Judging by the titles of books on Amazon that are available when you type in ‘dealing with stress’, it seems that the causes of stress are other people and our own performance.

There are different kinds of stress. There is the one off, in the moment, deadline busting kind: a panic stress. Then there is the ongoing, back of the mind, constant headache type: the niggle. And then there is the worst kind. The one that incorporates both the other two: exam stress!

I have been watching two reality TV programmes recently, ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ and ‘The Apprentice’. Whilst watching one of the 5 (!) semi finals I was struck, by one guy. A comedian who sang impressions of Boyzone. Really good. But then he came to chat to Ant or Dec and he did what can only be described as beg. We heard how he travels the clubs up and down the country, all hours of the day and night. All he wanted was a break. It was a bit cringy. But then I thought of the stress he was under. Entering a competition, being watched by a million people, wanting to provide for his family,... If it were me, I would beg as well.

And so to ‘The Apprentice’: You know, the programme with these terribly ambitious candidates. I actually don’t like any of them. Some are better than others but they are all, well, horrible. They will all do anything to win. They don’t care about anyone or anything, just winning. No wonder they are all so stressy, they can’t rely on anyone. They are all out to get each other ‘fired’. They have given up their jobs to be on the show and ultimately work for this guy called ‘Sir Alan’.

So what to do about the stress in our lives then?

I wonder if for most of us who are Christian, the real source of stress boils down to one thing…  a lack of trust in God?  Do we get stressed because we try to go it alone? As we are told in the Psalms, "Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labour in vain...In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat." (Psalm 127:1-2).

We all know that feeling of working hard but not achieving anything. If we are not doing God’s will, life will be stressful. We have no-one to rely on, like the Apprentice seekers. If we can pray regularly and build up a close relationship with God then we will be able to hear Gods will and know that we will achieve more than we ever believed possible. That’s the thing, God doesn’t just give us what we want him to give us but what he wants for us, which is infinitely more than we can imagine. So that is our answer, trust in God, give over to him our worries and cares and things will work out.

Neil, June 2008