Paul’s Secrets for Handling Stress
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I can hear the words being sung, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year”! I love the lights and sounds and more importantly, the meaning of Christmas. Emmanuel, God with us! Why, then, can Christmas sometimes be the most stressful time of the year?
Recently, I spoke to a group of women on what God has to say about stress. I began by reminding the women about God’s heart. He loves you and nothing can separate you from His love. He knows you and your circumstances. Psalm 139 explains that nothing about you or your life is a mystery. He knows about stress. Jesus experienced anguish in the garden of Gethsemane. He bled as He prayed considering what He was about to endure. The Lord sees things differently than you. His thoughts and ways are higher. He wants you to learn to trust Him. Your faith is more precious to Him than gold. God’s character is unchanging regardless of what life brings. His promises do not change. He is for you and not against you and He will never leave nor forsake you.
I want to be content: Can you be truly content with your life?
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All of the above is truth but we have to let God help us with stress. In my own life, my failure to pray, believe and trust Him do not prove that He is unable, only that I have been unwilling.
Paul learned some secrets in his life. He knew stress. He was beaten, shipwrecked, in danger, even in chains. He wrote Philippians from prison.
His advice:
• Know Jesus (Phil 3:7-11). To Paul knowing Jesus was worth being beaten and flogged, risking the loss of his life, troubles, and hardships. Paul would say, “cultivate your relationship with Him”. The more you know Him, the more you will trust Him.
• Forget what is behind (Phil 3:12-14) Paul did not dwell on the past nor his mistakes but when he fell down he got back up again like running a race for a prize.
• Rejoice in the Lord (Phil 4:4-5) Not happiness in the circumstances but joy in Him in spite of the circumstances.
• He is near, don’t be anxious but pray (Phil 4:5-7) Bring everything to Him. Lay it in His hands, at His feet, for Him to care for. Thank Him, expect Him to answer.
• Guard your thoughts (Phil 4:8-9) Think about what your thinking about. Your thoughts are stressing you.
• The Secret of being content (Phil 4:12,13). He gives strength. He enables. He gives the power.
“I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”
Lord, please help me to learn the secret of being content. Please help me to know You, to forget what is behind, to rejoice in You despite my circumstances. Please remind me that You are near and help me to pray continually. Please give me the ability to guard my thoughts. In the midst of the stress this Christmas, teach me the secret of being content. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Questions: If someone took God at His word, what could their reaction to stress be or life look like? Based on what God has to say about stress, what step(s) could you begin today that would help you to cope better with stress?
About this Author Donna Mitchell
Daily audio podcast: A second daily devotional, Releasing Your Regrets, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog
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i thank myself for finding these website it means a lot to me from now on my life is going to be more better and i am going to be a better person myself thank you
this was a great devotional, thanks.
Dear kanj, I just love what you shared (“we turn to God for help when our foundations are shaking, only to learn that it is God Who is shaking it!”) When He is our foundation, our Rock, nothing shakes! And, when our feet are planted on “anything else,” He allows us to feel the angst of uncertainty and distress. Just as the old hymn goes . . . “On Christ , the Solid Rock, I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand!” Amen! God bless, dear sister!
Marilyn,
and through it all we give back, don’t we? if I may, I found this inspiration which I’d like to share. it read: ”we turn to God for help when our foundations are shaking, only to learn that it is God who is shaking it”.
learning His word is awesome because the soul talks to adversity. the year that you’v had , and look where you are at. awesome He is, totally awesome.
Hi kanj! God is so good, isn’t He? What a wonderful God, that He not only walks us through our trials and tribulations, but He gives us His peace in the midst of them! I, too, had a very challenging year in 2007. In February, we had to put our beloved 10-year-old cat to sleep, as she suddenly developed acute kidney failure. I injured my rotator cuff (workman’s comp) in March. We were planning our daughter’s wedding in May, our son’s high school graduation in June, and his college preparation. My dear widowed mother-in-law, who suffered the devastating effects of diabetes (blind and strokes), had to be placed in a nursing home in March, and her health declined until she passed away in June. Then our son leaves for college, and my husband and I are sudden empty nesters! All the while, from mid-May through mid-September, my employer disputed my worker’s comp case. They finally conceded in arbitration (Truth was my defense, and the Holy Spirit my counsel.) While it was a nightmare (so much documentation), through it all, my God was with me, and He sustained me, and I was wrapped in His blanket of peace that whole turbulent year!
