What does the Bible say about stress

In today's world it is practically impossible to avoid stress. Almost everyone carries a part of it, in varying degrees. Many find it increasingly difficult to simply survive in the world we live in. In desperation, people seek relief for their problems through whatever remedy they can find. Our culture is inundated with self-help books, therapists, time management seminars, massage rooms and recovery programs (to name just the tip of the iceberg). Everyone talks about returning to a "simpler" lifestyle, but nobody seems to even know exactly what it means or how to achieve it. Many of us cry out like Job: “The agitation inside me never stops; days of suffering face me. "(Job 30:27).

Most of us are so used to bearing the burden of stress, we can barely imagine their life without it. We think it is simply an inevitable part of life in the world. We carry it like a hiker dragging himself out of the Grand Canyon with a huge backpack on his back. The pack seems to be part of its own weight and cannot even remember what it was like not to carry it. It seems that his legs have always been so heavy and his back has always hurt under all that weight. Only when he stops for a moment and takes off his backpack does he realize how heavy it is and how light and free it is without it.

Unfortunately, most of us simply cannot release stress like a backpack. It seems to be intrinsically woven into the very fabric of our lives. It hides somewhere under our skin (usually in a knot between our shoulder blades). It keeps us awake until late at night, just when we need sleep most. It presses us from all sides. However, Jesus says: “Come to me, all of you who are tired and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am kind and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke it is easy and my load is light. "(Mt 11: 28-30). Those words have touched the hearts of many, yet they are only words that seem simply comforting and are essentially, worthless, unless they are true. If they are true, how can we apply them to our lives and get rid of the weights that weigh us down so much? Maybe you're saying, "I'd like to do it if you only knew how!" How can we receive rest for our souls?

Come to me…
The first thing we need to do to be free from our stress and concern is to come to Jesus. Without him, our life has no real purpose or depth. We simply run from one activity to another, trying to fill our lives with purpose, peace and happiness. "All man's efforts are for his mouth, but his appetite is never satisfied" (Ecclesiastes 6: 7). Things haven't changed much since the days of King Solomon. We work to the bone for the things we want, just to want more.

If we don't know our true purpose in life; our reason for existing, life is really very insignificant. However, God created each of us with a special purpose in mind. There is something that needs to be done on this earth that can only be done by you. Much of the stress we bring stems from the fact that we don't know who we are or where we are going. Even Christians who know that they will eventually go to heaven when they die are still anxious in this life because they don't really know who they are in Christ and who Christ is in them. No matter who we are, we are bound to have tribulation in this life. It's inevitable, but having problems in this life isn't the problem anyway. The real problem is how we react to it. This is where stress arises. The trials we face in this world will break us or make us strong.

“I will show you who he is like who comes to me, listens to my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man who builds a house that has dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. When a flood came, the streams hit that house but were unable to shake it because it was well built "(Luke 6:48). Jesus did not say that once we built our house on the rock, everything would be perfect. . No, he said there was a flood in streams that crashed into the house. The key is that the house was built on the rock of Jesus and on the rock to put his words into practice. Is your house built on Jesus? Did you dig your foundations deep in Him or was the house built quickly? Is your salvation based on a prayer that you prayed once or is it born from a committed relationship with him? Do you come to him every day, every hour? Are you putting His words into practice in your life or do they lie there like sleeping seeds?

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God: this is your spiritual act of worship. No longer conform to the pattern of this world, but transformed by the renewal of your mind. So you will be able to test and approve what is the will of God: his good, pleasant and perfect will. Romans 12: 1-2

Until you are fully committed to God, until your foundation has been dug deep into Him, you will never be able to discern what His perfect will is for your life. When the storms of life come, as they are expected to do, you will worry and shake and walk with back pain. Who we are under pressure reveals who we really are. The storms of life wash away the subtle facets that we present to the world and expose what lies in our hearts. God, in his mercy, allows storms to strike us, so we will turn to him and we will be purified from the sin that we have never been able to perceive in moments of ease. We can turn to him and receive a tender heart in the midst of all our trials, or we can turn our backs and harden our hearts. The difficult times of life will make us flexible and merciful, full of faith in God, or angry and fragile,

