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S. Michael Houdmann
Supporter
While most major translations of the Bible don't specifically use the word stress, Scripture does speak to things such as anxiety, worry and trouble and gives us clear answers on how we should deal...
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Singapore Moses
Supporter
"Cast all your anxiety on God because He cares for you" (1 Pet 5:7) Satan has found that STRESS (discouragement) is the most effective of all tools he employs against God's people. No saint in the Old or the New Testament could escape this. Otherwise how do you explain Prophet Elijah, a champion on Mount Carmel, becoming the coward of the worst sort the very next day under a juniper tree? It's the experience of men and women of God that they get dumped in discouragement usually following a mountaintop experience with God or a meritorious exploit done for His Kingdom. Apostle Paul enjoyed abundance of divine revelations. But he was bothered by a thorn in the body. He calls it "a messenger of Satan" sent to beat him (2 Cor 12:7). How he wished he could get rid of it! He didn't casually pray about it but repeatedly "pleaded" with God that this pricking arrow of Satan would be removed from him. Instead of delivering Paul from this problem, God strengthened him to live with it. It was grief no doubt, but by the grace of God the mourning was turned into dancing! (vv 9,10). The devil was defeated again. Instead of burying himself under the heaps of discouragement and depression, Paul bounced up with a hilarious declaration, "When I am weak, then I am strong!" Life was much simpler for the earlier generations. We are at the zenith of scientific and technological advancement. We now have more gadgets and facilities than ever. But the end result is a life filled with tension and anxiety. Diseases unknown to our forefathers have become common today. Satan uses all these to discourage God's people and depress them. But the Bible, which has answers to our problems of yesterday, today and tomorrow, teaches us to throw all our anxieties on God because He cares for us. Otherwise we will become an easy prey to our adversary the devil who "walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour!" (1 Pet 5:7,8). Prayer however does not guarantee solution to all problems and deliverance from pain, but it does promise the peace of God which is beyond understanding (Phil 4:6,7). This is the joy of the Lord which becomes your strength to resist Satan steadfastly. The knowledge that every other saint suffers like you is another encouragement (1 Pet 5:9). Worry worry until worry worries you no longer!
Jack Gutknecht
Supporter
Two Bible verses come to my mind when I think about stress. They have to do with sitting in darkness and being overwhelmed. The first is Micah 7:8, "Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise, when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me." The second is Psalm 61:2, "From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the Rock that is higher than I." And there is one verse about stress that was absolutely necessary in the life of Christ, necessary for our salvation. Jesus said to his disciples, "I have a baptism to be baptized with, and what stress I am under until it's completed!" Luke 12:50 ISV (International Standard Version.) Source: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/words/Stress/type/isv
Grant Abbott
Supporter
As Christians, I believe we are deceived into thinking that stress is just part of living in this world, and we just have to learn how to manage it. Stress is caused by the idols that we worship. Our "pride" becomes an idol as we want to show off all our accomplishments. We make plans and set schedules for all the things we want to "achieve" to show how great we are. We also covet greatly the "trinkets" offered by the culture of our world. We pursue wealth, power, fame, materialism, etc with an insatiable desire for more. These things quickly lose their appeal, but the desires of our flesh want more and more, so we "stress out" to find that illusive satisfaction which the world can never satisfy. Stress can manifest itself from the outside (pressure created by the evil and wickedness in our world) and from the inside (unrealistic expectations of ourselves and others). God wants us to enjoy every day basking in his "peace" not stressing out over our plans and expectations that will never satisfy. But God knows this about us, so he gave us the life of King David as a model to follow. If there was ever someone in life who had a good reason to be "stressed out", it was David. For 10 years David was on the run for his life, as King Saul was out to kill him. Even as king, he was constantly fighting battles against neighbouring nations who were out to destroy his kingdom. Even within his own people, he faced spies, saboteurs, close friends who betrayed him, and even his own sons who rose up against him. David wrote 70 of the 150 Psalms in the bible. In nearly all his psalms you will find David pouring out his heart to God. He is either expressing the raw emotions of frustration and anger over his circumstances, or he is worshipping God with all his heart because of God's faithfulness to him. God used David's life experiences to provide us with an amazing and beautiful model for "addressing" and "removing" the stress from our lives. Here is a summary as I understand it. 1. Pour out our hearts before God with all the raw emotions that we feel. 2. Examine our hearts to see if these emotions are driven by our sinful desires or legitimate concerns. Confess the sinful desires and forsake these behaviours. 3. Remember what God has done in our lives in the past to demonstrate his love and faithfulness. 4. Remind ourselves of God's promises to take care of us in the present and future, to meet all our needs for an abundantly fulfilling and deeply satisfying life. 5. Refocus our minds on fulfilling God's plan and purpose for our lives. Walk in step with the Holy Spirit, as Jesus leads us into all that God wants us to accomplish - His will, not our will. 6. Celebrate all that God has done, is doing and will do in our lives with heartfelt worship. This model really does work, for every Christian who will faithfully put it into practice. David was a man after God's own heart, and we can be too, if we are willing to learn from his life experiences.
ainsley chalmers
Supporter
There are 2 forms of stress, viz acute and chronic. The acute form is normal and useful. For example it is used when we snatch our child to safety when danger strikes. Chronic stress is not good as it can lead to long term depression if not addressed. If chronic stress is in your life you need to find out the source of this and God has given us intelligence to work this out. For example, if we are living beyond our means, then we need to lower our expectations or realize and repent of our fixation on the material aspects of life. It is a matter of priorities. For example, do you put valuable time spent with your family above your need to get higher up on the corporate ladder? If your stress is due to a past sin life leading to crippling guilt, then you need to repent to the Lord and trust that He will move your sins as far as the east is from the west. In short, there is a solution to every stress source in your life. I have researched the effects of chronic stress at the molecular level. If not addressed it can lead to an excess of free radicals in your body and reduce your adaptive immunity. Getting rid of the stress and taking antioxidants will help normalize your immunity. The Lord summed up this beautifully in Proverbs17:22 which says, "A merry heart does good like medicine". The key in all life events is to put total trust in God our Savior.
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