The common facts about stress
What is stress?
It is the body’s way of responding to any kind of demand, it can be good or bad experiences. The bodies react when people feel stressed about something that is going on around them and the bodies’ reaction releases some chemicals into the blood.
And these chemicals give people more energy, which can be a good thing if the stress was caused by a physical danger. An example is David, who delivered his father’s lamb from the mouth of a lion and a bear with his bare hands when they were attacked. He was just seventeen years of age when this incident took place, 1Sam. 17:34-35.
It’s God who gives us the strength to do the impossible, so in the face of a challenge, He gives you the enabling power to overcome it, knowing within yourself that you couldn’t have done it without the Lord’s help.
It can be bad thing, if the stress is in response to something emotional and there is no outlet for the extra strength and energy. The secret of a man’s heart is known to you and you alone, until he/she voices it out nobody can know it.
If this extra strength and energy is channeled towards God, you will be able to put your body back together not trusting in yourself or the circumstances to get better but in God as the Bible says; Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths, Proverbs 3:5.
God doesn’t want you to kowtow to this world or anybody’s ideas of what you should be, and in your own abilities.
He wants you to depend on Him to lead you. Apart from people shaming you for what you did, you may also put shamed on yourself because of something you did. But Jesus came to take that shame off you when He died two thousand years ago on the cross; He took care of that too. When you commit that problem to Him and let your mind stay on Him, He will give the peace that surpasses all understanding. You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You, Isaiah 26:3.
How does stress affect you?
Stress can affect both your mind and your body. People under large amounts of stress can become tired, sick, and unable to concentrate or think clearly. Sometimes, they even suffer mental breakdowns.
The Samaritan woman branded herself with shame and accepted the label of shame people had put on her and lived her life according to the dictate of the perception people have about her. She allowed her past mistakes to affect how she lived her today and making decisions based on that.
She sneaks out when no one is watching to hide from the public view. People normally goes to the public pipe or well in the mornings and evenings, but very quiet in the afternoons. But she decided to go to the well in the afternoons because with that she wouldn’t meet anyone.
This is the worrying spirit that the devil has put on her to cause her loose her confidence, make her stressed out, anxious and loss of her value and creativity. The devil is after your mind because when he gets your mind, he gets your power and steals your purpose and makes you lose your focus and joy.
But thank God for Jesus who always is a present help in time of need. Now Jacob’s well was there, Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink, John 4:6-7.
He knows your deepest, the deep soul wounds and the darkest secrets of your life but His love for you never changes.
The common facts about stress
- Millions all over the world suffer from stress each year.
- In fact, 3 out of 4 people say they experience stress at least twice a month.
- Over half of those people say they suffer from ‘high’ levels of stress at least twice a month.
- Stress can contribute to heart disease, high blood pressure, and strokes, and make you more likely to catch less serious illnesses like colds. It can also contribute to alcoholism, obesity, drug addiction, cigarette use, depression, and other harmful behaviors.
- In the last 20 years, the number of people reporting that stress affects their work has gone up more than four times. (Whereas the number of people reporting that other illnesses affect their work have gone down).
Therefore, stress prevents you from becoming your best and also put you in a state of incapacitation. That’s why the Bible tells us not to be anxious but cast all our cares on God, for He cares. 1Peter 5:7.
How to overcome stress
- Identify what is stressing you out – Don’t ignore your problems, if something is bothering you, identify what it is. Taking time to identify the problem will help you know how to deal with it.
- Change your response to the problem with positive attitude and learn to channel your frustration to God.
- Feed your mind daily with the word of God.
- When the situation is overwhelming share the problem with someone you trust.
- Don’t try to be everything to people at the expense of yourself.
- Focus your mind, don’t try to spread yourself in doing so many things
- Sometimes, it’s good to express your emotions in your closet, laughing, crying, and screaming to release some tension or stress.
- Find comfort in the Holy Spirit in some stresses that cannot be avoided, example September 11, natural disasters etc.