Stress

A state of personal anxiety, strain or tension resulting from the pressures of human life

Worry

To feel or experience anxiety or concern: mental distress or agitation resulting from concern usually for something impending or anticipated.

Prayer

My Favorite Illustrations Don’t Borrow Trouble from Tomorrow

A little girl sat on the curb crying. A kind man thought something awful had happened to her. He asked her what was the trouble. She replied, “I was just sitting here thinking that some day I will be a woman. I may marry and have a little girl like me. And she might run into the street and be killed by an automobile.” Then bursting into tears again, she said, “If that happened I couldn’t stand it!”

I chose this topic for today because my last 2 weeks have been very much a time of overload in multiple ways. I decided that I needed to be reminded of how God wants us to deal with this kind of thing. Who here can declare that they have never had any stress, anxiety, worry or anything that is associated with such things. We live in a world that is filled with stress. How do we combat this problem? The world combats it by trying to hide it. Alcohol, wine, food, drugs, physical love without commitment are just a few of the substitutes you find people using to try and cope. Lets refresh our memories today on the Lord instructions to cope with stress.

The Experience of Stress

We do not have the corner on the market for stress. Since the day that Lucifer tempted Eve, stress has been apart of this worlds existence. People in the Bible had stress and they describe it openly. Let’s look at a few of them. David. We probably know of David’s personal thoughts and feelings more than anyone else in the Bible. We know of his struggles, his anger, his failings, his passions both good and bad.

Psalm 38:8 NLT

8 I am exhausted and completely crushed. My groans come from an anguished heart.

Psalm 77:2 NLT

2 When I was in deep trouble, I searched for the Lord. All night long I prayed, with hands lifted toward heaven, but my soul was not comforted.

Psalm 22:14–17 NLT

14 My life is poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax, melting within me. 15 My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You have laid me in the dust and left me for dead. 16 My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs; an evil gang closes in on me. They have pierced my hands and feet. 17 I can count all my bones. My enemies stare at me and gloat.

There are so many more expressions of David’s turmoil through his life. We can gain insight for our own needs, by observing his.

Jeremiah had stress.

Jeremiah 4:19 NLT

19 My heart, my heart—I writhe in pain! My heart pounds within me! I cannot be still. For I have heard the blast of enemy trumpets and the roar of their battle cries.

Jeremiah 20:15–18 NLT

15 I curse the messenger who told my father, “Good news—you have a son!” 16 Let him be destroyed like the cities of old that the Lord overthrew without mercy. Terrify him all day long with battle shouts, 17 because he did not kill me at birth. Oh, that I had died in my mother’s womb, that her body had been my grave! 18 Why was I ever born? My entire life has been filled with trouble, sorrow, and shame.

People have sometimes named Jeremiah the weeping prophet. After all the anguish he went through, he stayed true to his Lord.

Look at what Paul tells us that he went through

2 Corinthians 1:8 NLT

8 We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it.

These people all where closely connected with God, but stress was a part of their lives. Even our Saviour, when He was here on this earth was affected.

Mark 14:33–36 NLT

33 He took Peter, James, and John with him, and he became deeply troubled and distressed. 34 He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” 35 He went on a little farther and fell to the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. 36 “Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

Causes that bring Stress into our lives.

If I was to ask you right now what causes stress in your life, I would probably be inundated with multiple different stressers. God has made us all unique and it’s very interesting to see what will drive one person up a wall and leave the person standing next to them just scratching their heads. Lucifer wants us to get stressed out. He knows what will do it. He has had over 6 thousand years to perfect the idea of stress and he milks for every once he can get. The more stress we have the less time we have to connect with our Saviour and Provider. Believe it or not, the less time we spend we spend with God the more stress we have. If you had to choose, what do you think would be at the top of most everyone’s stress list? Would it be work, family, relationships, money.... The Bible has some opinions on possible causes for stress.

Deuteronomy 28:65 NLT

65 There among those nations you will find no peace or place to rest. And the Lord will cause your heart to tremble, your eyesight to fail, and your soul to despair.

Moses in the previous verses had been describing what would happen if they followed other nations and strayed from God. Does that sound like stress?

Psalm 38:4 NLT

4 My guilt overwhelms me— it is a burden too heavy to bear.

Satan uses guilt more than any other to attack our minds and pull us away from God’s love. Did you know that guilt is a form of sin?

Exodus 28:43 ESV

43 and they shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they go into the tent of meeting or when they come near the altar to minister in the Holy Place, lest they bear guilt and die. This shall be a statute forever for him and for his offspring after him.

Guilt comes as a result of sin. We are told to confess our sins, ask forgiveness, and not worry about them anymore. Worry is synonymous with stress. So disobedience to God’s will causes stress in our lives.

