"The Soda Effect"

A fellow social worker introduced the phrase, “The Soda Effect.” All of us are like a bottle of soda. Pick any kind you would like to be. We all have times that we are shaken up and tossed around, which can ruin our attitude. If our fizz overwhelms us, we can create a mess which is difficult to recover.

We come in contact with circumstances, which create a challenge to regulate our emotions. Someone says the wrong thing to us at the wrong time, stress piles up, and there is never enough time in one day. Everyone is bound to get shaken at some point, but how do we stand firm without letting our stress overcome us?

Jesus overcame the greatest circumstance imaginable; death on a cross. Matthew 27 depicts the mockery of Jesus as he approached the crucifixion. “They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. Hail king of the Jews! They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again (v. 28-30).”

Notice that Jesus did not fight back to the hatred that he received. Rather, he withstood the mockery. He took control of his emotions by keeping the bigger picture in mind. Jesus knew that he would be taken to die, and that it was part of a greater plan for him to be raised on the third day (Matthew 20:19). He held onto his hope.

Despite the circumstances of our lives, we will always have a reason to press on. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see (Hebrews 11:1).” Stress overcomes us. We start to fizz and feel we are going to explode. It is easy to miss what lies ahead. However, when we keep our eyes focused on our hope, we will be reminded of what is in store for us. “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him
(1 Corinthians 2:9).”