Whew, last week went by like a world wind. It never seems like there’s enough hours in the day. Competing priorities contend for limited time, how is one to decide what wins out? I’ve learned a secret, and that is to let God decide for me. Each morning, I give Him my list and I tell Him, “Father, I know that there is no way that I’m going to get all these things done. I’m not even sure that these are the things you want me to focus on today. What is on your list?” You see, I’ve come to recognize that even if I don’t get to check off all the items on my list, that’s okay as long as God’s list gets checked off. I know that as long as I do God’s list, then I would have accomplished all that I needed to do for that day. What a relief! You can’t even imagine the pressure that takes off of me; it’s a great stress minimizer.
Speaking of stress, how do you deal with the stressors in your life? By stressors I am simply referring to anything that causes you stress. Interestingly enough, what might prove stressful to one person may not prove stressful to another. For example, I like public speaking having to do that for me is not stressful, however, for someone else that thought is terrifying. Nevertheless though our stressors are different, we all have something that causes us sleepless nights or untold fret and anxiety? It seems like everyone that I bump into these days are dealing with some major issues. A family of four facing eviction, marriages that have hit the rocks, or a middle aged woman dealing with stage four Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, but is too afraid to tell her boss when she’s hospitalized. Apparently they agreed to have her work from home; she’s used up all her sick days and doesn’t want to get fired. Now it may not be that serious for you, but I know we’re all dealing with something, especially in this current economic environment where many are bent low under the burden of financial hardships. So I ask you again, how do you deal with the stressors in your life?
Now to be fair we have to establish the fact that stress of itself is not bad and is actually a normal part of life. However, when the intensity and duration of that stress extends beyond an individual’s ability to respond positively then it becomes bad. Stress not only affects us mentally and emotionally but it also affects us on a physiological level. “British cardiologist, Peter Nixon, explains that increased stress and arousal causes numerous changes in body functioning that eventually interfere with immune function, protein synthesis, and cardiac function. Repetitive stress also uses up the body’s reserves, leading to increased stress on other physiological functions. This, in turn can result in heart disease, cancer, or depression.” Alternative Medicine, The Definitive Guide. p. 351. As you can see stress has far reaching effects. Under the category of stress I also want to lump toxic emotions, such as anger, bitterness, resentment, etc. These emotions are as a poison to the body. The following quote sums it up perfectly, “the relation that exists between the mind and the body is very intimate. When one is affected, the other sympathizes. Grief, anxiety, discontent, remorse, guilt, and distrust all tend to break down the life forces, and invite decay and death.” Ministry of Healing, p. 241.
In the past few weeks I’ve had the privilege of consulting with a few people on health related issues. Without fail, in spite of the physical issues, the number one problem was stress and emotional turmoil. For example, I spoke with an individual suffering with fibroids and under an enormous amount of stress. As I began to research the problem, I learned that fibroids are linked to estrogen dominance. One of the causative factors of estrogen dominance is stress. Yet the effects of stress and toxic emotions go deeper. Are you a chronic worrier? Did you know that chronic worry upsets the hormonal balance and can deplete the cells of much needed oxygen? Worry can result in raised blood pressure due to over stimulation of the heart and contraction of the small blood vessels. Furthermore, anger stops digestion. A study was done by Doctor Walter Bradford Cannon of Harvard University on the effects of anger on digestion, using a cat as a test subject. The cat was given a meal and X-rays were done to trace the movements in stomach during digestion. The cat was relaxing and digestion was going normal, until the doctor pinched the cat’s tail. The cat became upset and instantly the movement of the stomach ceased. If anger can stop the digestive process it can also interfere with other vital processes as well.
Since we cannot escape from stress, we must learn how to respond to it in a healthy way. We must also learn how to free ourselves from toxic emotions. This is where Godly Trust comes in. As I mentioned in our last article, Godly Trust is the first of the eight laws of health, known by the acronym GODSPLAN. Godly Trust is the only true remedy for stress. If you are ever going to find rest in stress, you must anchor the ship of your life to something outside of yourself. You must build on something stronger and tougher than you are. The foundation that you build on must be immovable. It must be able to withstand a 9.5 magnitude earthquake, a death in the family, a foreclosure and any other disaster that comes your way. If you trust in your job, you can lose it; a spouse, they can leave you; a house, it can be foreclosed; your money, the stock market can crash. You see everything in this life is transitory, it’s not guaranteed. Trust in divine power is the only thing that comes with a guarantee. Why? Because God is self sustaining and all life is derived from Him. He has no beginning nor does He have an end. His very word is what holds up this earth and prevents it from spiraling out of control. He’s omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing), and omnipresent (everywhere at the same time). I mean what can truly beat that.
Greatest of all is the love that He has for you and me. According to Jeremiah 1:5, before you were formed in your mother’s womb He knew you. He says in Jeremiah 17:11, “For I know the thoughts I think toward you…thoughts of peace and not of evil.” Do you know that He even numbers the very hairs on your head (Luke 12:7)? Now that must be some kind of love. And even more, He wants to help you. He wants to take away the stress that keeps you up all night. He wants to help you overcome that anger that’s paralyzed you for years. He invites you to come to Him if you are weary and heavy laden. He’s offered to take your stress and give you rest (Matthew 11:28-29). He promised that He would take care of all your needs according to His riches in glory. Now you must understand that God’s wealth is off the Richter scale, the Fortune 500 list of the wealthiest people in this world is nothing compared to God’s what God’s got.
Speaking from personal experience, there is nothing more reassuring than to know that the God who created this universe has me in the palm of His hands. There is no greater peace than knowing that I can turn the reins of my life over to Him. I use to stress over the future, but I no longer need to. Sometimes, I hear people say “nobody has all the answers,” and I’ll chuckle to myself and say “well, God does.” How reassuring to know that. I’m not privy to seeing the future, but the one who is in charge of guiding my life is. He has an eternity of experience in this field. All His clients are satisfied. Though He may not choose to prevent stressful situations from coming my way, He’s always there to see me through it.
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding…it shall be health to thy navel and marrow to thy bones.” Proverbs 3:5,8