Christian Living

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Some stressful situations are very perplexing. The sun was shining and you were smiling. The sea was calm and you were serenely rowing your boat. You knew where you were going and you had ample supplies. Then, in the twinkling of an eye, you are submerged in violent waters. The wind is howling at you while the waves are slapping you as you cling to your capsizing boat weeping and wondering what went wrong.

The first thing that you should do in any stormy stressful situation is to seek the Lord’s guidance. Take a moment to ask Him to fill you with the wisdom and understanding that His Spirit gives so that you may know the right thing to do even if the waters are up to your neck.

If you have not let Jesus into your heart and life, let Him in so that He can calm your inner stormy emotions and show you how to manage your outer stormy stressful situation. Simply Confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)

After opening your heart to Jesus, trust Him completely so that you are always on an even keel and not happy and hopeful one day, hapless, and hopeless the next. Do not trust Him half-heartedly because of the heartache you experienced after people you trusted who turned out to be deceitful for God is not a man, that He should lie. (Numbers 23:19)

Trust Him even if you have dependable friends for It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. (Psalm 118:8) No one is more deserving of your unfaltering trust and than Him for He can calm the wind or make you walk on the water. So put all your hope in Him no matter how many times you have tried to leave the shark infested, piranha populated waters.

To keep your hope alive in such bleak situations, you must rid your mind of all negative thoughts and replace them with positive Scriptures. When thoughts of your inadequacy in coping with the stressful situation dock into your mind, drown them with The people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits. (Daniel 11:32). When thoughts of impossibility sail into your mind, sink them with With God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26) If fear attempts to engulf you, declare The Lord is my helper; I will not fear (Hebrews 13: 6) and it will dissipate like mist on a warm morning.

Continually transform yourself by renewing of your mind with the Word of God. This will enable you to take measures that would please Him to put yourself where you are most likely to receive and maximize His blessings. If debts are stressing you, position yourself by praying, preparing a budget, putting a stop to unnecessary spending, and parlaying your talents whether in painting, cooking or writing to develop an extra source of income. Do your best from your strategic position by bandaging your wounds, mending your oars, fixing your mast and patching your sails as you wait for God to do what you cannot do for yourself.

If you wake up feeling that the storm is taking too long to calm down, resist the temptation to hurry and row before He has showed you the direction and technique as the results will be disastrous. Instead of steaming your cells with stress hormones, take several deep breaths through your nose until you your abdomen rises and then exhale completely until it falls as abdominal breathing is the easiest way to counter the body’s stress response. Then exercise regularly to release of endorphins and feel good even if your situation is still far from good.

Combine this with eating healthily to support your body. Ensure that all your meals contain protein rich foods such as fish, eggs, beans and yoghurt as these ensure a slow and sustained release of glucose into the bloodstream and therefore maintain a steadier blood sugar level.

Then punctuate your dreary days with pleasant moments by engaging in enjoyable hobbies that complement your job. If your work involves fulfilling peoples’ demands, escape to solitary activities such as going to a spa for a facial, manicure and pedicure, knitting, painting or reading.

In addition, speak to support groups, feed the hungry, clothe the naked and visit those ailing or imprisoned for you will also be helping yourself by taking your mind off your problems.

Finally, when the Lord tells you what you should do to resolve your stressful situation, obey Him even if do not understand His reasoning. Learn from the widow whose creditor was coming to enslave her two sons because she could not pay her debts. She sought the man of God Elisha and he told her to “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors – empty vessels; do not gather just a few.” (2 Kings 4:3)

Though it may have seemed strange that she was to borrow some more yet couldn’t pay her current debts, she obediently borrowed many empty vessels, came home and poured the oil in her house in them. When she filled the last empty vessel, the oil ceased to flow. Thus, the measure of her obedience was in direct proportion to the measure of blessings she received to resolve her stressful solution for if she had borrowed many empty vessels, then she got a lot of oil to sell and consequently a lot of money to pay her debts. But if she had borrowed just a few vessels, then she got just a little oil. So obey God completely and you will resolve your stressful situation completely.


Adapted from the book Managing Stress with the Word of God by Dr. Miriam Kinai.

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