We live in the age of stress. There are so many life demands on all of us. There are pressures from work, family, society and other people.
Let me give you some recent statistics on stress from the American Psychological Association:
- 43% of adults suffer adverse health effects from stress.
- 2/3 of all office visits to family physicians are due to stress-related symptoms.
- 64% of Americans say they are taking steps to reduce stress in their lives.
- Stress is linked to the six leading causes of death—heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis of the liver, and suicide.
As you can see, chronic stress is destroying lives. Can I remind you that this affects everyone? Yes, even Christians. We see this intense anxiety building as people try to juggle all of the responsibilities of life and expectations.
However, the greatest stress isn’t put upon us by others or even by the Lord, but rather, it is manufactured within us. We tend to stress ourselves out. I can’t begin to tell you how many times I have taken a rather small responsibility or concern and worked it up in my own mind and made it a major stressor. I know that this is damaging and steals my joy and peace, both of which are gifts from God in my life. When I am stressed out and full of anxious thoughts I know that Satan is up to his devious devices. How then can we stand in these stressful times and fulfill our duties without being consumed with stress and pressure within us? Let’s look at a few Bible truths to help us stop stressing ourselves out.
How to Stop Stressing Yourself Out
- Quit Expecting Perfection.
Sometimes we forget that we are still sinners even though we have been born-again. The Bible tells us in Romans 3:23 that all of us have sinned. We are not perfect. Grace through Christ comes in and fills in for our lack and for our failures. Salvation doesn’t make us perfect and God doesn’t expect perfection from His children. Why would we demand it of ourselves? God’s Word teaches us in Colossians 3:23 that our responsibility is to do our very best as unto the Lord. We have to stop expecting perfection in this life.
- Don’t Procrastinate.
We often delay doing the things that are necessary for a peaceful life. Proverbs 13:4 teaches us that desire alone isn’t enough to achieve what needs to be done. We must be diligent and do what’s important in a timely manner. If we don’t, we are putting undue pressure on ourselves by placing a time crunch on our responsibilities. Start living by schedule and plan to get things done on time. - Live By a Simple Schedule.
A scheduled life removes a lot of pressure from everyday living. However, if you over schedule and try to control every moment of every day, you will cause a lot of stress on yourself and on those around you. Continual stress is detrimental for your home. Live by a simple schedule and be flexible.
- Stop Comparing Yourself to Others.
In 2 Corinthians 10:12 God teaches us that comparing ourselves to other indicates we are lacking in wisdom. Why? Humans think that comparing brings a healthy competition and will help them do more. This is not accurate. Comparing will either make us prideful as we view ourselves better that someone else or it will make us discouraged as we feel we aren’t good enough. Either way, putting our eyes on others will always stress us out. We will feel stressed as we pressure ourselves to stay better than another or we’ll feel stressed as we struggle to try to measure up in another person’s eyes. Our aim should be to please God in all ways. Allow Him to direct what you do and when you do it. Keep your eyes on Jesus and off of others. - Give Control Back to God and Let Go.
It’s hard for us to let go of the control of our own lives. We like to make decisions for ourselves. This is a real problem for a child of God. You see, our Heavenly Father wants to guide the lives of His children. In Proverbs 16:9 the Bible tells us that a man’s heart may devise his way, but the Lord directs his steps. Control is out of our hands. Yet, we spend our days with our fingers tightly clutched around our plans. We must learn to let go and let God be in charge. The stress then is removed from our lives as we realize the outcome of all the situations we face are ordered by the Lord. Psalm 37:5 says, “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and he shall bring it to pass.” We must commit the control of our lives to God and trust Him.
Stress is a part of live, but if not controlled and handled properly it will take over and ruin the quality of our days. Use these ideas and stop stressing yourself out!