Beating The Stress — Morning Devotions

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Transcript

I’ve spoken a lot on this programme over the years about stress, because I think as I get a little bit older, that many people find this a really difficult issue. And I think I could say to you that stress is like personal wear and tear on our bodies and minds. Just as things wear out, stress can accelerate our ‘wearing out’ – just in the day to day living.

As we care for our families, maybe we’re involved in a Christian ministry, we do studies, exams, or whatever – stress can come, and so there can be things like tense muscles, blood pressure going up, perhaps even disturbed digestion, sleeplessness, disrupted sleep, all those sorts of things, including a feeling of anxiety or guilt, feeling that you’re hopeless and helpless, that you’re really no good. So that list about stress goes on and on, but here’s something else that you might not think about…

That we don’t just experience stress in life, we also create it.

Have you ever thought about that, stress management? Well, we need to deal with that, because there are times when we do create stress. So I think there are things to to realise here that when the pressure is on, we can be less stressed because let’s be clear on the things that we are not responsible for. I’ve met people who say, oh look, the world is just a terrible place and I can’t do anything about it.

Well, yes, but there are some things you can do, some things you can’t do, so what that is all about is setting a sensible limit on what you can and what you can’t do. And that’s not to say that sometimes people put expectations on you, moving away from the perfectionist streak and saying, I will do my best.

So we can strive for excellence, you’ve heard this idea of – why don’t you try and do your best. This allows a balance of managing what is within our own limitations.

Remember of course that God is sovereign and I think this is one of the best pieces of advice I guess we could give. It helps us to remember that nothing can happen that will get between us and our eternal relationship with God. God is in control of our lives.

Therefore we can trust Him about everything that happens. So He is concerned about us. He doesn’t abandon us if we fail Him. That means that God doesn’t let go.

And we can understand that there are many things of life, the simple things of life that we can concentrate on. Learn when to give up, look for a better solution, and again this is the perfectionist streak I just mentioned. Some people just want everything to be tidy instead of just being realistic about it. What about learning from the past?

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Yes, we could look at the past in our life and say I can learn much, but of course it’s not a good thing to live in the past, so we might need to make that break, to make a perseverant stand to break the habit or the things of the past and the two words that many people use are if only.

Well, they’re not very good words, in fact, they’re dangerous words.

Take hold of God’s forgiveness – that God has forgiven us. Have a look if you read the Bible at Romans 5:1. We’re justified through our faith in Jesus Christ. So we know we can be sorry for our sins, but then have faith in Jesus Christ. Sometimes we need to separate the criticism that comes our way, try and work out what the difference is between rebuking ourselves and punishing ourselves. Take time to stop and to rest, and I’ve spoken about that many times as well.

We need to remind ourselves that we are physical people. We have needs. We can’t keep going on forever and ever, and there may be sometimes a need to forgive other people for what they’ve done. In fact, in the Old Testament, in Proverbs 14:30, it says, A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. That’s rather a graphic description, isn’t it, from Proverbs 14:30. So letting go of some of those grievances in the past.

And even if you’ve made a mistake – to understand that it’s not the end of the world. That faith in God actually is the best thing that you can do.

Let’s Pray

Well, Heavenly Father, we thank you today that we can cope with stress. There are things that come our way each day, Lord, that take it out of us, but we can trust you, and we want to do that as we yield ourselves to you and to allow Your Spirit to help us. And I offer this prayer in the name of Jesus our saviour. Amen.

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