Stressed

The Bible tells us in 1st Peter chapter 5 that God "gives grace to the humble." Subsequent verses say:
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

Those "cares" that we encounter in this life can weigh us down. Jesus taught us how to manage the worries of life and in the Parable of the Sower, identified these types of "cares" as limiting the effectiveness of the Word in our hearts.  Anxiety, worry, and stress are not healthy for us - physically, mentally, or spiritually.  But, God offers us the wonderful opportunity to bring those "cares" to Him in prayer and to allow Him to set the course for our lives so that we might enjoy His peace.

+++++

As 1st Peter 5 suggests, if we recognize that God is taking care of us, we can cast our cares on Him.
Psalm 37 says:
23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way.
24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand.
25 I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread.

We are now in the final days of 2017, here during a week where the Christmas spirit continues to linger, with people taking a few days off, family members may be staying a little while longer, and the decorations continue to shine.  But...soon Christmas will be totally over for another year.

Many encounter stress during the holidays.  As a USA Today article states:

For many Americans, the days before Christmas are stress central.

There’s the scramble to fit in one more shopping spree, the rush to post Christmas greetings, attend church services, volunteer at the soup kitchen, bake cookies, wrap gifts, fight traffic.

And then, when families finally gather, there are the simmering feuds just waiting to erupt.

Americans are feeling stressed during the holidays — and year-round.

The article references the latest "Stress in America" survey from the American Psychological Association, which found that overall, the collective stress number was 4.8 on a scale of 1 to 10; same as last year.

The article came from a Religion News Service writer and highlighted one particular religious practice, saying:

Notably, fewer Americans are turning to prayer.

Only 29% of Americans polled said they pray to relieve stress, a gradual but consistent decline since the high of 37% recorded in 2008.

The most popular ways to relieve stress are listening to music, at 47% and exercise, at 46.

Kevin Ladd, who is a professor of psychology at Indiana University South Bend, is quoted as saying, "There is certainly a shift in the American landscape, with people thinking about themselves as more spiritual than religious,” adding, “Rather than having specific traditions offering some guidance in terms of specific practices, individuals tend to be creating their own practices that are personally meaningful.” 

Also, the article quotes Blake V. Kent, who "studies prayer" at Baylor University.  The piece says, "In a recent paper he co-authored, Kent found that people’s view of God determines whether prayer is an effective way of managing stress."  Kent says: “Where the perception of God is secure, warm and loving, then prayer is associated with positive mental health outcomes and coping with stressors,” adding, “But when the perception of God is distant or disconnected, prayer is associated with negative outcomes.”

There is some good news in the article, provided by Rabbi Geoff Mitelman, founding director of Sinai and Synapses, who says, "Prayer can help us restrict our choices in a way that will ultimately give us more happiness and fulfillment. It can actually ease a bit of the cognitive load we have to deal with on a daily basis.”

Well, this story doesn't paint the most positive picture of prayer; of course, we've seen the surveys showing how fewer Americans are involved in religious practice - so, that will certainly affect those prayer percentages.  And, the Baylor professor seems to point out what seems to be a valid reason why people don't take advantage of this incredible opportunity we have to approach the throne of grace: I would say that if we don't know God or perceive Him correctly, then we are not going to be able to pray effectively.

We're left with less than one-third of Americans who make the connection between prayer and stress reduction.  That's sad.  But, for those of us who know Christ and have access to God the Father through Him, we can renew our commitment to seeking His face and bringing our anxieties, our stresses, to Him.

We can relinquish control of our activities.  We encounter stress, I would say, often because we are trusting in ourselves rather than in Him - we can rely on the Scripture that the steps of a good person are ordered by the Lord.  If we are allowing Him to guide our plans and to show us the most effective ways to execute them, to me, that seems like a great stress reducer.

We can also remember that we have the opportunity to call on His name.  If we have the right relationship with the Lord, we can know that He is available - certainly in those emergencies we encounter, but in the everyday ebb and flow of life.

Finally, we can allow Him to reset our perspective.  We can know that He is a loving Heavenly Father and He desires to work in our lives.  Now, there are other tools out there to relieve stress that were mentioned, such as listening to music (or I would say listening to Christian radio) or doing exercise, and those can also be used to set our minds and bodies right.  We can allow the Spirit to direct us into the balanced, peace-filled life that God desires for us to have.