Fear or faith?
"If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31). In the end, there are only two motivating factors in life: fear or faith. Until we truly know that God is for us, loves us, takes care of us personally and has not forgotten us, we will base our life's decisions on fear. All fear and worry stem from a lack of trust in God. You may not think of walking in fear, but if you don't walk in faith, you are. Stress is a form of fear. Worry is a form of fear. Worldly ambition is rooted in the fear of being overlooked, of being a failure. Many relationships are based on fear of being alone. Vanity is based on the fear of being unattractive and unloved. Greed is based on fear of poverty. Anger and anger are also based on fear that there is no justice, no escape, no hope. Fear generates egoism, which is the exact opposite of the character of God. Egoism generates pride and indifference to others. All of these are sins and must be treated accordingly. Stress arises when we try to serve both ourselves (our fears) and God at the same time (which is impossible to do). ”Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders work in vain ... In vain you get up early and stay get up late, laboring to eat ”(Psalm 127: 1-2).

The Bible says that when all else is removed, only three things remain: faith, hope and love - and that love is the greatest of the three. Love is the force that dispels our fear. “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has a torment. Those who fear are not made perfect in love "(1 John 4:18). The only way we can get rid of our anxieties is to look them in the eyes and face them at the root. If we want God to make us perfect in love, we will have to repent of every little fear and concern that we clung to instead of Him. Maybe we wouldn't want to face some of those things that are in us, but we must if we want to be free from them. If we are not ruthless with our sin, it will be ruthless with us. He will guide us as the most wicked of the slave masters. Worse still, it will keep us from communion with God.

Jesus said in Matthew 13:22: "He who received the seed that fell between the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deception of wealth suffocate it, making it unsuccessful." extraordinary how enormous power there is even in the smallest things to distract us from God. We must maintain our position and refuse to let the thorns suffocate the seed of the Word. The devil knows that if he manages to distract us with all the worries of this world, we will never be a threat to him or fulfill the call that is on our lives. We will never bear any fruit for the kingdom of God. We will fall far below the place God intended for us. However, God wants to help us do our best in every situation we face. This is all he asks: that we trust him, put him first and do our best. After all, most of the other circumstances we worry about are beyond our control. What a waste of time is worrying! If we only worried about the things over which we have direct control, we would reduce worries by 90%!

Paraphrasing the words of the Lord in Luke 10: 41-42, Jesus is saying to each of us: “You are worried and angry about many things, but only one thing is needed. Choose what's best and it won't be taken away from you. “Isn't it wonderful that the only thing that can never be taken by us is the only thing we really need? Choose to sit at the Lord's feet, listen to his words and learn from him. In this way, you are putting a deposit of true wealth in your heart, if you protect those words and put them into practice. If you don't spend time with Him every day and read His Word, you are opening the door of your heart to the birds of heaven who will steal the seeds of life deposited there and leave the worry in their place. As for our material needs, they will be taken into consideration when we first seek Jesus.

But first seek the kingdom of God and his justice; and all these things will be added to you. So do not take any thoughts for tomorrow: because tomorrow he will think for himself. Sufficient until the day is his bad. Matthew 6:33

God blessed us with a very powerful tool; His living Word, the Bible. If used correctly, it is a spiritual sword; separating our faith from our fear, drawing a clear line between the saint and the coward, cutting the excess and producing the repentance that leads to life. Stress simply indicates an area of ​​our life where our flesh is still on the throne. Life that is totally submissive to God is marked by trust born of a grateful heart.

