Stress Management – Part Three

Had any stress lately? Perhaps a better biblical concept can help you.

“If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?”  (Luke 12:28)

“Therefore, we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day” (Vs. 16).

The Psalmist said it well: “He restores my soul…”

We often need God to bring back the springtime to our souls. And He does.

A. Aerobic exercise is expedient. When you exercise vigorously, your body produces and releases a group of hormones known as endorphins. These are natural pain-killers and mood-elevating chemicals that are associated with feelings of happiness. Put your endorphins to work for you. 

B. Calm yourself by eating foods high in complex carbohydrates found in grains, beans, seeds, nuts, fruits and vegetables. They have a calming effect because they increase levels of serotonin, a chemical that helps you feel more relaxed.

C. Establish a quiet time during the day. A minute vacation can help clear the mind and relax the body. Close your eyes, flood your mind with Scripture promises. Simply thinking about your work won’t help.

Now some spiritual solutions.

D. Confess all the sin in your life. Make sure nothing stands in the way of a close personal relationship between you and the Lord. 

E. Explain your stress to God in detail, just like He doesn’t know about it. 

F. Believe that He is right now working out the answer. Don’t simply believe He is going to. Accept the fact that He is already at work on the project.

G. Search the Scripture. A doctor said to one of his stressed patients, “Go home and read your Bible for an hour a day and come back in a month.” She resented that it was all the treatment he prescribed. However she consented to take the prescription.

A month later she returned a new person asking: “How did you know that was what I needed?”

Pointing to a well worn Bible on his desk he said, “If I were to omit my daily reading of this book, I would lose my greatest source of strength and skill.”

Perhaps you have lost some of your life’s joy, have become more edgy, dissatisfied, and critical without realizing the reason to be you have gotten away from the Word. Return to reading it daily. Remember: “You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You”  (Isaiah 26:3).

Now comes the hard step.

H. Let go. Release your stress-causing situation to the Lord. Abandon it. Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.