Managing Stress through Friends and Fun! - Daily Hope with Rick Warren - November 12, 2025

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“The Son of Man came, enjoying life.” Matthew 11:19 (PHILLIPS)

You were never intended to handle life’s stress alone—God made you for community. And you can’t keep going and going without a break—God made you to need rest and refreshment!

Not even Jesus tried to do life on this earth by himself. He needed other people! The Bible says, “He chose twelve of them to be his apostles, so they could be with him” (Mark 3:14 CEV).

Think about this: A lot of your stress stems from trying to manage life on your own rather than relying on fellow believers. That might work for a while, but what happens when times get tough?

When life gets hard, you need to have a safety net in place already—people you can rely on to help carry your burdens. That’s what Jesus asked his friends to be for him. The night before he went to the cross, he went to a garden to pray and took a small group of his closest friends with him. He told them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me” (Matthew 26:38 NIV).

In his most difficult moment, Jesus didn’t need his friends’ advice or even their words of comfort. He just needed their presence. And when times get tough, you need that, too.

Jesus also knew that he needed to take time for fun—to rest and to recharge. He had infinitely important work to do—he had come to be the Savior of the world, after all—but he still took time for fun. I love how the Phillips paraphrase describes Jesus: “The Son of Man came, enjoying life” (Matthew 11:19).

He encouraged the people around him to take time to relax and take care of themselves, too. The Bible says this: “Crowds of people were coming and going so that Jesus and his followers did not even have time to eat. He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves, and we will go to a lonely place to get some rest’” (Mark 6:31 NCV).

Jesus understood that we’re not wired for continuous work; we have to take time to slow down.

Are you feeling stretched thin and stressed out? Step back and take a look at your life. Are you connecting with other believers—making time for meaningful friendships and restorative fun? If not, remember the example of Jesus and make some changes so that you, too, can enjoy life!

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Rick Warren is an innovative pastor, renowned author, and global influencer known for founding Saddleback Church, the Purpose Driven Network, the PEACE Plan, and Hope for Mental Health. He has written several best-selling books, including The Purpose Driven Life, which has sold over 35 million copies in 200 languages. Time magazine named Warren the most influential spiritual leader in America and one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Since stepping down from the lead pastor role at Saddleback in 2022, Warren has continued to inspire people through his Daily Hope Devotional and podcast Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope. His first book in a decade, Created to Dream, was released in April 2023.

For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!

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This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

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