Managing Stress with the Word of God

God's Way of Stress Management 101

---

Basically it says that stress is the way our body responds to perceived or actual danger. Our blood pressure skyrockets and our muscle strength increases. When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with tambourines and lutes. As they danced, they sang:. Saul was very angry; this refrain galled him.

What more can he get but the kingdom? The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully upon Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the harp, as he usually did. Overcome with rage, he hurled a spear at David, who barely escaped. David had no intention of overthrowing the king, nor would he have used his new-found popularity to ease Saul out of power. Saul naturally assumed that David was like himself.

That weakness undermined his mental health as well as the stability of his throne. Stress is not always a negative thing; properly managed, it can lead to development and growth.

How God Uses Stress for Our Good and His Glory

It is never external circumstances that cause stress; it is always our internal response to those external forces. After all, we have little, if any, control over our situation. The only thing we can consistently control is our response. Effective leaders learn how to manage stress — both their own and that of the team which they lead. They view stressful situations as an opportunity for growth.

Physically speaking, we build ourselves up by intentionally inducing stress on our muscles. Why does the correlation between the physical and the spiritual so often elude us? We much prefer to go to a physical gym but abide in a spiritual lounge. Through the incarnation of Jesus Christ, our God experienced stress on a firsthand basis. Our Lord faced stressful circumstances on numerous occasions, but all of these were minor in comparison to the stress he endured from Gethsemane to the cross.

To what resources did Jesus turn during this ordeal? Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered.

No, it was for this very reason that I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name! If we stopped our analysis of the text there, it might drive us to be thankful that Christ suffered all this for our benefit. To this [endurance of suffering] you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps. When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.

First, Jesus suffered sinlessly ; his pain was not the consequence of his own sins but of the sins of others. There will be enough suffering in this world without adding to it by shooting ourselves in the foot. Because we live in a fallen world, we will suffer, but we need not increase our suffering through our own foolishness.

The temptation to seek revenge and retaliation for the things we have suffered can be overwhelming, particularly in such a litigious society as ours.

But God says leave vengeance to him Deuteronomy We are called to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us Matthew 5: There is a time to seek justice, but there is also a time to suffer in silence, trusting God to judge justly in the end. Third, he suffered as a substitute ; his grief was redemptive and brought great benefit to others. The things we endure create a life message in us, which we can then use to minister to others who are going through similar situations.

Your suffering is not pointless; it fashions you more into his image and fits you for more effective ministry. By trying to avoid pain, we tell God to take his hands off of us.

Managing Stress with the Word of God : Christian Stress Management

His is a holy love that only seeks what is best for us. His desire is that we become more like Jesus, so we can minister to others the way he did. In other words, like Christ, we suffer for the benefit of others. The writer of Hebrews explains:. For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.

Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. All of this is a model, an example for how we should deal with stressful situations in our own lives. But in order for us to view our trials and difficulties with joy James 1: This is harder than it looks on the surface. We simply lose sight of it through neglect.

When we come to faith we catch a glimmer of the significance of our worth to both God and the world around us. We become disobedient to that vision when we begin to live as though it cannot be obtained. We must also diligently maintain a willing submission to his purpose, even when it carries us in directions we do not wish to go. We must maintain an immovable resolve to stay the course and persist in the face of discomfort.

Francis de Sales wrote of being placed in specific situations like a statue is placed in a specific place:. When there is added to this simple staying some feeling that we belong completely to God, and that he is our all, we must indeed give thanks to his goodness. This sort of resolve is a matter of trust and perspective. It would not only be foolish to be somewhere else, it would be sinful.

As we become more and more conformed to the image of Christ, we not only submit to his good will, we learn to submit willingly. Other options lose their appeal as God proves his trustworthiness. Some people associate work with creativity, productivity, positive challenges, significance, pride of accomplishment, enjoyable relationships and stimulating challenges. Others associate it with dreary toil, futility, injustice and joyless malaise.

