a Christian named Augustine suggested that our hearts are restless until they find their rest in God. Imagine how much more restful the work environment would be if the souls of everyone there were truly at rest in God.

As we saw in the first lesson, this witness is quiet at first. Aggressive evangelism is more likely to increase the stress of the workplace than to diminish it. Nevertheless, the witness of your life will sow seeds, and God will open doors for you to share your faith openly. Dr. Lennox shares how his calmness when others might have exploded opened the door for him to share his faith in the workplace.

When God heals us, we become assured and at peace with ourselves. When John Wesley was on his way to Georgia – to be a missionary, no less – he was struck by how calm a group of Christians called Moravians were on the ship during stormy weather. It prompted a soul-searching for him that would eventually transform his walk with the Lord. Similarly, when we allow the Lord to heal our relationship with ourselves, others will see it, and it will draw them to Christ.

Probably the most direct way that God can use us to reduce the stress of the workplace is in our relationship with others. This can happen in at least two ways. First, our own relationships with others come to be a positive force in their lives. They enjoy being with us. We bring joy to them. While interactions with others might raise their blood pressure, interactions with us bring it down.

Another way is that we become peacemakers. We bring the temperature of the room down. When our coworkers are going at each other, our presence helps soothe the atmosphere. These are the goals. Obviously, God has gifted some of us more than others as peacemakers, but God wants to take who we are and make us all greater agents of peace.

Lastly, God’s work in us should help the relationships between our place of work and the world, reducing the stress that can come from this direction. This can show up in our relationships with clients and customers. Those our workplace serves can be a source of great stress at times. Again, God wants to use our presence in the workplace to reduce these kinds of stressors. God can change us. He wants to so that we can be his ambassadors wherever we are in whatever situation we find ourselves.