Stress Relief

A woman I know complained of burning neck pain last week. It was so intense, she felt as though she could not keep up with her daily responsibilities. The doctor’s discovery was that she was experiencing physical symptoms resulting from high levels of stress! Her body’s ‘fight or flight’ response, which leads to elevated blood pressure, increased heart rate, and tense muscles, was creating pain. Stress comes in a couple of varieties: distress, which is bad; and eustress, which is good. Distress results from problems that turn into threats. When we begin to feel overwhelmed, distress develops accompanied by loss of appetite, aching bodies, and sometimes depression. Eustress gets us out of bed in the morning. The challenges of life give us meaning, keep us engaged and alert, and help us to grow spiritually and emotionally.

Are you asking God to take away all the challenges of life? Are you praying for life to be easier?

Consider that you might well be praying against your best interests! Paul traveled thousands of miles carrying the Good News of Jesus. He faced daunting trials. He was often the object of ridicule and was arrested by authorities for disturbing the peace. He endured disasters during his travels, was rejected by the very people he had brought to Christ, and frustrated by lack of response to his preaching. Did he pray for these trials to be taken away? Yes! Did God do it? No! And, with maturity, here's what the apostle came to know about the value of those difficult situations: ". . . we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever." (2 Corinthians 4:16-18, NLT)
That’s not to say that distress is a good thing. It’s not! The woman of whom I wrote a moment ago can tell you that. However, the answer is not always to seek a life that is free of difficulties. People who refuse to engage in struggle, accomplish little or nothing, wasting their gifts and talents. Here’s what I know. Faith can transform distress into eustress. When we present our troubles to the Lord, He can turn them into challenges that we rise to meet. Sometimes we see a miraculous deliverance from our trials, which causes us to praise Him. Sometimes we are led through the darkness and emerge into a whole ‘new normal’ where we praise Him for what He’s done in us or through us.

Is each day a struggle, with troubles cropping up everywhere you turn?

Before you conclude that God has forgotten you, that you need a 'new life,' or that you should just give up, pray for guts! Ask God to strengthen you, to keep you on your feet, to keep you facing into the battle unafraid and unbowed. He's promised - "I will not leave you as a orphan!... I will never forsake you!"

In this word from the Word, you find God’s prescription for stress relief. May He transform your distress to eustress!
"Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7, NLT)
_______________________