Scripture provides mixed signals concerning the nature and value of work. God mandated the fulfillment to be found in labor even prior to the tragedy of the fall: But the Bible also points out that work can be a source of pain, oppression, drudgery and unhappiness.

Work has been tainted by sinful human nature with its pride, envy, greed, corruption and tendency toward the exploitation of others. Thus, many people view the workplace as an arena characterized by continual frustration and unhealthy stress. Every day, millions of workers go to work without seeing the slightest connection between what they do all day and what they think God wants done in the world. For example, you may sell insurance, yet you may have no idea whether or not God wants insurance to be sold. Does selling insurance matter to God or not? If not, you are wasting your life….

You may also like...

We think your work matters deeply to God It is not something we do apart from God, as the secular world would view it. Work is a major part of human life that God takes very seriously. It has intrinsic value. It is inherently worth doing. God himself is a worker. For six days he worked, designing the universe, developing the balance of nature, fashioning the plant and animal kingdoms.

He formed man from the dust of the earth. When he finished his initial work of creation, he took a day off, rested and went back to work. It was not work itself that came as a result of sin, but frustrating and difficult work.

Favorite Posts

Work still meets those needs. Every person, having been made in the image of the Creator, has a God-given desire to imitate him and create. We long to accomplish a task, to do something valuable. When we complete a difficult task, we feel satisfaction and a greater sense of self-respect. Ecclesiastes 2 offers a middle position that acknowledges both the joys and the heartaches of work. The Teacher cautions us to avoid both extremes — that of taking work too seriously and that of regarding it as a totally futile endeavor.

Putting these pieces together, we can observe that one key to stress management is a realistic satisfaction in work, while avoiding the pitfall of turning it into an idol. We should hold onto our work with a loose grip, since our true source of significance and security is in God, not in our jobs. Have you ever been so caught up in an enjoyable task that you lose all track of time? We usually think of heaven as a place where we will lie around all day, strumming harps. An even better existence would be to have a task you revel in doing, where you cannot fail or be frustrated and you never get tired.

The Bible describes heaven as a place where we will be given such work by God.

The throne of God and the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. We will never grow weary, never get bored and never fail. We all need techniques to manage stress. This need is intrinsic to the human condition. Hans Selye, the great stress researcher, differentiated between helpful, neutral and debilitating stress. This passage is essential reading for any leader under pressure:.

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Post Navigation

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me — put it into practice.

And the God of peace will be with you.

Stress is a complex and potentially dangerous phenomenon. Managing its effects is the subject of many publications. The apostle Paul offered advice not on how to manage negative stress but how to avoid it altogether. Before you write off Paul as an idealistic do-gooder, remember that his own work generated enormous pressure. Paul achieved in his lifetime more than most people dream of accomplishing. And he did so under constant harassment and powerful opposition.

Description Managing Stress with the Word of God teaches you effective stress management by combining Biblical principles with medical relaxation techniques. Topics covered in this book include: What is the body's response to stress? Product details Format Paperback pages Dimensions God is Good for You Greg Sheridan. Boundaries Updated and Expanded Edition Dr. Healing the Soul of a Woman Joyce Meyer.

Rescue from Rejection Denise Cross. Brave Surrender Kim Walker-Smith. Everybody, Always Bob Goff. Jesus Calling Sarah Young. The Case for Christ Lee Strobel.

Bible Living

Love Does Bob Goff. The Divine Dance Richard Rohr. Reaching Out Henri Nouwen. Conversation with Christ Peter Thomas Rohrbach. Awareness Anthony de Mello. Hidden in Christ James Bryan Smith. Praying the Names of God Ann Spangler.

• Hot Jams & Cold Showers: Scenes from the Kerrville Folk Festival
• The Tale of Troy
• Mainsail Trimming: An Illustrated Guide
• Joystick Soldiers: The Politics of Play in Military Video Games
• Living a Double Life