Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matt. 11:28, NIV.

Imagine you’re driving back home from a sight-seeing trip, and you find yourself in Amityville, New York. It’s 2:00 a.m. You’re alone. Having made a wrong turn, you find yourself in an eerie section of town. Just then you look at the gas gauge. It’s on empty.

Pulling over to the side of the road, you step out into the darkness to look for a public telephone. Suddenly you hear heavy footsteps behind you. Your eyes dart back, then from side to side, but you see no one. The footsteps get faster, closer, and then a huge hand grabs your face, stifling your scream.

How do you feel? Science has shown that your body responds automatically to stressful situations. We call this response the “fight or flight” response. Stress causes certain changes to instantly take place in your body:

• Circulation, breathing, and muscle function speed up.
• More energy-rich sugar appears in the blood.
• Blood-clotting mechanisms accelerate.
• Blood cells enter the bloodstream from storage depots.
• Senses become keener.
• The digestive system goes into a temporary halt.

These responses help you deal with emergencies in life. But what would happen if these responses took place in your body 10 hours a day for 10 years and you never acted upon them? Some people go through life racing and battling as though a huge hand were grabbing at them all day long. We call it stress.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. There’s a way to find rest. Part of the solution lies in your perception of life. We usually cope with trouble better if we intersperse a couple breaks during the day.

And take God at His word when He says, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. . . . On it you shall not do any work” (Ex. 20:8-10), and you’ll find that your troubles aren’t as heavy. One day a week you can rest from that stressed-out feeling you get as if someone were grabbing you. God has given you permission.

When you feel the pressure mounting today, take a little break. And don’t forget to rest on the Sabbath!

Used by permission of Health Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.