1 Peter 5:7
New International Version (NIV)
7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
Day Fourteen
Stress
Life can sometimes become so hectic to the point that we don’t know where to turn. Whether it comes from our job, our friends, our family, or even if it is self-afflicted, when one thing goes wrong it seems to cause a snowball effect with everything else in our lives. This causes stress and anxiety which can lead to emotional and health problems.
Even if we follow what we talked about on Day four of our journey (Don’t Worry) and say that we will trust in God and not worry, the situation itself can still cause us to be stress. We eliminated the worrying aspect but we are still stress out about our problems because it stays at the back of our minds.
Stress can also come from being overworked. This too can mean many different things for each of us. It could be our jobs or we can be overworked by our friends and/or family, either way it will make us feel like we have given our all and we don’t have any more to give. However, we know that we have to keep going forward even though it is taking every ounce of our energy just to get up in the morning. This form of stress can also cause emotional problems such as depression, as well as health problems such as high blood pressure.
So the question is how do we handle stress and lessen its hold on us?
The bible gives us several different scriptures to help us deal with stress. In our scripture from above the author gives us a straightforward solution. He tells us to cast all of our anxiety on Him (Jesus) because He cares for us. When we truly cast all of our problems and cares onto the Lord, He will give us peace of mind and it will allow us to rest. Now this like anything takes practice, we can start by casting smaller doubts and fears upon the Lord. When He carries us through we can remember it when the larger hurdles in life come our way. When we learn to trust in the Lord wholeheartedly life can become more joyous, it would not be like we are living carefree but it will seem that way because we know that it is in God’s hand and He will never steer us the wrong way.
When we find ourselves overworked and stress out we can look to the word of God to give us peace and strength to carry on. In John 14:27 Jesus tells us, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” So when we go to our Lord for peace, He will provide it for us. Not the peace of this world which is only temporary, but Jesus gives us eternal peace. The kind of peace that lets us know that though we have to work hard and struggle in this life, when we transition to heaven we will have everlasting peace.
Isaiah 41:10 tells us not to fear for the lord our God is with us. God will strengthen us and help us and He will uphold us with His righteous right hand. Psalms 46:1 says that God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present in times of trouble. So we know that whatever we are going through God is right there with us and He will give the strength to make it through. All we have to do is trusted in Him.
Stress can be hard to deal with, however next time we are feeling stressful stop right then and there, wherever you are, and pray to God. I heard someone once say that prayer is our 911 call to God when we need emergency assistance. We can pray that God will teach us how to cast all of our anxieties onto Him. When we do so I promise that the Lord will immediately go to work on your problems and He will give us peace as well as strength. All we have to do is try Him!
Join us tomorrow as we continue our journey. Until then God Bless,
James Anthony Love
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