Dealing with stress is something that everyone, including devout believers, will at some point in life HAVE to deal with. We can even take comfort in that, even our Master, in John 12:27 was troubled in his soul, and in distress. Regardless of the source and nature of the stress, one thing is inevitable; we have to deal with it, just as Jesus did.
In order to have an effective stress busting strategy, it is important to have a basic understanding of how stress comes about. Think of common everyday stressful situations such as upcoming exams when you feel unprepared, a breakup, loneliness, a very expensive medical operation, the list goes on. If the stressed individual reacts negatively to the situation, stress can lead to unfortunate results i.e. suicide, heart attack, and so on. The basic underlying causes of stress can all be classified under fear or worry (of both the known and the unknown). Naturally, in these situations we ask ourselves questions such as, what if I’ll never find love again, what if the marriage won’t work, what if I fail? what if…..
Cheer up, it will come to pass.
We often hear the above words of comfort from friends, colleagues and acquaintances right? But are these enough? After all, even after the words have been spoken, we still have our stress causing situation in our face, we can’t just wish it away just like that. We can’t ignore it hoping that it comes to pass lest it passes after causing some injury. Neither can we ‘just have faith’ and expect to feel better. We need something real and a solution, just like you can’t say ‘it will come to pass’ to a friend who is starving, the rational thing would be to give them food.
Can we find the answer in God’s word?
It is important to consider the original master plan of God for the human family whenever dealing with stressful and threatening situations. God initially designed it that He would fight for His people Israel against any form of attack by their enemies. Verses such as Deuteronomy 20:4 and several others outline God giving assurance to Israel that He would fight for them no-matter how bad their circumstances were. Several other times (e.g. 2 Kings 6:7, 2 Chronicles 20:22) God would even directly intervene in battles and give victory to His children.
Whatsoever you shall ask in my name
The beautiful promise of John 14:13 brings relief to a soul under distress. Since it was God Himself who said he will fight our battles we have to take Him at His word (notice however the conditions of faith and obedience in verses 12 and 15 of the same chapter).
Looking unto Jesus…
Remember a fearful and distressed Peter after he had began to sink while walking on water? The Lord chastised him saying “Oh ye of little faith, why did you doubt?”. Bringing together Peter’s account and Jesus’ promise in John 14, we can, without doubt conclude that stress is ultimately caused by one ultimate factor, doubting God, and thinking that our ‘known or unknown problem’ will be or is beyond what God can handle.
As a young person, I had one bad experience in which I was stressed from every side by the cares of life. I was literally going into despair. In my ordeal I suddenly felt my heart pumping so fast and for certain I knew that at the least I was likely to have a stroke. Knowing that I was not going to get any solution as I was far away from medical help, I focused on God. In my mind I recounted how He had performed different miracles for His children in various ages of time. I focused on God’s glory in Ezekiel 10:4 and cried out to Him to save me like Peter did. Then calmness settled in and I praised Him. I have never been in a similar situation ever since.
If you are stressed by how you look or weigh, is stressing ever going to change things? Will your situation ever change when you worry about your life after college? Jesus invites us to Him when we are in distress, in order for Him to give us rest. Focus on Him who created you and you will find peace and continuous joy in your heart.
AUTHOR: Nhamo Dapi, attends Grange Church (Harare) in the North Zimbabwe Conference.