Tweet

Stress is a part of life. You need a certain amount of stress in your life to accomplish anything. Stress is what gives you the energy, the effort, and the ability to actually get things done.

Take a violin for example. You have to put stress on the violin strings to make music. If you stress it just the right amount, it creates beautiful music. On the other hand, if you tighten it too tight, the strings snap.

Stress can be a problem for our lives as well. When you get so stressed you feel like you’re ready to pop, that’s bad for your life. The Bible gives us four things we can do when we’re stressed to a breaking point.

1. Release your frustrations

Stress creates all kinds of negative emotions – like anxiety, worry, fear, guilt, shame, and depression. And it can create frustration as well. What do we typically do with that frustration? Instead of taking it to God, we tend to push it down deeper inside of us. Then we just pretend everything is OK.

But is that really what God wants? Does he want you to be a phony? Of course not! God wants us to be real. God understands our emotions. He created us and gave us the ability to feel. So he wants us to express our emotions. Psalms 62:8 says: “Pour out your heart to God, for he is our refuge.” He wants us to lay it all out to him. Whatever it is that you’re feeling, just tell him.

2. Resist becoming bitter

Bitterness is often a by-product of finding ourselves stressed to the breaking point. We start thinking, “This is unfair. It shouldn’t be happening to me.” We can’t prevent problems from coming into our lives, but we can control our response to them. At some point in our lives, we have to decide whether we’re going to be bitter or happy. The sooner we make that choice the better.

After many years of ministry, I’ve learned something about contentment. There’s no connection between circumstances and contentment. Most people want you to believe that there is. They want you to believe that if you had a better job, had more money, or a nicer home, a better looking or more sensitive spouse, you’d be happy. But it’s a lie. We all know people who have it all and are unhappy. Obviously, it’s not a matter of circumstances. Happiness is a choice.

Hebrews 12:15 says, “Watch out that no bitterness takes root among you. It causes deep trouble, hurting many in their spiritual lives.” Bitterness never changes anything, but gratitude does. It’s the antidote to bitterness. Studies have shown that gratitude is the healthiest emotion that you can possibly have. When you feel like bitterness is taking over, you need to find something that you can be thankful for. It’s very difficult to be grateful and bitter at the same time. If you doubt this statement, try it!

3. Receive help from others.

It’s tempting to isolate ourselves when we’re stressed out. That’s the last thing we should do! When you’re at your breaking point, you need people in your life to give you support, strength, and perspective. It’s called a “support system.” We are such a mobile society that often people are isolated from the people who typically make up their natural support system: family. Hopefully you will find the support you need from your spiritual family, the church.For that to occur it’s important to get connected within your church before a crisis hits. If you wait until a crisis hits to try to find people to walk through it with you, it’ll probably be too late. So get to know the people around you now. You can do that by hanging around after church to talk to people, attending fellowship events, joining a small group, coming to a Bible Study or Sunday school class, or volunteering. It won’t take long to develop a network of friends here who, when needed, will be available to walk you through tough times.

4. Refocus on Christ.

When we get stressed, our lives get out of focus. We start looking at our problems and stop looking at Christ. All we can see is the problem, not the solution! That’s when we need to get our focus off of ourselves and on to Christ.

That sounds good, but how do you do it? Try these three things:

* Read God’s Word. God’s Word is a great stress reliever. Go through your Bible and underline verses that mean a lot to you. Don’t know where to begin? Look up the word “anxious” in a Bible concordance (Most Bibles have one in the back where most books place indexes) and read verses that include the word. Read Matthew 11:28-29 or I Peter 5:6-7. Call one of your pastors and let us help you. Don’t let things build up to the point you pop. !!

* Remember God’s goodness. Usually when we’re stressed, we’re focused on what’s wrong. Not only do we focus on the bad things but we exaggerate them as well. Everything is wrong! No, not everything, just one or two things and “this too will pass!” When it seems as though your world is falling apart, stop the downward spiral in your head by getting a blank piece of paper and begin to write all that’s right in your life. God is good and so is your life. Rent “It’s a Wonderful Life” and listen to its message. It’ll change your thinking.

* Rely on God’s power. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1:9, “In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead.” If God can raise a dead person, he can raise a dead marriage; he can raise a dead career; he can raise anything. He can turn things around that you think are hopeless. In times of stress, remember you’re in good hands with God.

Are you at a breaking point today? I don’t know what kind of pain you’re dealing with, but God does. He cares about you! Hang in there, release your frustration, resist becoming bitter, receive help from others, and refocus on Christ. Better days lie ahead of you.