Seek advice from God to reduce stress
"Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden and overburdened and I will cause you to rest."
- Mathew 11:28 AMP
I replaced my oak kitchen chairs. The glue in the joints dried up and the chairs started to weaken and wobble. They just didn't do the job of bearing a person's weight as they should.
Stress - it's a word we hear often in our culture. I heard the word was originally developed as an engineering term to describe the amount of strain a physical structure could take without collapsing under pressure, like my kitchen chairs.
As a nurse, I used the word "stress" when assessing factors that may have attributed to a person's illness. It is an aggravating factor in a large percent of disease. It's not only related to the physical part of a person's burden, but includes the emotional and mental factors that produce stress.
God has designed us to tolerate a certain amount of pressure. But when we accumulate an unreasonable amount, it starts to show up in our physical bodies, producing aches and pains and other illnesses. We break down emotionally, unable to manage our feelings of depression, anxiety or anger, to name a few. Our spiritual well-being may suffer as well. We don't feel like praying and lose our attitude for gratitude.
Almost anything can cause a person to feel stressed. And in these present times, stress-inducing situations are occurring more than ever.
Health care professionals have a list and score stress. The experts say there are some things on the list that produce more stress than others. A few factors at the top include: a new marriage or a move, the loss of a spouse through death or divorce, worry and anxiety over a "to-do" list that never ends, unresolved relationship issues, financial distress, or concerns that continue on for a prolonged period of time.
Health experts may advise rest or counseling, but we must seek spiritual direction as well.
Jesus tells us to come to him with our burdens. How do we do that?
God knows us better than anyone. Verbalizing our concerns to him and listening for any advice is important. That advice may come from an idea or insight; it may come through the counsel of a friend or someone else.
An article or a book with a topic of interest might catch our attention. God may show us how to change our schedule, or handle a relationship. And the simplest form is rest and laughter.
Acting upon whatever insight we receive is an important aspect of the remedy. While we wait for results, counting our blessings - instead of stressing - can help us cope with the pressures in our daily lives.
• Annettee Budzban is a Christian author, motivational speaker, life coach, Bible teacher and nurse. She can be contacted at annetteebudzban@aol.com or (847) 543-8413.