Peace that I leave with you, my peace that I give you: not as the world gives you, I give you. Do not let your heart be troubled or afraid. John 14:27 (KJV)

Take my joke on you ...
How must God afflict to see His children walking in so much misery! The only things we really need in this life, he has already purchased for us at Calvary through a terrible, distressing and lonely death. He was willing to give everything for us, to make a way for our redemption. Are we willing to do our part? Are we willing to throw our lives at His feet and take His yoke upon us? If we do not walk in its yoke, we are bound to walk in another. We can serve the Lord who loves us or the devil who is willing to destroy us. There is no middle ground, nor is there a third option. Praise God for making a way out of the cycle of sin and death for us! When we were completely defenseless against the sin that raged within us and forced us to flee from God, he had mercy on us and ran after us, although we only cursed His Name. He is so tender and patient with us, unwilling to die for one. A wounded rod will not break, and a steaming wick will not go out. (Matthew 12:20). Are you bruised and broken? Is your flame flickering? Come to Jesus now!

Come all those who are thirsty, come into the waters; and you who have no money, come and buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without costs. Why spend your money on what is not bread and your work on what is not satisfying? Listen, listen to me and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest food. Have an ear and come to me; listen to me that your soul can live! Isaiah 55: 1-3

Bless the Lord, my soul
When everything is said and done, there are still times when we all face incredibly difficult circumstances that have a fantastic power to destroy us. The best way to deal with stress in those times is to start praising God and thanking him for his countless blessings in our lives. The old adage "count your blessings" is indeed true. Despite everything, there are so many blessings woven into our lives that many of us don't even have eyes to see them. Even if your situation seems hopeless, God is still worthy of all your praise. God rejoices in a heart that will praise him, no matter what the bank pass says, our family says, our time schedule, or any other circumstances that would try to exalt themselves against the knowledge of God. As we praise and bless the name of the Most High,

Think of Paul and Silas, feet tied in a dark prison with a jailer watching over them. (Acts 16: 22-40). They had just been seriously whipped, ridiculed and attacked by a huge crowd of people. Instead of fearing for their lives or getting angry with God, they started praising him, singing loudly, regardless of who could hear or judge them. When they began to praise him, their hearts were soon overflowing with the joy of the Lord. The song of those two men who loved God more than life itself began to flow through them like a river of liquid love in their cell and out in all prison. Soon there was a wave of warm light that bathed the whole place. Every demon there began to flee in the absolute terror of that praise and love to the Most High. Suddenly, an extraordinary thing happened. A violent earthquake shook the prison, the doors opened wide, and everyone's chains broke away! Praise God! Praise always brings freedom, not only for ourselves, but also for those who surround us and who are related.

We must divert our mind from ourselves and from the problems we face and about the King of kings and the Lord of lords. One of the miracles of a life transformed by God is that we can always be grateful and praise him in all situations. This is what he orders us to do, because he knows better than us that the joy of the Lord is our strength. God doesn't owe us anything, but he made sure that we can receive everything good, because he loves us! Isn't this a reason to celebrate and thank?

Although the fig does not sprout and there are no grapes on the vines, although the olive harvest fails and the fields do not produce food, although there are no sheep in the pen and no livestock in the stables, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God, my Salvatore. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; it makes my feet like the feet of a deer and allows me to go high. Habakkuk 3: 17-19

Bless the Lord, my soul: and all that is in me bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, my soul, and do not forget all its benefits: who forgives all your iniquities; that heals all your diseases; That redeems your life from destruction; Who crowns you with loving-kindness and tender mercies; Who satisfies your soul with good things; so that your youth is renewed like that of the eagle. Psalm 103: 1-5 (KJV)

Aren't you taking some time right now to commit your life to the Lord again? If you don't know him, ask him in your heart. If you know him, tell him you want to know him better. Confess your sins of worry, fear and lack of faith and tell him that you want him to replace those things with faith, hope and love. No one serves God with his own strength: we all need the power and strength of the Holy Spirit to permeate our lives and continually bring us back to the precious cross, back to the living Word. You can start over with God, starting from this minute. It will fill your heart with a brand new song and an unspeakable joy full of glory!

But for you who fear my name, the Sun of justice will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go on and grow (jumping) like calves freed from the stable. Malachi 4: 2 (KJV)