We live in a high stress culture

photo credit: karindalziel
We live in a high stress culture. Many experts say that coping with stress is the #1 health priority of our day. We know that medical science has closely tied worry to heart trouble, blood pressure problems, ulcers, amongst others. For example…millions of people today have high blood pressure due to stress/anxiety; every week 112 million people take medication for stress related symptoms. So how do we deal with stress? Paul shows us how in his letter to the Philippians (Read Phil.4:6-7):



STEP ONE: BE ANXIOUS ABOUT NOTHING

The word “anxious” means to have a “divided mind”. A mind divided by between the worries of the world, and the peace of God. Another definition is “To be pulled in different directions.” Our hopes pull us in one direction; our fears pull us the opposite direction – and the result, we are pulled apart. Worry is a kill joy and source of stress. We tend to expect the worst in life. Worry is worthless. It cannot change the past or control the future. It only messes you up right now. It is an incredible waste of energy. It is a waste of creativity. When we worry about things, they get bigger and bigger. The Bible says, “Do not worry about anything.” Probably this is the hardest command to obey.



STEP TWO: PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING

Whenever God tells you to eliminate something He always has something superior. He always replaces a negative with a positive. Paul is saying, don’t panic — pray. If you stopped worrying, realize how much free time you’d have. It would create a great vacuum, a void in your life to stop worrying. Pray during that time. If those people who say “I don’t have time to pray” would spend their time praying instead of worrying, they’d have a whole lot less to worry about.



STEP THREE: THANK GOD FOR ALL THINGS

The attitude of gratitude. The healthiest human emotion is the attitude of gratitude, having a grateful heart, being thankful. It actually increases your immunities. It is a physical benefit to express the attitude of gratitude. If you’re depressed, make a list of fifty things you can be grateful for. When you’re grateful, it gets the focus off your problems and gets the focus on the benefits in your life. We have so much that we take for granted. Develop the attitude of gratitude and watch the stress level in your life go down.



THE RESULT

If you do this you will experience God’s Peace which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. People try pills, fads, drugs, therapy, rock crystals, stress reduction seminars and listen to tapes, books — anything to give just a little peace of mind. Paul says God’s peace is a gift to you. It is a gift that cannot be explained, duplicated, fabricated or understood. It is the sense of peace that comes over your life. THANK THE LORD FOR HIS PEACE TODAY!