[The text below represents an edited transcript of this Tomorrow’s World program.]

How to Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Feeling Overwhelmed

Does your world seem out of control? We’re living in an age of high-tech and hyper-connectivity. And it seems sometimes we’re going faster and faster, but getting further and further behind.

Information comes at us from all directions at ever-increasing speeds. We’re continually amazed by ever-more powerful communication tools. And yet for many people, relationships are fracturing more than ever. We try desperately to keep up at work and at home, but seem to be drowning in an avalanche of challenges.

Everyone is going in different directions. Nerves are frayed, and there never seems to be enough time.

Does it feel like humanity needs a rest? Do you need a rest? I think most of us would say yes.

The good news is the Bible speaks of a time coming soon that is just that: a rest.

It’s prophesied in your Bible. And it’s going to benefit everyone when that beautiful time comes.

But you don’t have to wait for a better world. You can experience the peace and tranquility and yes, rest, of a life guided by God right now. And you can be a part of God’s plan to bring those blessings to the world.

The Millennium: A 1,000-Year Rest Coming Soon

Welcome to Tomorrow’s World, where we make sense of your world through the pages of the Bible.

This world needs a rest. Look at our hyper-competitive workplace—many of us running faster and faster in our jobs or our business just to keep pace.

In the media, we are continually bombarded with competing streams of ideas and opinions. The soundtrack of our lives and our homes is all too often noise, chaos, and clatter.

And that’s not even speaking of the ravages of war that leave whole communities shattered and hundreds or thousands maimed or dead. This world needs a break. And it needs it soon.

The Bible speaks of a time when that is exactly what will happen. And it’s just around the corner.

This coming time is sometimes called the Millennium, meaning “one thousand years.” The Bible introduces the idea of a millennium in Revelation 20:4.

And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them…. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

The Millennium Begins at the Return of Jesus Christ

This is the time when Jesus Christ will have returned and will reign with the resurrected saints over the whole earth. This is the Kingdom of God on earth. Who will the Kingdom of God be reigning over? The people who survived the horrific Great Tribulation.

Early Christians believed in Christ’s millennial reign on earth. Notice what the historian Edward Gibbon wrote.

The ancient and popular doctrine of the Millennium was intimately connected with the second coming of Christ. As the works of the creation had been finished in six days, their duration in their present state, according to a tradition which was attributed to the prophet Elijah, was fixed to six thousand years (Christianity and the Decline of Rome by Edward Gibbon, an abridgement for the modern reader of the first part of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, edited by Jacob Sloan, 1962, p. 105).

So first-century Christians were looking forward to Jesus Christ’s literal return to this earth. And they were anticipating a thousand years of His reign to bring happiness and joy in a new world. Going on in the quote from Edward Gibbon:

By the same analogy it was inferred that this long period of labour and contention, which was now almost elapsed, would be succeeded by a joyful Sabbath of a thousand years.

Entering the Promised Land Pictured the Millennium (Hebrews 4)

So this idea of a coming millennial rest is not new. It’s been around a long time.

The Apostle Paul speaks of this time to come in Hebrews chapters 3 and 4. In chapter 3, he quotes David writing in the Psalms. We’ll pick it up in Hebrews 3:7.

Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, and saw My works forty years.… So I swore in My wrath, “They shall not enter My rest” (Hebrews 3:7–11).

That generation of Israelites coming out of Egypt were disobedient and rebellious. And so they were not allowed to enter the Promised Land. But stop for a moment and consider. The Promised Land—that land where that next generation would later settle—was called a “rest.”

They were slaves in Egypt, living a difficult life. It was not a happy time. But the Promised Land was going to be different. It would be a blessing for them. They would own property and have peace within their borders. They would have rain in due season, and harvests would be abundant. They would get married and have families. It was a beautiful picture of a vibrant and growing society, if they would have obeyed God.

But they were not obedient, and did not enter that rest. That should be a lesson for us. And that’s exactly the point the Apostle Paul makes. Notice what he says in Hebrews 4:1:

Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.

The Weekly Sabbath Also Pictures the Millennium

So Paul uses this analogy of entering the Promised Land, compared to something ahead for us. What is the “rest” ahead for obedient and faithful Christians? To answer that, let’s read on. Let’s pick it up in Hebrews 4:3.

For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: “So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest,’” although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; and again in this place: “They shall not enter My rest” (Hebrews 4:3–5).

So he’s talking about Christians’ hope and desire to enter a future rest at the end of this life. But then, he connects that idea to God resting after the six-day re-creation found in Genesis 1 and 2.

God rested on the seventh day, and so He made that day holy. And He instructs mankind to rest on the seventh day of each week, as a reminder of how He rested.

There is a day for a year principle in the Bible, and sometimes it’s even extended to a day for 1,000 years. For example, notice what Peter said in 2 Peter 3:8:

But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

So putting it all together, the millennial reign of Christ on earth is like a 1,000-year sabbath. Only, instead of the weekly Sabbath that comes after a six-day period of time, this millennial sabbath comes after a 6,000-year period of time.

