“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.”
Matthew 5:14 (NLT) If you’re not sure who you really are, then you can be manipulated and molded by the pressures, problems, and people around you—and that leads to stress! Our culture is constantly trying to fit you into its mold. When you have a confused and unclear identity, when you don’t really know who you are, it makes you more vulnerable to the culture’s influence. Until you settle in your mind that God loves you unconditionally and that you’re a child of God, you’re going to be prone to stress. Jesus never had any doubts about his identity. In fact, 18 times in Scripture he publicly declared who he was. These are called his “I am” statements, like, I am the Light of the World. I am the Son of God. I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. I am the Bread of Life. Jesus made it clear that he knew exactly who he was. In John 8:18, Jesus said, “I testify on my own behalf” (GNT). He didn’t need other people to tell him who he was. He didn’t look to others for validation. When you depend on other people’s opinions for validation, you can’t be resilient to stress. Because if you don’t know who you are, then other people will decide it for you. They’ll force you into a mold, and you’ll get stressed trying to be someone you’re not. You’ll end up pretending and wearing a mask. It will wear you out! Jesus knew he was the Light of the World. But he also said the same thing about you: “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14 NLT). Do you realize how special you are? Not because of what other people say but because of what God says. There’s nobody in the world exactly like you. You must accept the truth about you—your strengths and your limitations and weaknesses. God made you with all of those things, and he has given you everything you need to do his will. When you accept that, you’ll be secure in your identity and a lot less stressed.
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“Come to me and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28 (CEV) When Jesus says, “Come to me and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28 CEV), what kind of rest is he talking about? Jesus offers a rest for your soul that’s much deeper than physical rest—because he knows that the problem you need help with right now is probably not overworked muscles. When you come to Jesus in your emptiness, what you probably have is an overloaded mind, soul, and spirit. You need rest not just from physical work but from tension, stress, anxiety, hurry, and worry. You need the kind of rest that can’t come from taking a good nap or going on vacation. Most people have a way to unwind when they’re physically tired that’s different from how they unwind when they’re emotionally and spiritually exhausted. Maybe when you’re tired, you watch a movie or spend time on your phone. Maybe you have to lie down, or maybe you need a walk outside. Maybe you choose to spend time with friends, or maybe it’s better for you to be alone. Those can all be good things—but none of them can restore your soul. Only God can restore your soul. That’s why, when you have soul emptiness, soul depression, or soul overload, Jesus wants you to come to him. Isaiah 40:29 says, “He gives power to the tired and worn out, and strength to the weak” (TLB). When you’re empty inside, culture says you need to do more. You need to make more money, get more things, do more things, travel more places. Go, go, go. More, more, more. But that’s the very reason you’re empty! Jesus wants you to do the opposite: Don’t go. Come to him—and come just as you are. Your soul will never find rest in anything the world has to offer. That’s because your soul was not created to be filled by anything in this world. You were made for God, and you only find real rest when you bring your weary soul to him. “He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters.”
Psalm 23:2 (NIV) Are you always in a hurry? Is your to-do list unrealistically long? Has more than one person ever told you to slow down? Do you feel guilty when you relax? Do you have to get sick to take time off? The pace of modern society pushes us to keep going and going and going. Many people work even on their day off. And those who go to a church service often head home afterward only to dive right into work (whether it’s housework, schoolwork, or career work), trying to do all the stuff they didn’t accomplish during the regular workweek. No wonder we’re exhausted! Most of us are maxed out. But that’s not the way of the Good Shepherd. Psalm 23:2 says, “He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters” (NIV). God makes you lie down in green pastures—that’s rest. And he leads you beside quiet waters—that’s refreshment. God, in his goodness, created rest, and he considers it as important as work. A loving shepherd makes sure his sheep get enough rest to stay healthy. It’s the same with God, your Good Shepherd. If you won’t lie down, God will make you lie down. Sometimes the only way God can get you to look up is to lay you flat on your back. He will do that because he cares about your physical, emotional, and spiritual health. Isn’t it amazing how much better things look after a good night’s sleep? The difference between being stressed and being blessed is often rest. A lot of your worry, hurry, scurry, and restlessness comes from not understanding the goodness of God in your life. When you understand what God has done for you and wants to do for you in the future, you can relax, let go, and learn to rest. You can live in the goodness of God. “Since he did not spare even his own Son for us but gave him up for us all, won’t he also surely give us everything else?”
