“Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me” (Psalm 23:4 NLT).
What things are you worried about? The economy? Your health? Your bills? Your kids? Are you worried about the future? You can find lots of reasons to be afraid in today’s world, but God promises that even in your darkest valleys, he is walking beside you. There are about 365 verses in the Bible that say, “Fear not.” God provided us with one “fear not” message for every day of the year! Perhaps God is saying, “Get the message. Don’t be afraid.” It’s interesting that almost every time God talks to someone in the Bible, the first thing he says is, “Don’t be afraid!” Why? Because our hurts and hang-ups can often cause us to think that God is out to get us, that all he wants to do is condemn us and punish us. But that simply isn’t true, and Jesus is the proof of that. When we understand God’s grace and mercy, we have no need to fear the future. God isn’t trying to get even with you. Jesus has taken the penalty for everything you’ve ever done wrong or will do wrong. He paid for it on the cross. So when a bad thing happens, you don’t have to think that God’s getting even with you; instead, remember this: “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me” (Psalm 23:4 NLT).
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“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).
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 anytime you expect other people 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. If you want a cure for stress, learn to look to God to meet your needs. 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. There are a lot of ways to lose your money. You might consider never putting your security in anything that can be taken away from you. You can lose your job, your health, your reputation, your spouse, and your mind. 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 out, 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. “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8 NIV).
You can’t reduce stress in your life unless you change how you think. Our stress doesn’t come from the outside but from the inside. Your mind is a special gift from God. It’s capable of storing more than 100 trillion thoughts. It can handle enormous amounts of information. God has given you the freedom to choose what you think about, from among all of that information. The Bible says, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8 NIV). Paul reminds us that we can choose what we think about, and he encourages us to think about the right things. What we put into our minds impacts how we live. It’s really no wonder we’re stressed when we consider what most of us think about on a regular basis. Many people, even Christians, allow anything and everything into their minds. Reading depressing books and watching depressing movies will lead to only one outcome. What you think affects the way you feel; the way you feel affects the way you act. Guard your mind. Keep your mind on the right things. Philippians 4:8 tells us to fix our minds on these good things. Paul means that we need to make a deliberate choice. Change the channel on our minds. Only allow in things that fit into the characteristics described in that verse. What happens when you do that? You get what God promises in the prior verse: “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7 NIV). Doesn’t that sound like it’s worth it? “As the time drew near for his return to heaven, he moved steadily onward toward Jerusalem with an iron will” (Luke 9:51 TLB).
“Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” (John 14:6 CSB). If you don’t know who you are, you’ll find all sorts of people who are more than happy to tell you. Our culture will try to mold you into a certain image. Your parents will try to turn you into what they think you should be. Your friends, your spouse, and your co-workers will all have their ideas, too. Not knowing who you are—and letting everyone else mold you into their image—is a leading cause of stress for people today. Jesus gives us another model. He shows us the principle of identification, which is the first principle of stress management from the life of Jesus. Jesus had no doubt as to his identity. In fact, he defines himself with “I am” statements 18 times in the Bible. He does this every time he says “I am . . .” and then declares key truths. Jesus says: “I am the truth. I am the way. I am the life. I am the Son of God. I am sent from my Father above. I am the door. I am the bread of life. I am the living water.” Jesus knew exactly who he was. And we need to know exactly who we are, who God created us to be. If you don’t know your identity, you’ll depend too much on what other people say about you. Stress happens when you try to be something you’re not. We all start off as originals, but too often we end up as carbon copies of somebody else—because we don’t know who we are. When you learn who you are, you’re less dependent upon the approval of others and you’re more stress-resistant. In John 14:6, we read this: “Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” (CSB). Jesus didn’t need anyone else’s opinions to prop him up. Neither do you. |
AuthorTaken from Daily Hope by Rick Warren. Categories
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