Living Words of Encouragement

STRESS FREE LIVING

Stress is a force that tends to strain the body. It can cause anxiety, exhaustion, and muscular tension. There are two types of stress (1) eustress which is good and (2) distress which is bad.

There are things we can do to help alleviate stress by exercising, playing, laughing, having fun, being creative and relaxing, etc. But in doing all those things we need to have God as the focal point in our lives to help us change our thought processes. Through God we gain the ability to speak good things to ourselves, to encourage ourselves during stressful times, and understand that whatever we encounter in life we can call on Him.

When that distress comes your way, God’s Word will renew us and give us the strength to go on. That is what he did for the prophet Elijah. In II Kings 19, we find the account of Jezebel sending her messenger to inform Elijah that she was going to kill him (vs.2), because the Fire of the Lord had consumed everything on the alter through Elijah’s prayer and the false prophets had been killed. For some reason, after seeing everything God had done, we find that Elijah became fearful and stress overtook him (likely the flesh) and he fled from the area so Jezebel could not find him and said he wanted to die (vs. 4).

I would surmise that at times we may be like Elijah. We really know all the great things God has done for others and us, but sometimes when stressful situations arise, we forget to call on God. We tend to look at the situation and make our own assessment and forget all about what God is able to do.

However, when we really have a good relationship with God He will direct us back to our senses, letting us know that we are not alone on this journey. We may have to be like Elijah and take a rest (vs. 5-8). Then as our strength is renewed God will remind us that we are not alone (vs. 18).

Remember, when distress arises, God is already there in the mist to help you through.

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