How to not just Survive but Thrive This World
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Graduation from High School is a very exciting time. However, the excitement also comes with a ton of stress.
While graduation, whether it’s from college, high school, middle school or even Kindergarten can bring excitement, relief and the start of big new plans, for many graduates it also can bring up uncertainty, insecurities and a sense of loss.
This is what some refer to as transitional stress.
The lowest stress levels are recorded in adults older than 72.80% of millennials are stressed about money, as millennials stress statistics show.
Teenagers report a stress level of 5.8 out of 10 during the school year.
One in five college students has thought about suicide.
China has seen the highest rise in workplace stress—86%.83% of Americans are worried about the future of the nation.
Nearly 25% of people report feeling extreme stress during the holidays.
45% of college students seek counseling due to stress.
Around 70% of students are often or always stressed about schoolwork.
About 14% of US citizens exercise regularly to handle stress.
Around 77% of employees experience physical effects of stress.
Around 77% of employees experience physical effects of stress.
(Safety Management)
Many people feel the effects of stress at work. Of them, 73% experience psychological symptoms, as per stats on stress. Moreover, 26% of employees are frequently burned out or stressed at work. Another 29% report that their jobs are very stressful, and 25% find their jobs to be the leading causes of stress.
Burnout is recognized as a chronic condition by the World Health Organization.
Burnout is recognized as a chronic condition by the World Health Organization.
(WHO)
Stress-related burnout isn’t just an excuse to miss work. Stats about stress in the workplace show that its effects are severe. More specifically, burnout is characterized by exhaustion, a negative attitude towards one’s job, and a sense of unproductiveness.
Money and work were the most common and significant stressors in 2015.
Money and work were the most common and significant stressors in 2015.
(APA)
More specifically, money is a source of stress for 67% of the respondents in the APA research. Work is right behind, with 65% of those affected, statistics on stress disclose. Another finding highlights that adults are likely to find personal health concerns, the economy, family responsibilities, and health problems affecting the family stressful.
What Is Stressing America Out?
COVID-19 Pandemic - 78%
Health care - 66%
Mass shootings - 62%
Climate change - 55%
High suicide rates - 51%
Immigration - 47%
Sexual harassment - 47%
Opioid/heroin epidemic - 45%
83% of Americans are worried about the future of the nation.
83% of Americans are worried about the future of the nation.
(APA)
More than eight in ten US citizens have these worries, based on the APA’s most recent survey. What’s more, more than seven in ten people in the US, or 72% of its population, claimed it [2020] was the lowest point in the country’s history.
None of us are immune to stress!
55 % of Americans are stressed during the day.
75% of Pastors report being extremely stressed.
90% of Pastors feel frustrated and worn out every single week.
78% of Pastors are sometimes forced to resign from their church.
80% of Pastors will not be in ministry 10 years later.
Seminary trained pastors only last 5 years in the ministry.
91% have experienced some form of burnout
75% - 90% of all doctor visits are from ministry stress related illnesses.
The most common symptoms of stress include irritability, frustration, and moodiness.
The most common symptoms of stress include irritability, frustration, and moodiness.
(WebMD)
Stress awareness facts emphasize that stress is a serious issue. Some of the most common stress symptoms are feeling overwhelmed and having low-self esteem. You are also likely to have headaches, chest pain, insomnia, and low energy. All of these affect our day-to-day life.
Chronic Stress attributes to Heart Problems, High Blood Pressure, Headaches, Mental Conditions, and Anxiety.
Chronic Stress attributes to Heart Problems, High Blood Pressure, Headaches, Mental Conditions, and Anxiety.
Let me Define Stress
Stress is the gap between what we face and what we think we can face.
Difference between what we can do verses what we think we can do = Stress factor, what we ought to do and we think we can’t do.
Listen
Stress is Always Determined by what a Person BELIEVES!
As graduates and just generally stressed individuals, I want to speak to you about what can do and what we should do to relieve stress in our lives.
It comes right here in Isaiah 40.
Look with me at verses 25-26
Isaiah 40:25–26 (KJV 1900)
25 To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high, And behold who hath created these things, That bringeth out their host by number: He calleth them all by names By the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; Not one faileth.
Look up to the Omnipotent God.
Look up to the Omnipotent God.
Omnipotent - someone whose controlling influence over reality is unlimited;
When we speak of Omnipotence or Almighty, we are only referencing God.
Causes the Stars to Shine
Causes the Stars to Shine
“who bringeth out their host by number”
The average person on the darkest clearest night can at most see 9,000 stars with the bare eyes.
In our galaxy, there are nearly 100 billion stars.
There are estimated at over 10 trillion galaxies.
If each galaxy has 100 billion stars, then we have an estimation of around 1 septillion stars or to put that in perspective, it is 1 with 24 zeros behind it.
