Stay Alive All Your Life - Part 7

Chapter 9 - De-stressing

You may have read the inspirational magnets that say things like “Don’t try to control the wind – just control the sail.” Or “Don’t fight the waves – just get a surfboard and ride!”

Isaiah 30:15 says, “In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.” So meditating, which we often hear is a stress reducer, is Biblical. Sitting in silence slows you down, lowers your blood pressure, gives you an opportunity to let problems settle and lets God’s healing quietness work.

Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am God.” Mental stress keeps us from thinking clearly. We need to think with our minds, not our emotions when it comes to solving problems.

Besides meditating: reading scripture daily can distress us. Isaiah 26:3 says, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee.”

Guilt can make us tense. It can fester inside. We need to do whatever we can to remove the guilt, whether it’s forgiving someone, asking for forgiveness, keeping a promise, or whatever. Be absolutely honest with yourself and ask yourself, “Am I doing something that is wrong according to the laws of God and the teaching of the Lord Jesus?” Stress will leave when the moral wrong goes away. Ask God’s help to stop the wrong doing and for forgiveness and to make it right and to live right.

Matthew 11:28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

There are also people who are just really negative. They complain all the time. They’ll give you a million reasons why something won’t work or why it’s not a good day. Sometimes they’re just stuck in that attitude. They don’t really enjoy being that way, but it’s habit. They don’t know how to change. But God is in the business of transforming minds and when you change your mind, you change your activity.