Overgrownegyptian
posted on Feb 22, 2005 - 09:23 PM
ok everyone. here is my first topic.
kind of long but i hope you all enjoy it.
Dealing with Stress
It is impossible to avoid stress these days. Everyone deals with it on a day-to-day basis. You know the feeling you get when you are stressed; you have that tight knot in your shoulders, you snap at others, or you may just even feel saddened or depressed. It’s the feeling that keeps us up at night and it’s also the feeling that keeps us from paying attention in class. Some of us stress over certain things like the overwhelming amount of exams coming our way, maybe you stress over financial worries, or maybe you stress over the future. It is in the human nature to stress, so it is impossible to say, “Let us get rid of stress altogether.” Instead there are certain Bible verses we can look at that help us deal with our stress and minimize the effect that stress has on our daily lives.
Jesus says in Matthew 11:28-30, "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Feel comforted because the Lord is saying cast all your problems upon me and you will find rest. Like I stated earlier when you are stressed you are tense and you find yourself not being able to sleep at night but the Lord is saying “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest”. He is telling you to give him all your problems and that tension and sleeplessness at night will be resolved; he is your solution.
So how do we exactly do this? Simple; we have to go to Jesus. It sounds so easy and somewhat cliché but you know in all actuality it is easier than you think. Before you start your homework after coming back home from school, grab the Bible and read a chapter. Take a Bible with you to school and between classes read the Bible, read as much as you can. You really do feel comforted and relaxed after you’ve just read the Bible. It takes your mind off your problems. It is like your escape from the problems of the world. So we have to make time for God everyday.
The world is so busy these days but we have to find time for God. Imagine that you have a best friend. You call your best friend and you can talk for hours on the phone. Well imagine now that you called your friend and he/she didn’t pick up or hasn’t called in a while. You get upset because they are your best friends and you miss talking to them. The Lord feels the exact same way. The Lord is your best friend; he is the only person awake at 4:00 a.m. when you are laying in your bed restless. He is the one that calls us so many times and wants to have a conversation with us but we are too busy to pick up that phone call. We delay and make excuses like I am too tired to pray or I am too tired to read the Bible and I will make it up tomorrow, but it shouldn’t be like that. You should make time everyday to converse with God. Here is a perfect example in the Bible where not only does it show that you have to take time from your day to converse with God but the nature of doing so. “And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: 12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. 13 And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? (1 Kings 11-13). Elijah is looking for the Lord and he goes to places that are busy; he goes to the mountain and there is an earthquake, fire, and strong winds. Elijah was looking for God in all the wrong places. Not until Elijah went to the cave (our rooms) where it was quiet and there were no distractions did the Lord speak to him. That is why it is very important when you are stressed or have problems that you make time to pray to God and open up your heart to tell him your problems.
A lot of times we find ourselves very confused in the world. What are we doing here? What is my purpose here? We know that we are at point A and heaven is point B. We want to get there in a straight line but we weave around and swerve many times before actually getting to point B. We are building an everlasting home in heaven, whereas here on earth where everything is temporary. In the Gospel according to St. Luke Chapter 6 verse 48 we see the effect of having the Lord in our lives. "I will show you who he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them in to practice. He is like a man building a house who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came the torrents struck that house but could not shake it because it was well built." The Lord is saying that if you trust in him he will be the fountain, the rock, upon which our house (our lives) stand upon. No matter how many times or how powerful of a flood knocks against our door, as long as Jesus is our foundation the flood will subside and no damage will befall upon us.
The two driving motives in this world are that of faith and fear. If your faith is not your driving factor then it is your fear that is the component that takes a hold of you. The reason you stress and have fear in the world is mainly due to the lack of faith. Stress and worrying are both types of fear. If we do not come to realize that God cares for us, loves us, and will always take care of us, then we will always base our decisions in life on fear. That is why, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31). We have to understand that if God is on our side then no one, NO ONE, can be against us. No one can stand against us if God is on our side; if God is our ultimate weapon.
Now we stated that stress and worrying is a type of fear. The Bible says that three things shall remain: faith, hope, and love; love being the greatest of the three. "There is no fear in love but perfect love drives out fear, for fear has a torment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." (1 John 4:18). Love is the factor, the ingredient, that drives our fear from our lives. All the Lord is asking us to do is to love him and to trust in him. If we put all of our trust in him and put him first, and we do the best we can, then he is saying everything will be taken care of.
Now assume you have a goal in life. Let’s say you want to be a doctor. You are extremely determined to be so. You are doing the best you can. It means nothing without putting God first. "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things will be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow will take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." (Matthew 6:33.) If God is the first thing in our life then what are you to worry about. Many of the things in life we have no control over. If you trust that God has the ultimate plan for you then why are you to worry. That’s not to say be careful and stop caring. No. Care about these things, just don’t get worked up over it. Maybe God will show you that maybe he doesn’t think you would be suited to be a doctor; maybe he wants you to be an engineer. You do the best you can and leave the rest up to God to take care of. We read in the Agpeya which comes from the Gospel according to St. John, “My peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world gives, do I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.(John 14:27)
We read in Acts 16:22-40 that St. Paul and Silas we flogged, ridiculed, and tormented in front of a huge crowd of people. Instead of them being angry with the Lord or fearing for their lives they sang out to the Lord and praised him with songs of praise. They sang out to the Lord for all to hear. Then an earthquake shook the prison, everyone’s chains were loosened and the doors to the prison were opened.
Here are a few more Bible passages and quotes from Church Fathers I thought would be beneficial for this topic:
"Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgives all of your iniquities; who heals all thy diseases; Who redeems thy life from destruction; Who crowns thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies; Who satisfies thy soul with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's." (Psalm 103:1-5)
"Whoever flees from trouble, flees from God."
-St. Paul the Anchorite
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD , "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:11-13)
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andrew
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, pleasing to you.
"O God, my God, I will rise up early unto You; for my soul has thirsted for You: to make my flesh blossom for You, in a barren land and a trackless and dry place." (Psalm 62:1)
"My son, give me your heart, And let your eyes observe my ways." (Proverbs 23:26)
"Every meeting with Christ is a prayer of renewal. Every prayer is an experience of faith. Every experience of faith is eternal life." Abouna Matta El-Meskeen
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