Romans 8:32 (TLB) If you want a cure for stress, look to God to meet your needs. The major cause of stress in your life is worry. You worry because you wonder if you will have what you need when you need it. But any time you expect people or things to meet your needs instead of God, you’re going to be frustrated and disappointed, because nobody on earth can meet all your needs. Only God can do that. Some people find their security in their job, and when they lose their job, they lose their peace of mind. Others put their security in their marriage. Then their spouse dies or they go through a divorce, and they ask, “Who am I? What is my identity?” Or maybe you put your security in your money. But there are a lot of ways to lose your money. I recommend that you never put your security in anything that can be taken away from you. You can lose your job, your health, your reputation, your spouse, and so many other things. But you cannot lose your relationship with Christ. When you put your security in that promise, you can trust God to meet all your needs. Romans 8:32 says, “Since he did not spare even his own Son for us but gave him up for us all, won’t he also surely give us everything else?” (TLB) If God loved you enough to send Jesus Christ to die on the cross, don’t you think he loves you enough to take care of every other need in your life? Yes! Of course he does. Every time you start to get stressed, pause and say, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1 ESV). God’s going to provide. He’s going to take care of you. Instead of stressing out, look to him to meet all your needs. “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise."
Philippians 4:8 (NLT) It’s increasingly difficult to stay focused on true things. The Bible says, “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise” (Philippians 4:8 NLT). This requires a mental shift. It means you’re going to have to build new, better habits. Your mind is bombarded with lies every single day. Advertisements and social media tell you that if you don’t think, dress, or act a certain way, you don’t matter. When you’re growing up, you’re told that if you’re not good at academics or athletics, you don’t matter. This world is full of lies, and you’ve believed many of them. But they’re just not true. The only way to counter those lies is to fill your mind with the truth. The truth is that you are a child of God. You matter to him. Jesus said that when you know the truth, it will set you free. To be set free means to have a breakthrough. I want you to have a breakthrough. But the only way you can do that is to be in God’s Word, the Bible, every day, even if it’s just for a few minutes. If you think you can’t do that, just consider how many hours you’re spending on social media or TV or reading the news. How are you going to have a healthy mind if you’re filling your mind with lies instead of the truth? Not everything you hear is true. Not everything you tell yourself is true. You’ve got to get into the Bible every day, because God will always speak truth. You can trust what he says about you and the promises he’s made for you in his Word because he always keeps his promises. What happens when you keep your mind on the right things? “If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7 TLB). Wouldn’t you like to have your heart and your mind at rest? That’s a breakthrough everyone needs: less stress and more rest. Get started on your breakthrough today by getting into God’s Word. “It is your evil that has separated you from your God. Your sins cause him to turn away from you, so he does not hear you.”
Isaiah 59:2 (NCV) Today, most cultures don’t think sin is ugly. In fact, many people think sin is fun! Think about media. TV shows, social media memes, and movies use sin for humor. This is Satan’s strategy: to get you to laugh at the same things that put Jesus on the cross. Satan disguises sin to make it look attractive, desirable, and fun. Rarely in media do you see the consequences of sin. If you want to know how ugly sin really is and the damage it does, look at Jesus bleeding on the cross. Jesus’ suffering shows you just how much it takes to pay for your sins. The cross shows the damage sin does. Sin has all sorts of consequences in your life! Here are just three of them. Sin alienates you from God. Why? Because God is holy, and you are not. Sin creates conflict and puts distance between you and God. Isaiah 59:2 says, “It is your evil that has separated you from your God. Your sins cause him to turn away from you, so he does not hear you” (NCV). Sin always leaves estrangement in its wake, even between you and God. Sin causes enormous amounts of stress in your life. One of the greatest sources of stress is unrecognized and unresolved guilt. King David said, “My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear” (Psalm 38:4 NIV). Holding on to sin takes an emotional toll. When you break God’s laws, it leads to worry, fear, guilt, and insecurity. You wouldn’t experience this if you always did things God’s way. But you don’t, and you can’t. This is the reality of sin. Sin condemns you. When you violate God’s laws, there’s always a penalty—in both self-condemnation and judgment from a righteous God. Psalm 7:11 says, “God is a righteous judge and always condemns the wicked” (GNT). You may think your biggest problem is a relationship conflict, health issue, or trouble finding a job. But the reality is, your biggest problem is that you’re at war with God. That’s why you’re so frustrated! That’s why you don’t sleep well. That’s why you’re stressed out. You weren’t made to live out of harmony with your Creator, who loves you. He made you, and he sent his Son to die for you. He wants you to be in harmony with him. Repent of your sin today—and every day—so that you can be at peace with God. “God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19 ESV).
