by Joyce Meyer 作者：Joyce Meyer
I’ve learned something in my own pursuit of a stress-free life: If I want peace rather than the pressure of stress in my life, I must choose to seek direction from God in every situation. Our God is a God of peace. He’ll always lead us toward peace and joy, not anxiety and frustration. Therefore, we have to be listening for His voice. By following His voice, we can find peace and overcome the stress that so many are dealing with today.
这么多年来，我已经积累了一套对付生活中各种压力的方法：无论身处何处，只有向耶酥求救才能得到心灵上安抚。我们的主耶酥是平安之神。跟随他的指引，我们会走上平安喜乐的途径，不再被焦虑和挫折煎熬。因此，我们需要听从他的呼唤。唯有听从他的话语，我们才能在如今倍感压力的生活中解脱出来，找到平安。
To find peace in our lives, we simply need to obey the promptings God gives us each day. A prompting is a “knowing” deep down on the inside, telling us what to do. First Kings 19:11,12 refers to this knowing as a still, small voice. A prompting isn’t a whack on the head with a hammer! In 1 Kings, the Lord didn’t use the great and strong wind, the earthquake or fire to prompt Elijah. His voice came to Elijah as a sound of gentle stillness and a still, small voice. A prompting doesn’t even have to be a voice at all. In fact, God often gives direction by speaking to your heart rather than to your ears.
只要遵守主耶酥每天给我们的提示，找到生活中的平安其实并不难。 这种提示来自于我们内心深处的渴望，告诉我们下一步该怎么办。圣经《历代王记1》19章11节－12节把这种渴望比喻成一种宁静纤细的语调。这种提示可不是像拿着铁锤往你头上敲的那种当头棒喝。在《历代王记1》中，主耶酥并没有用强风、地震或烈焰去警告Elijah，而是用一种很温柔、宁静、纤细的语调去提醒他。有时，主耶酥甚至不使用我们耳朵可以听到的声音，我们的内心便可以得到他的直接指示。
Since a prompting is very gentle, some might question whether or not it’s from God. When you’re unsure about a prompting, it’s often easy to ignore it. One time after I had been shopping at the mall for three or four hours, I sensed that God was saying, “You need to go home now.” I had only purchased half of the eight items on my shopping list, so I ignored the prompting and kept on shopping.
The remaining items on my list weren’t immediate needs. But, like many determined, goal-oriented people, I wasn’t about to leave that mall until I purchased every item on my list. I had come for eight items, and I was going to leave with eight items! I didn’t care if I had to be dragged out of that mall; I wasn’t leaving until every item was crossed off my list! And I wasn’t going to listen to any voice that said otherwise.
I remember reaching the point of being so tired and upset that I wasn’t able to think clearly. All I wanted to do was finish shopping and get out of there. It was almost more than I could do to remain civil to the other shoppers and clerks in the store. I was stressed out!
Looking back, I can’t remember how many times I’ve done that—stress out because I’ve pushed beyond the prompting of the Lord. I can always tell I’ve gone too far when I’m not able to practice even the most basic manners—politeness, kindness and self-control. If I simply had obeyed the prompting of the Lord when I heard that still, small voice telling me to go home, I would’ve easily relieved the stress from the situation. Instead, I pushed my way through in my own determination to achieve my goal, and I ended up bringing stress on myself and everyone around me.
If we’ll simply learn to listen to God and do what He says, we’ll discover that things will go well for us. No matter what the situation, we need to listen to God and obey His voice. Proverbs 3:6 states: In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths. You may not understand the reasons that God is asking you to do certain things, but as you listen to His voice and obey His direction, you can experience a peaceful calmness as your stress level begins to decrease. So listen up…and de-stress!
