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Conquering Stress

July 30, 2014 Jason Law Inspire, More News 0

30 July 2014 by Mindy Oon CM –

Are you feeling weary in life? Or Are you feeling like you just don’t know how much longer you can keep going? We’re all been there – all of us have felt overwhelmed, tired and stressed to the max. But we don’t have to live this way, because with God’s help, we don’t have to stress out over our lives.

Satan wants us to believe that stress is a normal part of life – that it’s just something that we have to put up with. He wants us to try and cope with stress and weariness, rather than conquer them! And because we have not learnt to conquer stress, when things get inconvenient or uncomfortable, our first reaction is to panic. We start stressing out when there’s people coming over for dinner and the house is in a mess. We stress out when the boss wants to meet us. We worry about paying for our house and our car.

Soar Above The Storm

However, God has something better for us that always feeling stressed out. Isaiah 40:31 says ‘But those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.’ Without a doubt, there will be days or even months that will seem harder and longer than others. But no matter how challenging or busy things get around us, God’s word says that we can be at rest on the inside.

In Isaiah 40:31, an eagle is used to illustrate how God renews our strength. An eagle does not panic when a storm is coming. Chickens run and ostriches put their head in the sand. But the eagle uses the winds of the storm to help him soar even higher. The eagle soars above the storm. Just like the eagle, we too do not need to stress out when we are weathering a storm. All we have to do is learn to rest and wait upon the Lord.

Change Your Outlook

While we deal with storms in life from time to time, more often than not it’s the little things that cause us to feel stressed out and weary. The car breaks down, the kids are late for school, the toddler spills his milk all over the floor, you’re stuck in a traffic jam, your paycheck is late….

Most of us can relate to this. And most of the time, there is not much we can do to change the situation. However, we need to realize, it is not just the events of life that are making us weary. It is also our attitude towards those events that is making our blood pressure go up. We may not be able to change the events of the day. But we can change our attitudes and our outlook.

When you know in your heart of hearts that God is with you, and that He is your source of strength, and that with Him all things are possible, stress has no place in your life. Things that stretch you to your limits now build your faith. The people who drive you up the wall now drive you to pray for them. And the problems that used to scare you now strengthen you. It is time that we realize that with God on our side, we can laugh at the things that used to make us cry.

Matthew 6:25-34 urges us not to stress out over the things that are happening in our lives because our Heavenly Father watches over us.

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry 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, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Cast Your Cares Upon Your Heavenly Father

Like the eagle, we too can soar above the storms rather than struggle through them. If you are weary or stressed out, don’t lose hope because God is for you and He will never leave you. 1 Peter 5:7 says ‘Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you’. Don’t live your lives exhausted and overwhelmed. Ask God for his peace, especially when things are hectic and crazy! Remember Philippians 4:6-7 ‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.’