Living Under Stress

Philippians 4 : 6 – 7, Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. -NKJV
Luke 12 : 11 – 12, "Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say." -NKJV
We live within an environment where it seems that stress is increasing in people’s lives. When I wake up some mornings, my mind starts going over the day ahead. Perhaps this has also happened to you. Even though Jesus instructs us in Matthew 6 not to take thought about the future, it seems to be easier said than done.
Have you had a situation lately where you knew that it might be contentious or have a negative impact on your livelihood and you dreaded it? Before going into that event, did you try to rehearse in your mind how you were going to approach it? It’s been said that most of what causes us to worry doesn’t even occur. In the same way, most of what we rehearse about an adversarial situation doesn’t happen.
Even so, we try to reinforce our self-confidence to face the unknown in anticipation. I have noticed when I over think a situation that it causes stress to intensify, not diminish. If we get fretful about a meeting or encounter, it will shut us down because of fear. Instead of having the confidence to be at ease and handling ourselves gracefully, we sometimes begin to react to the person or situation out of our perceived view of how things should go. If we do this, it can make for an awkward and intense time. It tends to put us on-edge.
Let’s address the subject of living in anticipation about unpleasant events. First of all, no one knows how it is actually going to go. Only God knows, and He wants us to turn to Him in trust so that He can direct our steps.
Rehearsing a situation before it happens doesn’t mean that we will be able to control all the aspects and people involved in it. Therefore, we must train ourselves to practice what the scriptures above instructs. When you discover that you have to attend a challenging situation or person, turn to the Lord in absolute trust that He will be with you, and He will give you the right words to say.
As we learn to place our complete trust in the Lord, the Holy Spirit will be able to flow through us. Fear and dread will quench the flow of God’s Spirit. Consequently, we are to pray as Paul tells us until God’s peace can guard our hearts and minds.
Anticipation can cause us to get “worked-up” but faith in God can keep us at ease. The next time you have a difficult meeting or a tough day ahead, PRAY! Pray until God’s peace fills your heart. Once you have peace, the next step is trust God to give you the right words. Instead of being uptight, you can be at rest, and God can turn everything around for you. God’s got this!
Pastor Asa Dockery

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