Why Stress?

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Colossians 3:15  And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also you are called in one body; and be thankful.

If you have not read the past 2 studies, Dying to Self and Cheat Codes for Life, I hope you do, because they also will give you the information you need to live stress free.

In order to let the peace of God rule your heart and live without stress, it will be necessary to understand that this present life is like a storm which will rage against you until you die, or until Christ returns.  There exists no other way out of the storm.  We each and every one has a personal enemy, who desires our extreme demise!

This is why, unfortunately, many choose to end their lives…..to escape the storm.

But there is a different way.

1) Be slow to fortify or justify your mental position.

Most people build shelters against the storm.  They take positions in their minds and hearts which they then must defend against the attacks which come.  They defend their positions with brittle, short-sighted, defective mental assertions, where they themselves are the deciders/judges of what is true and what is just.  When the storms of life attack, as they do on a regular basis, the weakness and inability of these mental fortifications allows for extreme stress, where the very survival of this way of living stands in doubt at any given moment.

No wonder stress kills people.  In their minds, they are “fighting for their lives,” (where in reality it is only their mental position which is in danger of destruction) and the mind and body can do that for only so long before it begins to break down.

Romans 12:3  For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith.

Before God, we are only responsible for what we have been given by Him.  Do not think you need to be better than you really are…..just live in what you’ve been given by God!  That’s enough!

Did you ever see the movie Forrest Gump?  Forrest and Lieutenant Dan were on their shrimp boat in the middle of the hurricane, and their boat made it through the storm, while all the others, which were anchored or moored in fixed positions were destroyed.

1) Be slow to fortify or justify your mental position. (You’ll feel trapped).

2)  Live off your ability, not your predeterminations.

I was in a karate tournament (taekwando to be specific).  I was a red stripe belt, but sparring against black belts.  I stood facing a big, brawny biker-type black belt, who I’d seen fight and even advance to the grand championships before I ever started the martial arts.  Back then, I remember thinking, “Holy cats, I would never want to fight that dude!”  And now I was going to be sparring him.  I stood still, deciding, “If he does this, then I’ll do that.  If he does that, then I’ll do this.”  The referee signalled the start of the fight, and this black belt advanced on me and sidekicked me right in the chest…..without me making a single move!

That’s what trying to figure everything out ahead of time will do to you.  It will freeze you into inaction, or poor action at best.  In the above example, after getting kicked so easily, I threw away all predeterminations, and decided I would just do the best I could….and I ended up winning handily!

Philippians 4:13  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

2)  Live off your ability, not your predeterminations.  (Keep growing in your abilities!)

3)  Distinguish between the work you can do and the results you desire.

The carpenter who built my house had nothing to do with the family I was able to raise in that house which he built.  Often we take action, and then try to determine the results of our actions.

For example.  I see my daughter engaged in self-destructive behavior.  I determine to approach her and share my observations with her.  Fine.  But then, when I see that she doesn’t respond like I think she should to my advice, I begin to nag her into heeding my advice.  She becomes hostile toward me, and our relationship worsens.

My job is to share with her my observations/counsel/advice.  From there on, it is between her and God.  I cannot control her life, neither will that ever be my job.  I can do what I can do, but the results need to be of God Himself.

II Corinthians 3:4, 5  And such trust have we through Christ toward God:  Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God.

3)  Distinguish between the work you can do and the results you desire. (Your life is yours alone to live, as are the lives of those you love).

4)  Stop being the center of the universe.  That’s God’s job.

Life existed before you were born, and it will continue after you die, should that happen before Christ returns.  The world does not depend upon you for its existence, and you really need to realize this truth.

So you blew it.  So what!!?  Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and continue on.  Learn in your doing, and be thankful for the life that’s been given you to partake of.  Your perfection is not a requirement for the world to continue, so stop trying to make existence revolve around you.

All your desires are only just that…..your desires.  The world is not better when your desires are fulfilled, neither is the world worse if your desires are not fulfilled.  If you are sad and lonely, the universe continues to expand as it ever did.  You are not the beginner and continuer of life.  You are not the arbiter of truth.  You are a partaker in life.  Get the most out of it by by partaking.  Give what you have, and enjoy what life gives to you.

I Peter 5:6  Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.

4)  Stop being the center of the universe. That’s God’s job.  (Fleshly perfection is not required for a full life).

So here have been presented 4 things which cause stress in our lives, and what we can do to be free of that stress.

1.  Don’t live from out of fixed fortified positions of the mind.
2.  Live in the now, trusting in the ability of Christ in you.
3.  Don’t confuse the results you want with the work you can do.
4.  You are not the center of all that is.  God is.

I Thessalonians 5:28  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.  Amen.

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Other studies of interest:
The Need To Be Right
Morality versus Godliness
What was The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil?
Vanity of the Mind