Faith On The Line - Stress, Stress Go Away Vol 18 | Page 25

Doesn’t being stressed imply that we are not
trusting and resting in God?
Remembering what we just learned, the answer is not
necessarily. It depends on how you choose to view and respond
to the stressor—God’s way or your way? See Jeremiah 17:5-8
and Hebrews 4:15-16, and consider Jesus’ response in
Matthew 26:36-39.

What about interruptions?
Remembering what we just learned, the answer again depends
on how you are choosing to view the interruption. Are you
viewing it as an opportunity
to humbly thank God for
another chance to practice
thinking and responding
like Jesus, or are you viewing it as a personal affront
to your pressingly superior
mission? Consider Jesus’
response in Mark 2:4-5.
When the apostle Paul
was threatened by his thorn
in the flesh, our gracious Lord
told him (and us) in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for
thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”
I’m so thankful for the apostle Paul’s response in verses 9
and 10: “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I
take pleasure in infirmities (potential stressors), in reproaches
(potential stressors), in necessities (even interruptions),
in persecutions (potential stressors), in distresses for
Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am
I strong.”
The way our loving Lord sustained Paul
through His grace is the same way He can
sustain us, even when the stressors we
face appear insurmountable (2 Corinthians 4:16-18; 9:8).

The way our loving Lord
sustained Paul through His
grace is the same way He
can sustain us, even when
the stressors we face
appear insurmountable.

How does a person cooperate
with the Lord in developing
healthy responses to life’s
stressors?
I’ll do my best to be brief
about such a wonderfully transforming topic:

1

Ask the Lord to
help you grasp this
healing reality: His plan
is for me to cooperate,
through faith, with His
work to sanctify me

(transform my habits of life to be like His) in
all three dimensions of my nature—physical,
mental, and spiritual. By faith, I must recognize
my body is not mine, but the Lord’s, and in
it I glorify Him and not myself (1 Corinthians
6:19-20; 10:31).

2

Understand that love
for God is the only
motivation that will empower
me to remain faithful to His
Word in my interpretation of
stressors and to glorify Him
in my responses to those
challenging stressors (2
Corinthians 5:14-15).

Love for God is the
only motivator to
remain faithful to
His Word in handling
life’s stressors.

3

What are the means
to experience this healing motivation?
Study God’s Word to know Him intelligently
(John 17:3; 2 Corinthians 3:17-18); this transforms our motivation. Then, also practice God’s
Word to know Him experientially (John 14:23;
1 John 2:5-6); this transforms our responses to
life’s stressors.

Remember that the goal in
learning healthy responses to
stressors is to know Christ and
continue to practice His thoughts
and responses—instead of your
own—to every life situation. What
does God promise us? “If ye continue in my word...ye shall know
the truth, and the truth shall make
you free” (John 8:31-32).
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