Can A Christian Conquer Stress ?

Bible is not only a good theological source, but also an excellent psychological source. The human being consists of soul, body and mind. Therefore, the Bible also addresses our spiritual (soul), emotional (mind) and physical (body) needs. The Bible, a book that is supernatural in its origin, provides answers to life that is TRUE, CORRECT and completely BALANCED. Stress in these days is increasing more and more. What is STRESS? Stress is the gap between what we WANT/HAVE to do with what we CAN do. Stress is the gap between what we desire to accomplish and the capability for us to meet it ALL. This gap causes us to have stress. When stress comes into our lives, it is accompanied with anxiety and fear. If stress is not cured, then it will lead to depression. Anxiety is an emotional strangulation. People live in a "PRESSURE COOKER". The term panic attack is getting more and more common these days. What is the problem of "pressure cooker"? Some of you may have the experience of cooking with a pressure cooker. We start by putting the chicken, the beans, carrots and other vegetables into the pressure cooker. Then, we start hearing the pressure cooker groaning and moaning. Then, it starts shaking and trembling. The tip of the pressure cooker starts making loud noise and finally ... If the pressure is not released, the tip and the lid of the pressure cooker will explode and before we know it we have the chicken and vegetables scattered throughout the whole kitchen floor and wall. Yes, life in a pressure cooker is like that. We start seeing the signs of groaning and moaning. Then it is followed with the shaking and trembling. We start making the loudest noise possible at the top of our lung. Then, if the pressure is not taken cared of, we will explode and it will impact not only our lives, but also those around us. Yes, stress is a real problem and we are living in an age where stress is keep increasing. How should we handle stress? What does the Bible has to say about stress and managing stress?

Yesterday, we see that stress is the gap between what we desire to accomplish and the capability to meet it all. Today, we are going to see why do people worry? What causes stress? A. Temperament. Temperament is one reason for stress. There are people with the choleric temperament. This kind of people is the ones that are always cheerful and outgoing. The people with choleric temperament tend to hide, ignore or deny their stress. Therefore, they tend to not deal with the stress wisely. Then, there are the melancholy people. They are the more quite and observant people. Yet, the melancholy people usually are perfectionist. Perfectionism creates its own stress. The goal that is set to be accomplished is so perfect and the environment that we are in is not so perfect, therefore the possibility for us to accomplish the perfect goal is slim to none and this creates great distress. B. Affluence creates pressures. We think that having abundance in treasures should give us more security therefore it should reduce the stress in life. On the contrary, the more we have, the more stress we have and the more fear we have. C. Media-hype. While we think that technology is there to make our life simpler and to make thinks easier and more convenient, the fact is, technology brings more pressures in life. We are expected to make the best decision based on the overwhelming information that is available at the tip of our hands. The way to do trading used to be as simple as cash. Now, we can do credit card, banking on-line, checkbook balancing using computer, etc. Our life has become so complex due to the enhancements of the technology. D. Pace of life. It is about the travel; it is about the fax machines, it is about the cellular phones; it is about the e-mail and web-site that have to be read everyday. We try to pack TOO MUCH in a single day. The pressure is ON to do more and more. Do you know that according to the Plano statistics, the average age when a person suffers from the first heart attack is 43? Yes, the pressure of working and doing more and more leads to physical deterioration. E. The sad part is we are not born worry, somehow we must have LEARN to worry as we grow up. Look at a little child, he is happy as he can be and he does not worry. Even throughout our school age, we do not worry that much. Then, as we become an adult and finally became a parent, suddenly worry becomes our EXPERTISE. F. Finally, the ultimate source of worry is LACK OF FAITH. Worry is sin, even though some people may see it as a respectable sin. Yet, nonetheless, worry is sin, because it shows the lack of faith and it certainly saddened our Lord's heart, for it shows our disbelief in His promise of deliverance. Can we relate to some of the causes for stress and worry/anxiety in our lives? Let us measure our anxiety level. By measuring the anxiety level, we can know the level of our faith. Anxiety is an inverse function of faith. The more stress and worry we have, that shows the less faith we have in our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Day 3: HOW TO CONQUER STRESS? (STEP ONE) The first step is: The POWER of PRAISE. Phil 4: 6 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." The first step in conquering stress is "By Prayer With Thanksgiving". Prayer with thanksgiving puts everything in PERSPECTIVE. Let us take a very simple example. I am so stressed today because the assignment at work was not completed and the printer was acting up on me. The traffic on the way home was crowded. Then, the kids took their time to eat, create a mess in the kitchen, and play splish-splash in the bath-up, leaving me more cleaning things to do at home. Finally, when I am ready to put my feet up and enjoy my cup of tea, the news on the TV shows how a teenager kid shot other kids for no apparent reason. Yes, what a stressful day. Now, you may say so what can a prayer with thanksgiving do? Let us continue our illustration here. Finally, when the TV news was over and it is just about time to go to bed, then I take the time to pray. In my prayer, I was reminded for the job that I have. It is true that there is no perfect work place, but there are many good things about my job (even when the printer was acting up on me). Then, sure the kids are kids and their expertise is to simply create a mess and tell us that they are the boss. Yet, can we imagine our lives without them? They bring so much joy and love in our lives. There are so many good things about our kids that we can be thankful for. Then, how about the TV news that shows that there is teenager shooting again. We can pray for the family involved in the crime. In addition, we can be thankful for the youth program at church that produces strong, mature and godly teenagers. Teenagers that understands the sins of the world, and teenagers that commit their lives to please and serve God. Suddenly, the day does not look so stressful anymore. Yes, "by prayer with thanksgiving", that is the first recipe against stress that God gave us in Phil 4:6. We can start tonight by telling Him what a stressful day we have today. During that prayer time, softly and tenderly, God will put everything in PERSPECTIVE, therefore we are not overwhelmed with the stress. When we are so stressed, maybe it is because we tried to do everything, except for the very thing that God told us to do, that is to SPEND TIME in PRAYER.

