Philippians 4:4,6 (NLT)
Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
How many lives have ended prematurely by these two suffocating emotions- worry and stress. Science and medicine have proven that these covert killers wreak havoc on the physical body, sending many to an early grave with heart attacks, strokes, psychological trauma, and bleeding ulcers. Harder to measure are those cases where people manage to hide the physical signs but who fail to live a robust life because of their stress and worry.
The solution is both simple and confounding. To stop stress and worry, we need only to trust fully in GOD. Simple enough. By building our faith one step at a time, we learn to trust him on a greater and more intimate level. With each step of faith in which we see GOD come through on our behalf, we trust him all the more.
In my personal opinion (for whatever that is worth), stress and worry originate in the struggle for control. We possess two choices in the matter:
Option 1: Trust GOD fully.
Rejoice in Him in all situations. Know, from the Bible and your personal experiences, that He is faithful to meet your needs. And rest in that.
Option 2: Make feeble attempts to control everything. When that doesn't work for you, stress yourself out and worry yourself to death because you can’t control your world. Not one for sarcasm, but let me know how that works out for you. Then again, never mind. Already know all too well how this one works.
Find freedom from stress and worry by placing (and keeping) your faith, hope, and trust in Jesus. And get about the business of life in joy!
Author’s Note: for more on this topic, read pages 41-42 of Crazy Love by Francis Chan and Danae Yankoski
