Series: Stressed Week 1: Anxious Living
We’re all stressed but Stress doesn’t need to dominate your life. Genesis 25:8.
Life is a stress test. Why? To reveal the condition of your heart.
Definition of Stress: Fearful concern experienced when life’s demands seem greater than my ability to meet them.
Stress doesn’t cause itself. What brings about stress are the various stressors we encounter in our lives. Stressors are what we face, while stress is what we feel. TRUTH: it’s possible to handle stressors in a way that produces peace.
We should expect stressors in our lives. 2 Timothy 3:1. 1 Peter 4:12. What distinguishes us as followers of Jesus isn’t the absence of stressors in our lives—not the absence of pressure or strain. Instead, what distinguishes us is the unshakable presence of God’s indescribable peace in the midst of these realities.
Problem: when genuine concern drifts over a line & becomes fearful concern.
- Genuine Concern is expressed through a dependence on God. It causes us to ask, “What will He do?”
- Fearful Concern is expressed through a dependence on self. It causes us to ask, “What am I going to do?”
PSALM 55:22.
Solution: Don’t manage Stress but eliminate it.
- reasons to be ruthless in removing stress from your life:
- God Said So. Matthew 6:25. Philippians 4:6. “Worry” & “Anxious”: Greek mean to care, to be troubled, or to be pulled in different directions. It’s the idea of having something on your mind continuously that consumes you and weighs on you—you can’t escape it. Removing stress from our lives is a requirement.
- Stress is Actively Harmful. Stress endangers our health, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Anxiety is a cancer that eats away at our flesh & faith.
- Stress is Inconsistent with God’s Character. 1 John 4:8. Colossians 2:3. 2 Peter 1:3. A wrong or lesser view of God will have repercussions in our lives.
- Stress Misrepresents God’s Character to Others. It raises questions about Him. Is God really in control? Does He really care? Can we trust Him?
- Stress Changes Nothing. Luke 12:25-26.
Yes, stressors will always be in your life—there will be people, problems, and circumstances that are difficult or troubling or way too much to handle. But stressors don’t have to lead to stress. You can pass the stress test of life.