“Stress is a state of mental tension and worry caused by problems in your life.”
Stress began in the Garden of
Eden. So there is no way that we are going to escape. Adam and Eve lived in
paradise and talked with God in the evening. They had no stress until Satan
came sneaking around, just like he comes sneaking around us. Our life,
emotions, and family can seem wonderful. I’ve even heard one person say they
enjoyed getting older. During these wonderful times serving others and God is
enjoyable.
In Adam and Eve’s case their
time of peace was broken when they were offered the beautiful but compromising gift
of In our case, it can be
compromised on the way to getting a promotion, a degree, or true love that
causes stress, if we are not listening to and obeying the Holy Spirit.
Stress often comes when we are doing
good deeds. Think of the stress of Paul, the Apostle. There was often disagreement
with church members, beatings, imprisonment, and eventually martyrdom. Jesus
was stressed many times. To deal with it he often went away to pray.
On one occasion Jesus went to
the Garden to pray because he was looking for peace. He took Peter, James, and
John, three of his closest friends, with him for support. He went ahead to pray
but they went to sleep. He was disappointed because of their lack of support.
Three things Bible characters often
used to manage stress were, find a quiet place, be with considerate believers,
and prayer.
July 13, 2018