If you want God to bless every area of your life, including your finances, then be bless-able. Show God that you will be responsible when he blesses you. Over the next few days, we’re going to look at seven habits that will help you understand God’s plan for managing your money. The first thing is to understand that God is your provider, regardless of where you work. He’s the one who supplies your every need, and he may do that through your employer. If you think something or someone else is the source, then you’re always going to be nervous, because you can lose your job, money, or possessions. But with God you never have to wonder if your needs are going to be met. Everything belongs to him anyway! Romans 11:36 says, “For everything comes from God alone. Everything lives by his power, and everything is for his glory” (TLB). If one water faucet is turned off, God can turn on another just as easily. If you lose one job, he can easily give you another. If God closes one door, he can open another. If all the doors are closed, he can open a window. When you understand that and you choose to trust God, you lose the stress of trusting in money and other people. The Bible says in Philippians 4:19, “God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (ESV). God will meet all your needs! And he knows best what those needs are—and how to meet them. Money management starts with this question: In whom or what do you place your trust? When you place your trust in God, you get up every morning and say, “God, it all belongs to you. It all comes from you. You are my provider, not anybody else, and I’m going to trust in you to meet my needs.” Not only will trusting in God lower your stress, but it also will allow you to begin to see how he wants to bless you. “Think about the things that are good and worthy of praise. Think about the things that are true and honorable and right and pure and beautiful and respected” (Philippians 4:8 NCV).
The battle with stress in your life begins between your ears. It’s in your thought life. What you fill your mind with determines the level of stress in your life. The Bible says to “think about the things that are good and worthy of praise. Think about the things that are true and honorable and right and pure and beautiful and respected” (Philippians 4:8 NCV). To lower your stress, change what you think about. In this verse, the Bible gives us eight tests for deciding if we should allow something in our mind. Ask yourself, “Is it good? Is it worthy of praise? Is it true? Is it honorable? Is it right? Is it pure? Is it beautiful? Is it respected?” When you think about things that are good, worthy of praise, true, honorable, right, pure, beautiful, and respected, you’re really picturing God. Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” (NLT). What you think about determines how stressed and worried you will be. If you fix your thoughts on God, he will keep you in perfect peace. "Put your trust in the LORD your God, and you will stand your ground. Believe what his prophets tell you, and you will succeed” (2 Chronicles 20:20 GNT).
When you focus on your problems instead of trusting God, you’re going to end up exhausted. And you’re going to be defeated because God didn’t design you to fight your battles alone. You don’t have the power you need to face every problem in your own strength. You need God’s power. You can’t focus on your problems and focus on God at the same time. You’ve got to shift your focus to who God is and what he’s promised to do for you. Life is full of experiences that test you, drain you, and wipe you out. When you are worn out, that’s when you’re ready to say to God, “I’m sorry. I can’t handle this situation, and I’ve tried everything. I need to give it to you because it’s bigger than me.” So, what should you do when you are overwhelmed? You stand strong. Standing strong is an attitude of quiet confidence in the character of God. You will be successful when you put your trust in what he says to you through his Word and the Holy Spirit. When you get with God, you’ll never have to give up ground because you are standing strong. When the burden is overwhelming, you may be tempted to cave in under the pressure. God doesn’t want you to back down from difficult situations. He doesn’t want you to sacrifice your integrity. God wants you to trust him through the challenges and learn from them. If you run, you’ll miss out on learning from God. And chances are, you’ll need to repeat that lesson. God is committed to your success. But you need to focus on him and trust him and his Word if you want to stand your ground. “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all of your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV). “May the God of peace . . . equip you with all you need for doing his will” (Hebrews 13:20-21 TLB).
The principle of “use it or lose it” is universal. If you don’t exercise, your muscles get smaller. If you don’t invest your money, you’re going to lose it. If you don’t learn to use your mind, it will get duller and duller as you get older. If you have a talent and you refuse to practice, you’ll lose that talent. The opposite is also true. If you do use it, you get even more of it. So if you use your muscles, they get bigger. If you take a little bit of money and invest it wisely, it gets bigger. It multiplies! Hebrews 13:20-21 says, “May the God of peace . . . equip you with all you need for doing his will” (TLB). What do you need more of in your life? How about energy? How about time? How about money? How about talent? Here’s the secret: Whatever you need more of, take the little you’ve got and start using it to serve other people unselfishly. Then watch God multiply it. You say, “I don’t have time to serve other people. I don’t have time to minister. I already don’t have time to get all the things done I need to do. How could I add anything else?” Why do you think you don’t have time? Because God never meant for you to spend all your time on yourself! Why would God give you more time if you’re just going to spend it on you? It’s like the principle of tithing, where the first 10 percent of all you make goes back to God. Why? Because when you give that 10 percent back to God, God takes the other 90 percent and makes it stretch further than it would have if you kept 100 percent yourself. That’s true with your time. That’s true with your talent. That’s true with anything in life. If you don’t use it, you lose it. And the way you get more is by investing whatever you’ve got. Watch and see how God will give you everything you need—and more—for doing his will when you use your time, money, and talent for him. |
AuthorTaken from Daily Hope by Rick Warren. Categories
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