Stress

Henry Ford once said, "When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it..."

The other night, a family member close to my heart emailed me and started venting out about the tremendous pressures in life she is facing. She is not getting the help she needs from her own family and it is hard to be ignored when she only meant well...

My son was feeling "bummed out" when he found out he got a letter grade equivalent to "C', despite him studying so hard from the previous night prior to the test. I told him, "it was ok". We will all have our own failures. But from that mistake, he can learn from it, move on and strive harder until he reaches his desired goals.

My husband is scheduled to go to another city [work-related] and that means it will only be my son and I together during those times that he won't be home. Then I have to be both the "father and mother" to our son while he is away.

I'm feeling the "pinch" from a dear sis-in-law of mine who's trying to make both ends meet every month. I've been in that situation before and I know it's really a very difficult trying times when you are trying to provide for your family and sometimes, just don't have enough resources.

Wherever we are, whatever we do, we all face stress at one point in this lifetime. The way we deal with them depends on our own attitudes. When we fall, we can choose to get up right away or stay there and feel sorry for ourselves. When we lose something, we can choose to earnestly find it or just let it be gone forever. When someone hurts us, we can choose to confront that person, forgiving at the same time or we can choose to pay back and give them back the hurt they have caused us. Stress is never a fun thing. But it can be a great learning tool we all can use to become more strong, more patient, more enduring, more loving, more forgiving and perhaps, to have hope, instead of feeling despair.

I know that when we learn to accept God's love and start to understand His ways, stress is not a "stress" anymore when we start to trust in Him. Jesus even said from John 16:33, "I have told you all these so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, I have overcome the world." What else would be the BEST way to deal with stress than to turn to God Who had been there and overcame that?

Psalm 55:22 - "Give your worries to the Lord and He will take care of you. He will never let good people down." [NCV]

Psalm 86:7 - "I call to You in times of trouble because You will answer me."

Isaiah 41:10 - "So don't worry because I am with you. Don't be afraid because I am your God. I will make you strong and will help you. I will support you with My right hand that saves you."

Matthew 11:28, 29 -Jesus said, "Come to Me, all of you who are tired and have heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Accept My teachings and learn from Me because I am gentle and humble in spirit and you will find rest for your lives."

2 Corinthians 4:9 - "We are persecuted but God does not leave us. We are hurt sometimes, but we are not destroyed."

Isaiah 43:2 - "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you." [NASB]

Psalm 23:4 - "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me."

Psalm 34:17 - "The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles."