6 Ways to Deal with Stress-Selah 42-CMAW127

S - 6 Ways to Deal with Stress

 

1. Worldly Ideas (not all bad provided not in conflict with Bible).

 

Recently read this:

 

Stress can best be described as emotional, physical or mental tension. We feel it in our bodies and brains. Others may notice changes in how we act. Stress is a healthy part of the human experience but can get out of hand. Difficulties that overwhelm us at work, school, family life, finances, relationships, or our own health issues can trigger an unpleasant stress response.   Changes related to COVID, economics, travel restrictions, increasing product demand, quarantining, friends and family being sick, school, work, routine, and health in the past year have resulted in high stress levels for many in our communities. 

 

Common signs of stress include irritability, anxiety, headaches, insomnia, fatigue, body aches, lack of goals, and poor decision making. Long term stress without adequate relief can cause health difficulties, including high blood pressure or exacerbation of preexisting concerns. Substance use and disordered eating patterns can increase during times of stress.  Fortunately, there are several things you can do to help. ..

• When you notice signs of stress, practice deep breathing. An easy and effective technique is 4/4/4/4- breathe in, hold with lungs full, breathe out, hold with lungs empty- do each to a count of 4. 
• Another technique is visualization. Visualize a calming scene. You may have a place picked out, or you can use a variety found online. Imagine as much detail as you can. 
• Exercise creates brain chemicals that lift our mood and lower stress levels. While a run is nice, don't forget that even a short stroll or a 3 min stretch is more helpful than nothing. 
• Talk with others- even if you don't want to spill the tea, simply making small talk can be soothing. Connection keeps us out of fight/flight mode. 
• Research has shown being outside has a positive effect on mental health. Even 5 mins is beneficial- spend as much as you can. Take a break outside.

2. Honor the Sabbath

Scriptures related to this

Ex 16:26 "Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.”"

 

Ex 20:8 "“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy."

 

Ex 20:10-11 - "but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it"

Ex 31:16-17 NKJV - “Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. It is  a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.”

Lev 16:31 "It is a sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever."

Lev 25:4 "but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath to the Lord. You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard."

Lev 25:8 Year or Jubilee "And you shall count seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years; and the time of the seven sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years."

155 results on search term "sabbath" in NKJV

Jesus corrected some abuses by the Pharisees who had lost the spirit of the law, He said that He was lord of the Sabbath, and that it was OK to do good on the Sabbath, like healing.  He also said that the Sabbath was for man, man was not for the Sabbath.

In Romans Paul spoke of Gentiles being grafted in.

Since God said this command to honor the sabbath was a perpetual covenant, a statute forever, and we are grafted in, I believe God is commanding us today to honor the sabbath.  I personally don't agree with the change from Saturday to Sunday and don't see a justification for that in scripture, but my main point here is that one way, God's way, to handle stress and the pressures of work is to honor the Sabbath and take one day a week where you do no work.

 

3. Primarily think on God and His Word. 

Joshua 1:8 "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."

 

Psalm 1:1-3 "Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the [a]ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he [b]meditates day and night.
3 He shall be like a tree
Planted by the [c]rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper."

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 - NKJV

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,

Col 3:2 NKJV Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

Phil 4:8 NKJV “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are  noble, whatever things are  just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are  lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

Meditate - I understand the meaning is similar to the action of a cow chewing the cud.  a cow has 4 stomachs. They chew grass, swallow, spit it back up, chew, swallow, spit it back up, etc.

 

4. Trust in Him (Snuggling up to God)

Matt 11:28-30 NKJV "28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am [f]gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”"

Prov 3:5-6 NKJV "Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall [a]direct your paths."

Ex 33:17 -  So the Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.”

John 10:11 "“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep."

John 10:2-4 "But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice"

Luke 12:6 " “Are not five sparrows sold for two [b]copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows."

Rev 2:17 "“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.” "

Deut 31:8 "And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”"

1 Peter 5:7 "casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you."

 

5. Do Battle with What You Don't See

Eph 6:12 "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."

Psalm 139:23-24 "Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
24 And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting."

from “Liberating the Bruised” by Dr Joe Albright

Morning prayer “Lord, I submit to you my will; my rights; my life; my family; my ministry; my finances; my needs; my desires; my direction; and my flesh. ‘Lord, search me, try me, see if there be any wicked way in me.’ Remove those things that need to be removed from my life and bring into my life those things that need to be brought in. For, I confess to you that you are all I have and all I want and all I need.

For men, think about idolatry and sexual sin

Read about Josiah in 2 Kings, and how he cleaned the house

P92-be an iconoclast "a person who attacks settled beliefs or institutions"-if they don't align with God's word, not only is that displeasing to God, but it can be a huge source of stress for you that you weren't even aware of

 

6. Connect with friends and mentors - avoid isolation

Proverbs 11;14 "Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety."

Prov 27:10 "Do not forsake your own friend or your father’s friend, Nor go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity; Better is a neighbor nearby than a brother far away."

Virtual "watercooler"

Call someone up

 

 

E

 

Steve paying a refund personally rather than wait for Onpassive

 

L

Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage. As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God. For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.

Ecclesiastes 5:18-20

A

No longer a part of OnPassive or encouraging others to join

 

H

 

We make time for the things that are important to us