STRESSED OUT

 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life” (Matt 6:25-27)

Stress, we all know it, we have all felt it, and some of us have probably felt it today. You didn’t dress your kid for “theme” day, you forgot you had a big meeting today, it’s your best friend’s birthday but you haven’t so much as bought a card yet and you can’t remember if you fed the dog today. Stress is very common in life and everyone experiences it, yet it leaves us feeling isolated and alone. The devil uses stress to keep our minds so occupied that we don’t have room for God. The devil will use anything he can to keep us at a distance from God because the closer we remain with God and the more we communicate with Him, the stronger we are against the devil. Also, the closer we are to God, the more we are at peace. The devil has exploited our need for peace for far too long! He has shoved alcohol, drugs, relationships, false religions, food and a host of other things in our faces as methods to obtain peace and alleviate stress. This has left many people stranded in addictions and unhealthy relationships. There is nothing that this world can offer that will give you the lasting peace that God does. You see, peace is not found in the absence of stress, but in how we deal with the situations that causes the stress. We will always have problems, that’s life, but we can give those problems over to God and not stress about it. Do this for me; pick up a regular sized glass or bottle of water. I’ll wait for you……ok now, I’m sure your holding anywhere from 8-16oz of water, which is light, right? Hold that water up in the air for 10 minutes, then 20 and then 30 without any support. That 8-16 ounces of water now feels super heavy, your arm is going numb and you’re tired of holding it right? This is how we need to look at our problems, what usual starts off as something small will feaster if we hold on to it too long. We need to seek God and His guidance while the problem is still small and not wait until it blows up to a gigantic proportion. God said in Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” He didn’t say bring the big things that you can’t handle to me, He said bring ALL things before me. If we can become diligent in bringing the small things before God, the big things will become easier also.

In John 14:27 Jesus says: “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.”

Jesus promises He will give us peace; all we have to do is ask for it and expect it. The peace He gives is “not as the world gives”. Nothing in the world is lasting; it’s all fleeting, here today and gone tomorrow, but God’s peace is eternal and everlasting. We need not be afraid of the outcome of situations that are beyond our control, instead, we need to turn them over to God, trust Him to work on our behalf and accept the peace that He offers. Sometimes we need to sit back, give God the reins and have faith that He will steer us in the right direction.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness —Galatians 5:22

Peace is not just a good feeling or a state of mind; it is actually a fruit of the Holy Spirit and a gift from God. We have to do our part to obtain true peace and that is accepting the Holy Spirit to live in us. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit we are also filled with His gifts and can work freely in them. There is peace already inside of us when we accept God and the Holy Spirit to live in us.   We call forth the peace by calling on God and asking Him to help us obtain it. The first and biggest step to true peace is asking God to save you. If you have not asked God into your heart, it’s as simple as talking to Him and telling Him how much you need him. Here is the sinner’s prayer to help you out. By repeating the sinner’s prayer, with an open heart and mind, you will be saved.

“Father, I know that I have sinned and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey you, and to do your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.”

 “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” —2 Timothy 1:7

As children of God, we can resist the devil when he tries to bog us down with stress, and war with scripture against him. When we call on the name of the Lord the devil must flee and take his misery with him! Now, take a deep breath and lay claim to the promises God has made you. God WILL NOT forsake you nor leave you, so stop stressing about it! God has your back; He took nails to His hands and feet so that you could walk with Him for eternity, stress and anxiety free. We do not have to fall into the enemy’s mind traps. We are the children of the most high God who created our minds. He knows our thoughts before we think them so why not trust Him to give you free and clear thoughts?

“Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.”  —Matthew 6:34