MESSAGES
The Psalmist writes, "This is the day which the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:24). Each day you and I awake to a world that seems to appear more confused and more disordered than the one we left the night before. Sometimes our life can become so busy and overwhelming that we don't know if we're winding our head or scratching our watch.
Life can be stressful at times, be it at work or the home. At work, many things can bring on stress. For instance, trying to rescue a family trapped in a burning structure, when you lose your water supply when you need it most, when you lose all radio communication, having to pull over a suspected felon, being shot at, having a foot pursuit, having to deal with personnel problems, your supervisor not willing to listen to you, etc.
While all this is happening on the job, life on the home front isn't going too well either. Your children are in rebellion, your spouse and you have not been getting along, and you're getting into financial debt. At times you become so stressed that a part of you wishes you could just move to the North Pole, or some deserted island where there would be no worries or problems of any kind.
Stress can be defined as, strain; mental or physical tension. Very simply, it's the wear and tear of living life. We're always under pressure to be, to do, to perform, and to produce. We battle daily with the social disease "Trackus Rodentia", commonly known as the Rat Race. This disease is brought about by anxiety, worry and tension, and can affect us mentally, physically and spiritually.
There are days when everything is going well, and we love our life. And then are days when nothing is going right, and we hate our life. The pain in our heart begins to ache and throb, and will often linger through the night. After awhile some people will turn to alcohol, drugs, or perhaps an extramarital affair in order to take away the stressful feelings. For them, there seems to be no hope in sight.
It's been truthfully said, "We can go 40 days without food, 3 days without water, 6 minutes without air, but only 1 second without hope. However, the Bible reminds us that there is hope. God Himself says, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you; plans to give you a future and a hope" (Jeremiah 29:11).
The world sees only a hopeless end, but we, as Christians, can rejoice in an endless hope because our hope is in an eternal God. The Bible says, "This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast ..." (Hebrews 6:19). Like a ship that is firmly anchored not able to drift away or sink; so our hope in God is to be the stabilizing force in our lives.
The story goes of a farmer who had lived on the same farm all his life. It was a good farm but he began to become tire of it. He longed for a change. Everyday he found a reason for criticizing the old place, and eventually decided to sell. His Realtor put an ad in the paper which read, "Ideal location, modern equipment, healthy stock, acres of fertile ground, etc." He then showed the ad to the farmer to get his approval. The farmer cried out, "Hold everything! I've changed my mind. I'm not going to sell. I've been looking for a place like that all my life." He had become discontented with what he had, when in fact, what he had was what he wanted all his life. He had hope in front of him all the time, but was blind to it.
The point of the story is this. The way we look at and observe things will determine how we deal with them. The key to eliminating stress is by having a proper vision, and a proper perspective. Someone once said that there are 2 rules to follow in order to avoid stress. Rule # 1 is—don't sweat the small stuff. Rule # 2 is—it's all small stuff when compared to God. In other words, when we look at our circumstances, they can seem overwhelming to us. But when we look to God, our circumstances don't appear as big.
The Bible says, "Set your mind on the things above, not on the things of earth. For you have died and your life is hidden in Christ" (Colossians 3:2-3). Only as we see clearly and think clearly, will we perceive clearly. When we have faulty perspective by looking at people and circumstances, then stress will have control of us. When we have the right perspective by looking at Jesus, then we will have control over stress because Christ has control over us.
It's been said, "Victims always focus on the problems. Victors always focus on the solutions." Jesus said, "With God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26). Only with God will we be able to handle stress in the proper way. However, when God is missing from the equation, it's impossible to face our problems successfully. Let me give you 6 biblical principles in dealing with stress by using the acronym—s-t-r-e-s-s.
Stress = Spread the workload. Don't try to do too much yourself by yourself. Moses father-in-law, Jethro, seeing that Moses was trying to do too much by himself, said to his son-in-law, "The thing that you do is not good. Both you and these people will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you; you are not able to perform it by yourself" (Exodus 18:17). He was telling him he needed to delegate the work. He needed to distribute the workload.
When we try to do more than we were designed to do, our stress level will increase. We need to remember that we are not Superman or Wonder Woman, and we need to be willing to let some stuff go.
sTress = Trust in the Lord. We need to be willing to give our stress over to the Lord. The Bible says, "Trust in Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your path straight" (Proverbs 3:5-6).
The story of a tightrope walker who had walked across Niagra Falls. At first, he walked across with his pole, then without his pole. Next, he walked across with a wheelbarrow. He made it all the way across without any difficulty at all. A wide-eyed young boy was standing nearby observing the man. The man looked at the boy and said, "Son, I'm going to push this wheelbarrow back across the rope. Do you believe I can do it?" The boy replied, "Yes, sir, I sure do." The man asked, "Do you really believe I can do it?" "Yes, I really do", the boy responded. Finally the man said, "Ok, son, if you really believe then get in the wheelbarrow." You see, not until we get in, do we really entrust ourselves to God's care. It's been said, "When I try, I fail. When I trust, God succeeds."
stRess = Rest and Relax in Him. Jesus said, "Come to Me all who are burdened and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest…" (Matthew 11:28). God says, "Be still (cease striving) and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). In other words, we need to let go of our stress, give it to God, and relax knowing that he's in control. Go to a movie, read a book, take a walk, go for a bike ride, play a round of golf, take a vacation.
strEss = Enter His presence through prayer. The Bible says, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6). Don't hold back from telling the Lord your problems and hurts. He wants to hear from you. Share with Him your heart, your thoughts and your concerns, and as you do, He will fill you with His peace in spite of your problems.
streSs = Strengthen yourself in the Lord. The Bible says that, "We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us" (Philippians 4:13). David wrote, "The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1). Samuel wrote that, "David strengthened himself in the Lord his God" (1 Samuel 30:6).
We strengthen ourselves in the Lord as we continue to draw nearer to Him through prayer, Bible reading, and fellowshipping with other Christians. As we humble ourselves in the presence of the Lord, He will lift us up (James 4:10).
stresS = Seek God's promises. God promises you that He will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). God promises you that He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13). God promises us that He is our refuge and strength, and a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1). God promises us a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11).
God promises that even in our trials, good will prevail. Paul said, "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28). What good can come from stress? James tells us that trials can produce endurance in our lives, and helps to make us a more perfect and complete Christian (James 1:2-4).
God has given us many promises in His Word, and we need to be willing to believe them and claim them for ourselves. May we be like Abraham, who with all his difficulties, "did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God" (Romans 4:20).
As we follow the principles I've just presented, I believe that our stress level will decrease, and our bless level will increase. Then we can get up in the morning looking forward to each and every day, and say, "This is the day which the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:24).
God bless you,
Pastor Steve |
|
 |
| |
|
 |
| SHIELD OF FAITH |
|
|
For more information,
call (951) 687-6902
Attention Juanita
|
| |
| |
 |
|