We’re counseled by Paul to be vigilant and overcome in order to enter that rest—notice in Hebrews 4:11.

Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.

All Nations Will Keep the Sabbath in the Millennium

But why is the Millennium referred to as a rest and a sabbath? Let’s read one of the prophecies of the future in Isaiah 66:23.

“And it shall come to pass that from one New Moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me,” says the Lord.

In other words, in the future millennial age, all flesh will be keeping the seventh-day Sabbath. Now why should we take note of this?

The Sabbath Is a Weekly Rest from Work

Think about it. So many people today are working harder than ever, trying to keep up. Many work seven days a week. They awaken extremely early each morning, fight traffic on long commutes, work long hours, and crash, exhausted at the end of the day. And that’s not even counting family responsibilities with caring for children and taking care of household chores. No wonder why so many struggle with insomnia, anxiety, and even depression.

What if I told you there’s a way to offer the entire world—everyone—15% more rest time each week? Does that sound like a good deal?

This prophecy says just that. There will be a time when every human being on the face of the earth will be keeping the seventh-day Sabbath. And that means one day out of seven—that’s 15% of the week—will be a well-deserved break.

You see, the weekly Sabbath is a weekly rest. The Hebrew word translated Sabbath comes from a word simply meaning “to cease, or to rest.”

The Fourth Commandment: Six Days You Shall Work…

The Sabbath command is contained in the fourth of the Ten Commandments. But there’s not just a command to stop working, there’s also a command to work—notice in Exodus 20:8:

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work… (Exodus 20:8–9).

Did you ever notice that? We’re actually commanded to work. So, barring circumstances such as illness or injury, all of us should be engaged in some kind of work. It’s good for us. It’s good for our mental well-being, and it gives us the opportunity to grow and develop, and contribute for the good of others.

How to Rest: Remember the Sabbath Day

But keep reading, and we find out what God says about resting on the Sabbath in Exodus 20:10.

[B]ut the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.

The Sabbath is a day to worship God and draw near to Him, but it’s also a day to rest. How wonderful!

When you ask people, “Should Christians keep the Ten Commandments?” Virtually everyone will say, of course:

• You shall do no murder.
• You shall not commit adultery.
• You shall not steal.
• You shall not covet.

All good. But then when you get to “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,” most will say, “Ah, but that’s a burden. We’re not required to do that.”

Not a Burden: God Created a Day to Rest

If you’ve heard that argument, have you ever really thought this through? Remember, what does the original word for “sabbath” mean? To cease, or to rest. So what is the Sabbath command? It’s a reminder to rest. How is a reminder to take a rest a burden?

I love to work outside, and when our children were small, we would often work outside together. Whether it was raking leaves, trimming trees, pulling weeds or hoeing in the garden, we worked outside together. And when you’re working, you sometimes get hot and tired, and need a break. You know that never once did our children complain when I told them, “Ok, that’s enough for now. Let’s go inside and get some water and take a break.” They never once told me, “Dad, what a burden that is. We want to keep working.”

And yet, that is what so many people in our world are telling God week after week. Maybe that includes you. That we want to keep working, seven days a week, non-stop, week in and week out. How has the Sabbath come to be seen as a burden? Isn’t working non-stop without a day of rest really the burden?

What we find is the whole population of the world will be keeping the Sabbath. Imagine the joy and freedom people will experience, when they are allowed to have a day off—guaranteed. That’s coming. That’s the Millennial rest that will soon be here.

There are other ways that the Millennium will be a rest for people as well. The prophet Micah speaks of it in Micah 4:4.

But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid; for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.

The world of the Millennium will be one of peace and harmony among nations and among neighbors. But we can see that is not the case today. The “European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations” website says this:

As of May 2024, the number of forcibly displaced people in the world has reached a staggering 120 million, marking another historic increase and the twelfth consecutive annual rise in the global figures for forced displacement (“Forced Displacement,” European Commission, Accessed October 30, 2024).

That truly is staggering. Unbelievable. One hundred and twenty million people living as refugees around the globe. That’s almost the equivalent of the entire population of Japan, the twelfth largest country in the world.

Take a Day Off: You Need Time to Rest

Wouldn’t you say this tired old world needs a rest? When a person can enjoy earning a living, owning his own property, and enjoying the fruits of his own labor, without fear of violence or theft.

Isn’t that what most people want? Just a chance to put food on their own table and live with a certain level of security and safety?

Weekly Stress Relief: The Sabbath Rest

But what about you? Are you feeling overwhelmed now? Do you need a rest?

Our jobs are often stressful. Achieving life-work balance is difficult. Relationships can be a challenge. And as we age and even retire, financial and health problems can loom larger and larger. We’ve seen there is hope for the world—in the future—but is there help for you now?

