Reflections for Youth - Stressful Temptations

The time of Lent has arrived! We welcome in the beginning of this church season this week with Ash Wednesday.

At Sixth we eat pancakes the evening before Ash Wednesday. I ate Pancakes - and they were good.

So, I searched "Jesus Balloon" to find an image to go
with the blog post.  So, umm.... you can actually  buy this. I dare you. 

And so Lent begins.  It is a time when we are called as followers of Christ to repent, spend time examining our lives, and think about our relationship with God.  Some people give up things for the 40 days.  Some people take on something like a daily practice or developing a new habit.  What ever you may decide to do - or decide not to do- I encourage you to take some time during this Lent to think about God and where you see God working in the world and your daily life.

This week's scripture passage from Luke helps us get started in Lent with the story of Jesus being tempted by the devil in the wilderness.

Read Luke 4: 1-13

You know that I am thinking about this week when I read this?

Stress. 

We all know what stress is, Right? 

Stress means pressure - or when the weight of something is placed against something else.
Think about blowing up a balloon. Too much air, and the weight or pressure of the air causes the balloon to burst.  That's stress from the inside. There is also pressure, or stress that can come from the outside that can cause a balloon to go kaboom!  I am thinking about the stress that we put on ourselves - from the inside - and stress caused by other people and the outside world.
Regardless of the source, when there's too much stress we say and do things we wouldn't normally say and do. We get impatient and annoyed.  Things can snap. Pop. Go kaboom.

So, This happened to Jesus, too,  Reading this scripture I am thinking about how crazy this situation must have felt for Jesus.

First, he's really hungry.  The story says he didn't eat for 40 days and nights.  So, he's probably Hangry - to be exact. (Hungry +Angry = Hangry.)

Second, there's this devil that is calling him out and trying to get him to do things.
I would think that under stress - some of the things could start sounding pretty good to Jesus (especially the part about the bread.)

I am guessing that Jesus might feel like a balloon being stretched too far - almost ready to burst.

But here's the thing - Jesus keeps his cool.  He responds to each challenge by using scripture and God's words of comfort. Jesus lessens the stress by calling attention to God and receiving the love God has to share.

Can you imaging what Jesus' story would have been like if he said yes to just one of the devil's temptations?

When stress overwhelms us it's easy to forget who we are.  We can forget we are God's beloved children. We can feel overwhelmed and may be tempted to do and say things that won't end well.

During Lent, God is calling us to do what Jesus did during his forty days in the desert. Pray, listen to God, and prepare ourselves for what is next in our lives.  And when we are tempted? Perhaps God is calling us to stop putting air in that balloon and take a moment to breathe.

Like I mentioned earlier, people from different religious traditions often think of something to give up during Lent - something they want to challenge themselves to sacrifice. Other people take on new things, do things for others,  start a new adventure, or create a new habit.

What kinds of things can you do this Lent to help you refocus when you feel stress?