What Can I Do With All This Stress?
"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." - Jesus, John 16:33
One of the aspects of stress that is problematic, is that it is cumulative. What do I mean? Stress is something that builds over time, even when we are not consciously aware of it. With more responsibility, new problems, painful situations, stress can take an emotional toll on us.
As a growing Christian, we must allow stress to help us grow in our dependence on Christ in every area of our life. We cannot let it overwhelm us and negatively impact us and those around us. How we process stress in our life will significantly affect us spiritually, emotionally, and physically.
Here is a beneficial process that I have personally applied and counseled my clients to work on. You can get your Bible and pen and paper and it can be help to you!
First of all, reflect on these verses through meditation and memorization. Any other scriptures that are personally meaningful to you concerning God's grace are helpful.
Isaiah 40:29, "He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength."
Psalm 73:26, "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."
Jeremiah 32:17, "Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you."
Secondly, pray and ask the Lord to help you make a list of your top 10 fears, concerns, worries, painful situations, etc.
Write them down. Take that list and evaluate what bucket to put each item. Separating our list into these different categories can help us to know how to address the different areas that impact our lives. There could be aspects of each burden that apply in more than one bucket.
The three buckets are:
I can still change it, and what does the Lord want me to do about it? Pray and ask God for wisdom as to what steps you can take to address the situation. Write down your applications. Be proactive. As you begin to apply these steps, the stress in your life will lessen, and the sense of accomplishment will increase, relieving stress.
"Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." Peter, 1 Peter 1:13
I can't change the situation, and I need to grieve the loss and accept it. When people experience the painful reality of loss in their life, they are at risk of getting stuck in depression in the grief cycle. Losing hope can be replaced with faith if I allow myself to feel the pain and look to Christ for healing and accept the loss. We can then put our confidence and trust in God for what will happen to us and know he will use it in our lives for good.
"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." Paul, Romans 8:18
It can still change, but only God can change it, and I need to trust God with the situation. Trusting God is an excellent place for us to be. We learn in scripture that there are many things that only God can change. We need to distinguish between what is our responsibility to change something and what only God can change. If we take responsibility for only what God can change, it will lead to us controlling another person or situation that will add to our stress and sense of hopelessness and make the situation worse.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding." Proverbs 3:5
As you prayerfully process through these steps my hope is that it will help you find help in relieving your stress and experience the grace of God as you depend on him.