Yes there is. Let’s look at something the apostle Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:1.

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come....

The phrase “perilous times” is also described as “times of stress.” Some concordances describe this word “perilous” as “hard, troublesome, difficult, or even annoying.” Wouldn’t you say we are living in an annoying age?

This is a time of increased stress. In a poll reported on in May of 2024 by the American Psychiatric Association, here are some of their findings:

U.S. adults are feeling increasingly anxious. In 2024, 43% of adults say they feel more anxious than they did the previous year, up from 37% in 2023 and 32% in 2022 (“American Adults Express Increasing Anxiousness in Annual Poll; Stress and Sleep are Key Factors Impacting Mental Health,” Psychiatry.org, May 1, 2024).

Think about that. Not only is the number of people who feel anxious going up, those numbers represent a sizable portion of the American population.

What are people stressed about?

Adults are particularly anxious about current events (70%)—especially the economy (77%), the 2024 U.S. election (73%), and gun violence (69%). When asked about a list of lifestyle factors potentially impacting mental health, adults most commonly say stress (53%) and sleep (40%) have the biggest impact on their mental health. Younger adults (18-34 years old) are more likely than older adults (50+) to say social connection has the biggest impact on their mental health… “Living in a world of constant news of global and local turmoil, some anxiety is natural and expected,” said APA President Petros Levounis… “But what stands out here is that Americans are reporting more anxious feelings than in past years.”

And this isn’t just about Americans. The World Health Organization noted in September of 2023 that, as of 2019, over 300 million people around the world suffer from some type of anxiety disorder (“Anxiety disorders,” Who.int, September 27, 2023).

“I Will Give You Rest” (Matthew 11:28)

The point is many of us today need a break. But you don’t have to wait for the Millennium to experience God’s rest. Sure, society won’t change for you. But God can give you rest even when living in a world of sin and turmoil. Notice what Jesus said in Matthew 11:28:

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28–30).

Jesus Christ promises to help shoulder our load with us. He promises to walk beside us and to help us. But we have to put our faith and trust in Him.

How to Be Anxious for Nothing

We have to look to Him, ask for His help, and do our part to turn our hearts toward His will—and not ours. If we do that, He will give us peace that is beyond normal human comprehension. Notice Philippians 4:6:

Be anxious for nothing….

That’s easier said than done, isn’t it? When the bills pile up, you’re stressed and tired, or you’ve got chronic health problems. How can we be anxious for nothing? Well, by looking beyond ourselves and focusing on what God is already doing in our lives. Notice Philippians 4:6 again:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

God wants us to look to Him as the source of strength in times of trouble. But when we are asking God for blessings, it’s important to stop ourselves and think, “What has God already done in my life? What is He doing right now as of this moment?” It’s amazing how it changes our perspective when we thank Him for what He’s already doing. Going on in Philippians 4:7,

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

If we are seeking His will and being thankful for what He’s doing now, He will give us strength. And even in difficult circumstances, we can have a sense of peace and tranquility through God’s Spirit.

But that’s not all.

The Millennium: Rest and Peace for the World

If we give our lives to God, we can prepare for a magnificent future. What do I mean? I’m talking about ruling with Christ in the millennial rest. That’s the destiny of the saints. Notice Luke 19:12–13:

A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.

So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, “Do business till I come.”

Jesus came the first time, gave His truth to His disciples and His life for our sins. He was resurrected and now sits at the right hand of the Father. And Jesus is preparing to come again. What should His servants be doing in the meantime? Using His Spirit to do His Work and prepare themselves spiritually for His return.

Notice what the reward is for those who successfully prepare. We pick it up in Luke 19:17:

And he said to him, “Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.”

Did you catch that? The destiny of forgiven, obedient, and converted Christians at Christ’s return is to reign with Him in glory on the earth.

You see, if we capture the vision and submit ourselves to a life of service to Christ, we can help bring hope and comfort to this troubled world. And along the way, we can experience the rest that Christ offers to those who submit their lives to Him. What a fantastic opportunity for those who have eyes to see.

But that rest is coming. It’s prophesied in the pages of your Bible. Notice a prophetic scripture of that coming Millennium, found in Isaiah 26:1–2:

In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; God will appoint salvation for walls and bulwarks. Open the gates, that the righteous nation which keeps the truth may enter in.

You Can Have the Peace of God Now

But notice further in Isaiah 26:3:

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.

It’s a description of what it will be like to live in that time, during Christ’s righteous reign on earth. But it also describes the blessings we can experience now of rest and peace, if we are covered by the shed blood of Christ and forgiven of our sins.

And if we walk with God, obey Him, like remembering His Sabbath day, keep our mind stayed on Him, and trust Him.

It’s our heartfelt prayer that you can reign with Christ in that glorious day, and experience the strength and power of His Spirit and His rest, in your life now.

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