Why so STRESSED!?

Stress, what is it? In our world we have made stress a daily part of our lives, in our jobs, in our homes, in our schools, in our churches, in pretty much everything we do.  Researchers are now finding that stress is a more serious to our bodies than just being a little irritable. According to the American institute of stress, “The incidence of heart attacks and sudden death have been shown to increase significantly following the acute stress of natural disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes and tsunamis and as a consequence of any severe stressor that evokes "fight or flight' responses. Coronary heart disease is also much more common in individuals subjected to chronic stress and recent research has focused on how to identify and prevent this growing problem, particularly with respect to job stress.”  We have been allowing ourselves to become so overwhelmed with stress that it affects how our bodies function. How do you deal with sudden change in your life, for example the sudden loss of a loved one, or being fired from a job, or have a toddler in your home, or a middle schooler? How do you manage your time if you are a parent that has multiple children that are all involved in different extracurricular activities? For the younger readers out there, are you stressed because you are trying to fit in, because you don’t have enough money, or the right clothes? The world wants us to feel less than sufficient, why do you think we have the phrase “keeping up with the Jones’?”  Stress if we allow it will kill us. Where can we find peace and contentment in our lives? There are plenty of answers if we open our bibles.

            Let’s start with discussing the story of Job. He was a just and good man, who always strove to please God throughout his life. The Lord rewarded him for his piety with great wealth. He had many hundreds of large and thousands of small cattle. His large and close family of seven sons and three daughters comforted him. But the Devil was jealous of Job. He began to vilify him before God, "Does Job fear God for nothing?... But put forth your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse You to Your face." Then God, in order to reveal to all how faithful Job was to Him and in order to teach people patience in their sufferings, permitted the Devil to take away all of Job’s possessions. One day robbers came and drove away all his cattle, slew his servants, and a terrible tornado from the desert destroyed the house in which Job’s children had gathered together, killing them all. Job not only did not complain against God, but he said, "God gave, and God has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord." The Devil, put to shame, was not satisfied with this. Again he began to slander Job, "All a man has will he give for his life. But put forth Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh (that is, strike him down with disease), and he will curse You to Your face." God permitted the Devil to deprive Job even of his health, and Job was stricken with the most terrible disease — leprosy. Then even his wife began to persuade him to complain against God. His friends, instead of consolation, only further grieved the innocent sufferer with their unjust suspicions. But Job remained firm, did not lose hope in the mercy of God and only begged the Lord to testify that he was suffering in innocence. In his discourse with his friends, Job prophesied about the Redeemer and of the future resurrection: I know that my Redeemer lives and on the last day He will raise from the dust this my corrupted skin, and in my flesh I shall see God. I shall see Him myself; mine eyes, and not the eyes of another, shall behold Him (Job 19:25-27). After this, God, having shown to all the example of devotion and long-suffering in His servant Job, appeared Himself and commanded his friends, who had regarded Job as a great sinner, to ask for prayers from him for themselves. God rewarded His faithful servant. Job regained his health. He had seven more sons and three daughters, gained back twice as much cattle as he had before, and lived another one hundred and forty years in honor, quietly, piously and happily.

            Wow! Talk about true events to be utterly stressed out about, to curse God and be genuinely angry. But instead Job says, “God gives and he takes away, blessed be the name of the lord.” Job found peace and comfort through his relationship with the father. When his wife and friends finally gave up on him he still continued to glorify the lord. Even when is body was weakened and he was in absolute agony he did not falter but understood that his suffering would ultimately be taken away on the day our savior calls us to judgment, and for job that brought him peace. In our lives when bad things happen we question everything and try to find blame. We say things like, “why do bad things happen to good people,” Job was the ultimate good person that tragedy kept striking. For job when it rained it didn’t just pour it became a full on natural disaster. Yet he did not waiver he did not grow weary, because if God was with him he would be able to endure.

            Below is a video I created using the song from Casting Crowns, I will praise you in this storm. It is an inspirational video that can help us to see that God is worthy of praise in good and bad times and that his love is the ultimate comfort we need to rely on him and to not stress over what is out of our control.

After watching this video we can address some other stressors by looking into Matthew chapter 6:25-34,

“Do Not Worry

    ²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life^[a]?

   ²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

            This is God stating, If I take care of all these other aspects of life that are pretty insignificant wont I surely take care of you as well, my creation my chosen people. God has a love for us it is when we put our pride in the way and hinder God from working in our lives that we stress over our issues. For if we surrender to Christ and allow him control we are not fixed on good or bad things we are fixed on Him. As Paul said, “we have been crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live but Christ lives in me” if we have that mentality we know that all we are, and all we will be, is the body of Christ reaching and working for him. We then will truly understand that we don’t have to worry about tomorrow because tomorrow has enough trouble of its own, and focus on today because after all that’s why we call it the present, it is a gift from God. If you think about it today is the best day you will ever have today, can’t change it embrace it and enjoy another day of life, God has great plans for you allow him to work in your life and trust in him on sunny days and days that may be full of rain.