Stress

I am super stressed! I cannot exercise per Doctors orders! My sisters are attacking me personally over things that are not true. Help!

You sound much stressed… exhale and trust God. When people attack us, we need to stay strong in the Lord. We all get attacked from time to time by various trials. Paul said, “I have learned to be content in whatever state I am in.” Philippians 4:11

Exercise is a great tool to reduce stress. If you cannot exercise, you can still combat stress. Try prayerful meditation. Practice sitting quietly and thinking of nothing but the back of your eyelids and your breathing. After you have been able to calm your mind, think of Jesus and how much He loves you. Try envisioning yourself sitting in His lap surrounded by His love. Read the Bible. Practice taking care of yourself with nutrition, sleep and healthful recreation. Practice forgiveness. I find that praying for people helps me forgive them. Sometimes I choke on my words at first. Eventually God changes my heart and I find heartfelt forgiveness for those who‘ve offended me. Forgiveness is a powerful tool to help deal with stress.

Mathew 6:14 “If you forgive men their trespasses your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”

I get so stressed. I know that I should prioritize and cut but I just cannot cut anything out! How can I get over this stress?

It sounds like you are suffering from life in 2010. Many of us feel over stressed. I believe we get bombarded by too much stuff! We have televisions blaring in each room of our homes and every minute of ours days are planned weeks in advance. Stress will naturally accompany this over stimulated lifestyle which is really common in today’s world. I suggest you identify ways that bring you close to God at a moment’s notice and practice them. Ways I feel closer to God at a moment’s notice are:

Listen to a good Christian song.

Listen to an easy to listen to Christian speaker or preacher. (Many ministries send off weekly or monthly tapes)

Read and meditate on a Proverb or a Psalm.

Take a moment and focus on my breathing and God’s love for me.

Take a walk and intentionally relax and refocus.

When I practice predetermined healthful ways to stay focused on God and His love for me I can stay on track emotionally and physically. If I let stress get to me I find myself feeling hopeless and heading toward the candy bars, doughnuts, gossip, complaining, depression, anger and self pity. Focusing on God and His never ending, always present love for me and good plans for me, helps me through each of life’s stresses. We will all have stressful moments here in this world. Take time to be quiet and refocus on God and how much he loves you. Write down ways you can refocus at the drop of a hat and practice them. Start today. You are worth it!

Mathew 6:33-34 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

I can’t control my emotions. I get wound up so tight and then I explode! I then get mad at myself and go into self destruct mode. I love God, how can He help me? I pray but I am still the same.

Your emotions feel like they are coming from your heart but they can be controlled by controlling your mind. (Romans 12:2b, “be transformed by the renewing of your mind”)

When you are saved you get the Holy Spirit and he does guide you on what to do. The problem is squashing out the voice of truth! If we do not read the Bible and practice doing what it tells us to do we can easily fall into the snares that used to hold us. In addition to your prayers meditate on the Word of God and apply the word to your life. I do this by thinking of how I am going to act in a situation before the situation happens. I first see myself acting out Gods word in my mind. Visualization is a powerful tool!

Sometimes you will not feel like acting as the Bible directs you to. If you practice putting on His peace regardless of the situation, your mind will direct your emotions. It will start to feel right when it used to feel wrong.

Colossians 3:2 “Set your mind on things above not on things of the earth.”

Read Colossians 3:5-10 today…….great motivational stuff!!