“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: ‘Everyone is looking for you!’” Mark 1:35-37

Years ago I worked for a company where I was on call twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Time off from work was rare and a vacation was all but impossible. Less than a year later I traded that job for a career as a truckdriver where I spent more time away from home, but knew that my days off belonged to me. Then, eight years later, I traded my truck-driving career in for a career in the ministry. Suddenly I had no time off.

After eight years in the ministry I crashed. Spiritually I was a train wreck while emotionally I was extremely fragile. My body fared no better. My blood pressure and cholesterol became elevated for the first time in my life, and I was nearly one hundred pounds overweight! It was only when I arrived at the brink of self destruction that I picked up my Bible and looked to Jesus for an answer to my bloated, stressed-out life.

Like me, Jesus held a job that required him to be on call twenty-four hours a day, seven days each week. Always at the center of someone’s attention, he was a man under constant pressure and scrutiny. Forever being criticized and being forced to defend himself, Jesus was a man whose blood pressure should have been through the roof.

And yet, while Jesus lived in a stress-filled world, the stress-filled world did not live in him. Daily, Jesus removed himself from the stress of his job and escaped to a place of solitude where he and his Father could spend time alone. He went to a place where peace flowed like milk and honey, a place where he would drink deep and eat plenty, and return to work filled with strength, endued with power, and overflowing with love.

Today, mindful of what stress can do to the body, I try to follow the example of Jesus and seek out a quiet place where the pressures of this world can touch neither mind, nor soul, nor body. Leaving the cares of the world behind, I escape to a solitary place, sit at the feet of my Father, and worship a Holy God.

Seek Him for the relief of stress that can only be found in His arms.

Tim Wade is married to Shannon and is the father to four daughters and one son. A former college pastor and current part time teacher of grades K5-12 in a private Christian school, Tim has a heart for kids, loves to teach the Bible, and has a passion for learning. Tim has degrees in Religion and Divinity and has written for DeeperDevotion Magazine, Focus on the Family’s Clubhouse Magazine, and is the author of http://www.timwade.wordpress.com