1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
Calls the Stars by Name
Calls the Stars by Name
“He calleth them all by name”
Not only has God exhibited His power by creating 1 septillion stars, but He has named each and every one.
If God has shown enough interest in the even giving the stars their names, how much more does he care for you, who was created in His image.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
7 But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.
Controls the Stars Orbits
Controls the Stars Orbits
“not one faileth”
Not only has God exhibited His power by creating 1 septillion stars, not only has He named each and every one, but this is exciting, not a single one has functioned outside the laws that He established.
It is His power and His power alone that established the laws of the universe that keep the stars functioning according to those laws.
Again the LORD is far greater than any being in the entire universe.
He alone is the Holy One, totally set apart and distinct from all other beings.
When you get stressed because of what you need to do, then take a deep breath and head outside at night and look up and see all the stars doing what God created and commanded them to do and REMIND Yourself of God’s Omnipotent, Almighty Power.
The universe did not happen by chance. It has been created by the Holy One, the Supreme Being who is totally set apart from all other beings in the universe.
If God has such a firm grasp on the universe, do you believe He can handle your problem.
Now, Look at
Isaiah 40:27–29 (KJV 1900)
27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, And my judgment is passed over from my God?
28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, That the everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding.
29 He giveth power to the faint; And to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
Listen to the Omniscient God.
Listen to the Omniscient God.
Omniscience = God’s infinite knowledge and understanding of things past, present, and future.
God is greater than any of your trial or tribulations.
Isaiah 40:27 (KJV 1900)
27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, And my judgment is passed over from my God?
Jacob and Israel are complaining about the reality that they are about to be taken into captivity and destroyed.
They are asking the questions many of us seem to ask.
Do you know what is happening to me?
Do you even care what is happening to me?
The problem is, we seem to think that God has to work in our time the way we want it and how we want it.
Created All Things.
Created All Things.
Isaiah 40:28 (KJV 1900)
28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, That the everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding.
He is the everlasting God, the Creator of the whole earth (v. 28). As Creator and Lord, He oversees the earth and knows everything that is happening. Because He is everlasting—no beginning and no end—He is able to oversee and control all events of human history.
God is not I was, I am, and I will be.
God is I am, I am, and I am.
Cares All the Time.
Cares All the Time.
Isaiah 40:28 (KJV 1900)
28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, That the everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding.
He never faints or becomes weary in overseeing the earth and His people. Again, being everlasting, God is always available to help those who truly trust and obey Him.
Cares for You.
Cares for You.
Isaiah 40:29 (KJV 1900)
29 He giveth power to the faint; And to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
He strengthens both the weary and the weak who trust Him (v. 29).
Listen very carefully, We don’t always know what we are doing, but God always knows what He is doing!
Isaiah 40:30–31 (KJV 1900)
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall:
31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings as eagles; They shall run, and not be weary; And they shall walk, and not faint.
Linger with the Omnipresent God.
Linger with the Omnipresent God.
Omnipresent = Aspect of God’s infinity in which he transcends the limitations of space and is present in all places at all times.
Waiting on the Lord is waiting with the Lord.
Stop worrying and take the time to be with God.
Working means you continue to:
Serve the Lord.
Live for the Lord.
Obey the Lord.
Have you ever been to a restaurant and had someone “wait” on you?
You don’t mean they came over and watched you with a blank stare.
No, they served you.
Has someone served you, helped you, or met your needs?
When you are stressed out and you don’t know what to do,
DO WHAT YOU KNOW TO DO!
Live in the Presence of God!
Listen to the Word of God!
Labor, serving God!
You say, “I don’t feel like serving God”, Do It Anyway!
You say, “ I don’t feel like reading His Word”, Do It Anyway!
Why do something you do not feel like doing?
Isaiah 40:31 (KJV 1900)
31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings as eagles; They shall run, and not be weary; And they shall walk, and not faint.
Renew = to exchange
God says - “if you will just trust me and wait on me,”
“I will exchange your weakness for my strength.”
“I will exchange your stress for my peace.”
“I will exchange you worries for my presence.”
James Merritt said, “The Christian Life is not just a Changed Life, the Christian Life is an Exchanged Life.”
Notice God says,
Isaiah 40:31 (KJV 1900)
31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings as eagles; They shall run, and not be weary; And they shall walk, and not faint.
As eagles is a metaphor.
Every other bird when a storm comes up will try to hide or fly away from the storm. However, an eagle will actually fly into the storm.
An eagle has massive wings - over 7,000 feathers - and with fly into the storm and lock them massive wings and catch the thermal draft to guide them upwards to an altitude of 10,000 feet.
The Eagle does not escape the storm, but simply uses the wind to lift itself to safety above the storm.
1 For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh;
2 That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;
3 In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
4 And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words.
5 For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ.
6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
It’s not the burdens of life that weighs us down it is “how” we handle them.