Stress

Philippians 4:6 “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” NLT

About the time I was winding down my weight-loss journey with only 10 pounds to go, my husband was transferred with his job out of state. We were moving 400 miles away, and we had to find a house, buy it, wrap up our jobs, say goodbye to strong friendships, and move, all within 4 weeks. It was stressful to say the least, especially considering our mortgage lender and our realtor’s staff seemed not too concerned with our tight deadline. What was quickly promised as “totally doable” when we communicated our moving date, suddenly was “highly unlikely,” the closer our date came. Every day, and sometimes multiple times a day, during that four weeks, I had to call the lender and the realtor to find out where we were in the process. And sure enough, when the day came to load the moving truck, we still weren’t sure of the exact closing date. We were driving our entire lives across that 400 miles with what was actually, nowhere to go. We were homeless. The closing date came and passed without signed papers, and I was stressed to the max. We ended up closing two days late, and I was livid. Everything we owned sat in a truck in my parents driveway for days until we signed those papers.

During that time, I gained 5 pounds. What was supposed to be a very delicate time of losing the last 10, ended up stress-filled. Even though I closely monitored my activity and nutrition, it was to no avail. The stress hormone had won, and I was its culprit. Stress keeps us from losing weight can actually cause us to gain it.

As a very high-strung person, stress is my weakness. I always feel like I have broad shoulders, and I can handle most problems myself. That personality trait tends though to harm me and actually, hinder my relationship with Jesus. He desires to handle our stress for us, but when we refuse to let it go, it does nothing but hurt us.

In this section of Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he addresses a small conflict that has arisen in the church. He encourages them to work through their disagreement and to allow God to free them from their worry. We must rejoice, he says and to be full of the joy of the Lord. Further, he says not to worry, pray, and be thankful. There it is. It’s the formula for less-stress living. 

Troubles arise, and there are seasons of life that natural stress bringers. Any change in life whatsoever can bring about stress, even in small amounts. But God doesn’t want us to live this way, and He can alleviate it, if we give it to Him. God loves us, His children, and doesn’t want us to worry about anything. He cares about our needs and invites us to talk to Him about everything.

What’s troubling you today? What causes stress in your life? Take some time to read through this chapter and pray about those things. He can handle them!

Encouragement for Today

John 14:27 “I am leaving you with a gift--peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” NLT

Psalm 55:22 “Give your burdens to the Lord and he will take care of you. he will not permit the godly to slip and fall.” NLT