Thank You, Lord, that You are our Rock and our Salvation! We praise You for Your loving-kindness to us as we face our daily struggles! Keep our eyes on You, Lord, when the waters get rough and the way seems uncertain. Grant us Your peace in the storms of life, that we may know You are there, and You will faithfully guide us through! In the precious Name of Jesus, Amen!
thank you donna for the devotional. I’ll be that ”someone” and when I took God at His word, the old shell, all worn, chipped, abandoned was given new life. I was nutured as a new born babe would be. but right from the day I accepted Christ as my Savior, I have not felt one day of stress. it’s just not in me to feel it. I have truly been put to the test with last Christmas being my ‘first’ Christmas with the Lord as my focus and then this year has reached even newer heights. still no stress and in the month of dec. 5 years ago, my mother passed, my mother-in-law passed this summer and our beloved family pet 1 year ago oct. of this year. and still I turn my back to stress. as far as what steps I take to stay far from stress? I put one foot in front of the other one day at a time and one prayer at a time.
2 John 1:2 v. 5 brings much comfort to what could be a stressful time. it says: ”And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another.” how sweet is that?
that the Lord is my Shepard and I follow.
Hi Sharon, Donna, and Linda! How wonderful it is that we can know that our Lord is right beside us in all things! His Spirit dwells within us, and He goes before us, and guards our backs! I think that when we worry, we are afraid that God won’t do what we want (or will do something we don’t want), instead of trusting Him to do what He knows is best. When we surrender our wills to Him, seeking to make His will our highest interest, and giving Him the authority that He rightly deserves, we find ourselves worrying less. Sometimes, He has to allow pain and suffering in our lives to accomplish a greater goal, a kingdom goal, that extends beyond ourselves. This includes Him using our witness in the midst of suffering, that others might come to Him. You, dear Linda, have been such a beautiful testimony of this! Though the Lord allowed you to experience the devastating heartbreak of losing a child and a husband, He remained faithful to you, binding your broken heart and comforting you, and you have been a glowing testimony to His abiding love and endless grace! That you love Him so, despite the losses you suffered, and the daily pain of chronic inflammatory disease, is a faith-builder to us all!
When I finish reading today’s devotional the very first thought that came into my mind was that chorus we used to sing in Church:
I’m learning to lean, learning to lean,
Learning to lean on Jesus.
Finding more power than I’d ever dreamed,
I’m learning to lean on Jesus
And you know if we could only learn to do that in every single situation in our life the road would be a bit easier. Something else I try to always remember or remind myself is that Jesus is right there with me no matter where I am or what situation I am in and what or How would He react and how would He want me to be reacting knowing full well He is right there with me and just like the song goes:
“Through It All”
I’ve had many tears and sorrows
I’ve had questions for tomorrow
There’ve been times I didn’t know right from wrong
But in every situation
God gave blessed consolation
That my trials only come to make me strong
I’ve been a lot of places
And I’ve seen so many faces
But there’ve been times I’ve felt so all alone
But in that lonely hour
In that precious, lonely hour
Jesus let me know I was His own
Through it all
Through it all
I’ve learned to trust in Jesus
I’ve learned to trust in God
Through it all
Through it all
I’ve learned to depend upon His Word
So I thank God for the mountains
And I thank Him for the valleys
I thank Him for the storms He’s brought me through
Cause if I never had a problem
I wouldn’t know that He could solve them
I wouldn’t know what faith in His Word could do
Through it all
Through it all
I’ve learned to trust in Jesus
I’ve learned to trust in God
Through it all
Through it all
I’ve learned to depend upon His Word
Yes, I’ve learned to depend upon His Word
I’ve learned to depend upon His Word
Then if we can just remember His word in Proverbs3: 5 & 6: Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will direct your paths.
Sorry for being so long Have a Wonderful Week In Jesus! Hugs, Linda!!!
Trusting God with everything that stresses us is a life long journey but the key is asking the Lord for the strength to do so. Moment by moment.
i need to stop worring about things i can’t do anything about and turn them over to God and i know i would have a lot less stress