Day 4: HOW TO CONQUER STRESS? (STEP 2) First: The POWER of PRAISE (See Day 3) Phil 4:6 Conquer stress "by prayer with thanksgiving" and all things will be put in perspective. Second: The PRINCIPLE of PERSPECTIVE. Phil 4:8 "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." The second step in conquering stress is to think about true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable and praiseworthy things. WHO WE ARE is the result of what is in our minds. We ARE what our minds are. Therefore, if we want to be a good parent, a good friend, a good person, then start by thinking about good things. This is more than the power of POSITIVE thinking; it is the power of BIBLICAL thinking. God has designed us so that we can only think about one thing at a time. Yes, for those computer scientists, our brain is still a one-processor system. When we are doing our assignment at work, we are not able to think about our to-do-list at home. If we do think about our house-to-do-list at work, then our effectiveness at work is reduced. Basically, we can only think about one think at a time. Therefore, if we fill our minds with the good and noble things, then there is no place and time for us to think of bad things, unnecessary fear, and unnecessary problems. Filling our minds with good and noble things will lead us to be a good parent, a good friend, a good Christian and a good person. Stress is so much reduced when we become good persons. The life of a good person is simpler and happier. In addition, a godly life does not lead to us to create unnecessary trouble into our lives. Therefore, a good and godly life leads to a less stressful life. Most of the time, we worry and we are stressful due to the result of the unnecessary fear and worry that are in our minds. We create "What If" scenarios. What if we loose our job, what if the kids turn out to be bad, what if something bad happen to our spouse, what if and what if. Resting our minds in true, right and pure things leads us to a calm heart and it will start getting rid of anxiety, it will start getting rid of the "What if" scenarios and finally, it will start teaching us to trust in God's protection and deliverance.

Day 5: HOW TO CONQUER STRESS? (STEP 3) First: The POWER of PRAISE (See Day 3) Phil 4:6 Second: The PRINCIPLE of PERSPECTIVE (See Day 4) Phil 4:8 Third: The PROMISE of PEACE. Phil 4:7 and Phil 4:9. "And the PEACE of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 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." When things are put into perspective through prayer with thanksgiving (i.e., step one), and through praiseworthy minds (i.e., step two), then two things will happen: a. The peace of God will guard your hearts and minds b. The God of peace will be with you (to guide you). When finally stress is conquered, the peace will suddenly fill our hearts and minds. Yes, anxiety, worry and fear can not co-exist with peace. When we worry, and when we are fearful, then we won't have peace in our hearts. The God of peace assures us that His peace will guard and guide us. This peace will guard us from falling into the trap of stress again, by not letting worry to occupy our hearts and minds. In addition, this peace from the God of peace Himself will guide us in the way that will lead us to conquer stress. Yes, managing stress is not as simple as "Don't worry, be happy", or as quick as "The power of positive thinking", or as shallow as "stress management seminars", but conquering stress is experiencing the power of God working in our lives. How do we know that we have successfully conquer stress? We can know whether we have successfully conquer stress by measuring the PEACE that we have in our hearts and minds. Note: For unbelievers, there is no real solution for conquering stress. The secular world offers many ways of managing stress, but none of them deals with the ROOT of the problem, it only deals with the symptoms of the problem. Therefore, the solution only works temporarily, and it does not work permanently. In addition, the stress management that is offered by the world does not offer peace at all. The only answer to the problem is only found in Jesus. In addition, without Jesus' blood, there is no peace between man and God, therefore, the peace that transcends all understanding can not be experienced by unbelievers. Friends, if you have not asked Jesus into your life, then ask Him to come into your life and start experiencing the power of God working in you.

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Disclaimer
This material is a summary of the message that was preached by Pastor
Jack Graham at Prestonwood Baptist Church.  The writer of this EBS
(Electronic Bible Study) made some changes and added some personal notes
that is necessary to customize this material into an electronic media, a
daily reading material and to better fit the audience.
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