1 Samuel 1:5–8 NLT

5 And though he loved Hannah, he would give her only one choice portion because the Lord had given her no children. 6 So Peninnah would taunt Hannah and make fun of her because the Lord had kept her from having children. 7 Year after year it was the same—Peninnah would taunt Hannah as they went to the Tabernacle. Each time, Hannah would be reduced to tears and would not even eat. 8 “Why are you crying, Hannah?” Elkanah would ask. “Why aren’t you eating? Why be downhearted just because you have no children? You have me—isn’t that better than having ten sons?”

Family ties and family connections can be a major stresser in our lives. Family was to be our heaven here on earth, but the devil contrives to use it to destroy us.

What about leadership? Can leadership be stressful? Moses was probably well known leader of people in the Bible.

Numbers 11:10–15 NLT

10 Moses heard all the families standing in the doorways of their tents whining, and the Lord became extremely angry. Moses was also very aggravated. 11 And Moses said to the Lord, “Why are you treating me, your servant, so harshly? Have mercy on me! What did I do to deserve the burden of all these people? 12 Did I give birth to them? Did I bring them into the world? Why did you tell me to carry them in my arms like a mother carries a nursing baby? How can I carry them to the land you swore to give their ancestors? 13 Where am I supposed to get meat for all these people? They keep whining to me, saying, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ 14 I can’t carry all these people by myself! The load is far too heavy! 15 If this is how you intend to treat me, just go ahead and kill me. Do me a favor and spare me this misery!”

We can defefinely add leadership to the list that creates stress. It probably goes without saying that bodily harm would do it.

Genesis 32:6–7 NLT

6 After delivering the message, the messengers returned to Jacob and reported, “We met your brother, Esau, and he is already on his way to meet you—with an army of 400 men!” 7 Jacob was terrified at the news. He divided his household, along with the flocks and herds and camels, into two groups.

1 Samuel 28:5 NLT

5 When Saul saw the vast Philistine army, he became frantic with fear.

1 Kings 19:1–2 NLT

1 When Ahab got home, he told Jezebel everything Elijah had done, including the way he had killed all the prophets of Baal. 2 So Jezebel sent this message to Elijah: “May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them.”

After that declaration, Elijah “ran” all the way to Mt. Horeb to “save” himself. God through him had just brought Isreal back to the Lord at Mount Carmel, but he forgets it all and runs for his life. 40 days and 40 nights to get there, approximately 260 miles. The Lord visited him there and said

1 Kings 19:9 NLT

9 There he came to a cave, where he spent the night. But the Lord said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

David declares

Psalm 56:1–2 NLT

1 O God, have mercy on me, for people are hounding me. My foes attack me all day long. 2 I am constantly hounded by those who slander me, and many are boldly attacking me.

Threats of violence, stressful to the max!!

Can People Tell your Stressed?

For those of you that have never been “stressed” these are the things you might see or hear someone talk about. Your friend might become easily agitated, frustrated, and moody. They could be overwhelmed, like you are losing control or need to take control. Relaxing is almost impossible and concentrating on something is even worse. They be anxious, or the reverse, they will be depressed. If your stressed: your more than likely that you will have low energy, headaches, upset stomach, including diarrhea, constipation, and nausea, aches, pains, and tense muscles and even chest pain. That’s just the beginning of the list. But surely everyone here is exempt from these signs and symptoms right? How come I don’t see any affirmations on your faces. That must mean that your are plagued by the same sinful issues that plague me huh? There is a way to combat this problem.

God’s Medicine for the Stressed

Wouldn’t be nice if could take a pill, or decide that things are now going to be better and it just happens. That would be good for a quick fix, but does it really solve the problems that we face in this world. The libraries, face book, and well meaning friends are full of worldly answers. They give all manner and types of solutions.

If you have any kind of machine that was manufactured or built by someone, you take it to the builder or a trained specialist to repair the item.

We are so much more complex than any contrived machine. If we need fixing or healing of mind and body shouldn’t we go to the one that created us? The Master Physician knows us right down to the very DNA that makes us us. Let’s look at some of our Master Designers remedies.

Psalm 94:19 NLT

19 When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.

Matthew 11:28 NLT

28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

1 Peter 5:7 NLT

7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

John 14:1 NKJV

1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.

John 14:27 NLT

27 “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

Isaiah 26:3 NLT

3 You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!

Matthew 6:33 NLT

33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

Psalm 55:22 NLT

22 Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.

Philippians 4:6–7 NLT

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

How do you develop a friendship? It requires time with that person doesn't it. How do we get to the place that Paul is talking about here? We have to cultivate that friendship with Jesus. A simple word time, but it encompasses some many things.

This last verse, to me, is the best answer to the problem of stress. It says pray about everything. Not just somethings, pray about everything. Kathy reminds often, “Have you prayed about that?” Us men you know, we are wired to accomplish things. That’s to trivial to take to God. I should be able to handle that. I should be able to fix that. That’s not what it says though is it. Pray about everything.

Stress doesn’t have to be a problem in our lives. It shouldn’t be something that Satan can use against us. We can have a stress free life. You notice that a didn’t say a trouble free life. That’s part of this world. It says His peace “not stress” will guard our hearts and our minds if we live in Jesus Christ.