Question
I am completely stressed out and falling apart. Mostly it has to do with bills I can’t seem to pay. I try to pray the stress away but nothing is happening. I just want it gone. Do you have any thoughts or Scripture that would help me?
Answer
My Friend – I am so sorry that you are hurting. Let me give you another perspective on your situation and mindset as well as some helpful Scriptures to consider along the way.
Looking at Stress differently – A few years ago I heard a great leader teaching on stress (he ran an organization that helps high-level athletes). He explained that stress isn’t bad, per se, since our whole bodies are designed around the idea of stress & rest (think of a heart monitor and how it blips up with stress and falls back down with rest. The thing that kills us is not the stress, it’s the lack of rest. We grow when we rest. The stress tears down – think muscles in a gym) and then it rebuilds in the rest periods.
How does this relate to you??? Well, there is a level of stress that motivates you to do something different. For example, stressing over the fact that your lifestyle isn’t being supported by your income is something to legitimately be concerned about. The problem is what we do with the stress and whether or not we get relief from it periodically.
So, from my vantage point, maybe there needs to be some legitimate changes in your lifestyle to stop being so stressed. I think that since we think we SHOULD be in a place in our lives where we can afford a bunch of stuff and live in a nice apartment, house, etc., doesn’t mean that it’s a good, healthy, or legitimate option to continue that way. Maybe changes need to be made and they will never be made until you get stressed about them.
OR, maybe it means that it’s just going to be really tough right now with a series of hard choices and although that is stressful, you may need to learn a new tool of resting amidst the stress.
OR, maybe it means that you need to look deep inside and realize what is really stressing you out, it’s not likely the money per se, but something deeper and maybe you need to do some work deep down there.
All, I’m saying is, is that your stress might be telling you something that you need to listen to and that if you can’t change it, you are going to need to work with it a bit better.
Scripture –Clearly the best place to go is the Bible. The Bible is clear in telling us that if we dig down deep and realize that our fear, or stress is due to not being in control of our environment, then that is no reason to stress, because it’s actually in the hands of someone far more capable on our side (The Lord). So I would suggest that if you can’t make changes to alter your stress load, if you can’t make changes to rest, if you can’t make changes in dealing with it emotionally, maybe the source is spiritual. Maybe you need a good dose of re-energizing faith and trust in God who is ultimately in charge of everything and cares deeply about you. Consider the following Scriptures:
- Matthew 6:24-34
- Joshua 1:6-9
- Psalm 56:3-4
- Matt 8:23-27
These will get you started.
I hope this helps. I know I stress out periodically about things that I have no reason to be stressing over. I hope you will see that God is far bigger than any of your concerns and that He is Lord over ALL.
