Too stressed to be blessed?

Do you know the old saying, "Too blessed to be stressed"?  Well, it's actually true, but we tend to lose sight of that during the stressful moments of our life.  Sure, we know that we're blessed, but when the world is weighing on your shoulders, it's hard to see that.  Really hard.

I battle stress and worry on a daily basis.  It's hard for me to overcome.  Hard but not impossible. 

I picked up my Promises for Women from God's Word book and was flipping through it.   I just wanted to read a few verses of something before going to sleep.  I notice the header, Stress, on one of the pages.  I began reading the verses it gave.  One of them was, Psalm 23.  I thought Well how on earth is that gonna help my stress?  I kept reading, hoping that I would come across something to use for when I'm stressed.  I ended up reading through seven passages about stress. 

You know, I was uncertain about how those certain passages spoke to my stress.  Until I came to the last passage.  Phillippians 4: 6-7

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (ESV)

I'm not sure what version of the Bible is used in this book, but I like the wording of it.

Never worry about anything.  But in every situation let God know what you need in prayers and requests while giving thanks.  Then God's peace, which goes beyond anything we can imagine, will guard your thoughts and emotions through Christ Jesus.

Now, I've read these verses a hundred times before.  But, it struck me.  Why was I worrying about things that I couldn't control?  Why wasn't I seeking God about my worries and asking Him for help instead of doing things my way and by myself.  And God, well, He will guard your emotions and give you peace!

It's hard, I know, to let God take things in His hands.  Heck, we're stupid little fleshly humans.  We want to do things ourselves and not trust God.  When we shut Him out like that though, we're keeping ourselves from experiencing peace of mind.

Think about that for a moment.  We're giving up our peace solely because we don't want to trust God and stop worrying. 

My challenge for you (and me) is to give up the things that are stressing us and talk to God.  He'll guard us and give us peace.


As an author, these mostly pertains to fellow authors, but the tips may be helpful in addition to this post, at helping you de-stress.  Check out this blog post on my writing blog.