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STRESS HAPPENS
By Pam Lively
Stress is a six-lettered word for an affliction that bothers most of us-One
whose sole treatment is an elusive ten-lettered word called relaxation. Some
people can never relax. There is always so much to be done. And seldom is
anything done the way you probably think it should be done. Enter stress.
God does not create the stress in our lives. We do it ourselves with our
insecurities, our anxieties, and our drive to excel. We also create problems for
ourselves by crowding too many things into one day.
Here are some practical suggestions for relieving the stress:
- Plan some idleness every day.
- Listen to others without interruption.
- Read a book that demands concentration.
- Learn to savor food.
- Have a place for retreat at home.
- Avoid irritating, overly competitive people.
- Plan leisurely, less structured vacations.
- Concentrate on enriching yourself.
- Live by the calendar, not the stopwatch.
- Concentrate on one task at a time.
Here are some biblical suggestions for relieving stress:
- If the worst happens it happens. (II Corinthians 12:9 "My
grace is sufficient for thee...") There is a difference between worry
concern, but don't worry. (Philippians 4:6 "Be careful for nothing; in
every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests
be made known unto God.")
- Forget the past. God has! (Philippians 3:13" Brethren, I count
not myself to have apprehended but this one thing I do, forgetting things
which are behind...').
- Learn to be content with what you have. (Philippians 4:11 "Not
that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatever state I am
therewith to be content." Hebrews 13:5 "Let your conversation be
without covetousness; and be content with such as ye have: for He hath said,
I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.")
- Put your primary trust in God and not in yourself. (Psalm 118:8
"It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man."
Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto
thine own understanding." Jeremiah 17:7 "Blessed is the man that
trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.")
- Pray regularly. (Ephesians 6:18 "Praying always with all
prayer and supplication in the Spirit." I Thessalonians 5:17 "Pray
without ceasing.")
Article complied by Pam Lively from the book "Born Again, But Still Wet
Behind the Ears" by Ann Kindig Sheetz
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