Teachers and bankers have it. Firemen, accountants, pastors, and taxi drivers have it. Teenagers have it every waking moment of the day. Sometimes they give it to other people.
This morning, I called my 97-year-old Grandma in the nursing home, and even she had it! She answered the phone complaining that the big overhead light was on and she couldn't reach it to turn it off. She also said her roommate had been calling out for somebody to help her all morning, making it hard to hear the TV or talk on the phone. About that time, I could tell Grandma's attention had been diverted, and I heard her say, "No, turn around and go back out -- this is not your apartment. Go on, turn around and leave, you don't belong in here." Then, to me again, "Oh, Dory, hold on -- I have to get his wheelchair. He's in the wrong room." In the background, I could hear her roommate whining in a loud monotone, "He's a nice man, leave him alone. Why don't you let him be? He's a nice man. Why don't you let him alone?" Poor Grandma. I called the front desk and asked them to help her.
Stress. Everybody's got it. Nobody wants it. Few of us deal well with it.
Okay, time out...I've been writing this post for 3 days now, and I got stuck right here because I simply didn't know where to go next. This morning, I know, so here it is:
Stress. Everybody's got it. Nobody wants it. Few of us deal well with it. It makes some of us sick in our bodies, and it makes all of us sick in our spirits. God didn't intend for us to live under the continual stress we daily invite into our lives.
Considering this blog for the umpteenth time this week, God brought a passage to my heart this morning: I Peter 5:7, "Casting all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you." God's recipe for handling stress has never changed because it's a good one, just the way it's written. Just like you don't go changing your grandma's secret chocolate cake recipe, you don't go changing God's super not-so-secret recipe for stress-busting. You follow the recipe and give your cares to Him.
How do you do that? How do you physically give something intangible, like stress, to someone intangible, like God?
It starts with being willing to relinquish control. The root of my stress is that I have to control everything and get it done in a certain amount of time. If I let go control, then how will it ever get done? That's for God to take care of -- remember, we are putting all our burdens on Him, relinquishing control to Him, trusting Him.
And why would we do that? Why would we trust Him? Why would we have confidence that He will handle it for us every single time? And why would would He want to do that for us?
Because, as the second part of the verse says, "He cares for you." Doesn't that say it all? What wouldn't you do for someone you care for? And if you knew someone truly cared for you, wouldn't that make it easier to trust them?
So, close your eyes for a minute. Hold your hands out in front of you, as if you are giving something to someone. Create a mental picture that represents your stresses, then put the stresses in your outstretched hands. Imagine God taking your stresses out of your hands, then hugging you gently and sending you out into your day, like a parent seeing her child off to school.
Take a deep breath now, and enter your day stress-free, giving thanks as you go.
I Peter 5:7, "Casting all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you."
Stress. Everybody's got it. Nobody wants it. Few of us deal well with it.
Okay, time out...I've been writing this post for 3 days now, and I got stuck right here because I simply didn't know where to go next. This morning, I know, so here it is:
Stress. Everybody's got it. Nobody wants it. Few of us deal well with it. It makes some of us sick in our bodies, and it makes all of us sick in our spirits. God didn't intend for us to live under the continual stress we daily invite into our lives.
Considering this blog for the umpteenth time this week, God brought a passage to my heart this morning: I Peter 5:7, "Casting all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you." God's recipe for handling stress has never changed because it's a good one, just the way it's written. Just like you don't go changing your grandma's secret chocolate cake recipe, you don't go changing God's super not-so-secret recipe for stress-busting. You follow the recipe and give your cares to Him.
How do you do that? How do you physically give something intangible, like stress, to someone intangible, like God?
It starts with being willing to relinquish control. The root of my stress is that I have to control everything and get it done in a certain amount of time. If I let go control, then how will it ever get done? That's for God to take care of -- remember, we are putting all our burdens on Him, relinquishing control to Him, trusting Him.
And why would we do that? Why would we trust Him? Why would we have confidence that He will handle it for us every single time? And why would would He want to do that for us?
Because, as the second part of the verse says, "He cares for you." Doesn't that say it all? What wouldn't you do for someone you care for? And if you knew someone truly cared for you, wouldn't that make it easier to trust them?
So, close your eyes for a minute. Hold your hands out in front of you, as if you are giving something to someone. Create a mental picture that represents your stresses, then put the stresses in your outstretched hands. Imagine God taking your stresses out of your hands, then hugging you gently and sending you out into your day, like a parent seeing her child off to school.
Take a deep breath now, and enter your day stress-free, giving thanks as you go.
I Peter 5:7, "Casting all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you."
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