WHAT STRATEGY SHOULD I USE FOR DEALING WITH STRESS?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up
against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought
to make it obedient to Christ.
(2 Corinthians 10:5)

MEDITATION:
Most of us would probably agree that we live in a stressful environment,
right?

Some suffer from financial stress; some stress from marital or family issues;
some stress from the demands of their jobs; some stress from trying to run
a household; some stress from relationships; some stress because they don’t
have a particular relationship.

There are some who stress from the uncertainty of how they will spend eternity.
In the world we live in today, we have the scriptures to bring clarity to this type
of stress so why are some stressing out over their eternal destination?

It could be because some have failed to open the Bible and see the requirements
for entering heaven. It could be that some have a misunderstanding of the full
meaning and impact of God’s grace. It could be that some feel their ‘bads’ have
outweighed their ‘goods’.

It could be that some feel that they are hopelessly in a losing battle in their
struggle with sin. If you’ve been there, you can understand the difficulties
of trying to ‘break free’ from some sin that keeps trying to dominate and
control your life.

In 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Paul gives us a partial list of those who are not
destined for Heaven. Then in verse 11, he reminds us that whether we
admit it, or not, we have been born with an attraction to sinful things.
And then Paul adds the word “But” and reminds us of how things were
changed after we chose to surrender our lives to the Lord, and His control.
    And that is what some of you were. But you were
    washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in
    the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit
    of our God.
    (1 Corinthians 6:11)

Paul tells us we were “washed”. That means we were cleansed from the
dirtiness of sin. Then he tells us we were “sanctified”. That means that
the Lord has begun to take control of our lives, and He is in the process
of purging us from unrighteousness and filling us with righteousness.
And lastly, because we have willfully surrendered our lives to the Lord,
we have been “justified”. That means we were ‘stamped’ as acceptable
not by the world, but by “Jesus Christ” and the “Spirit of our God”.

All of us who have struggled with sin know the power it can have over
us. Quite honestly, it’s something we can’t expect to overcome on our
own. Why? Because it is more powerful than we are. However, we have
an omnipotent Heavenly Father who is more powerful than sin.

If we look at the causes of stress, they all originate in the mind, don’t they?
That means that if we expect to overcome stress (and especially stress that
is caused by a struggle with sin), then we will have to do some damage repair
to our mind, wouldn’t you agree?

Paul addressed the issue of our mind when he said,
    “we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ”
He tells us we must make a conscious effort to stop these unrighteous
thoughts from ‘hanging around’ in our mind. Instead, we need to usher
them out as quickly as possible and fill the void they leave with righteous
thoughts.

As followers of Jesus, we know controlling these sinful thoughts (and the
actions created by these thoughts) is not something that we can handle in
our own strength; we need divine assistance. Because our omnipotent God
knows our weaknesses, He promises help for all who genuinely choose to
receive His salvation and surrender their lives to Him.

God has a desire to help those who recognize and accept the fact that He
is in control of the world and believe that His Son gave His life for mankind.
He promises the Holy Spirit as an advocate for all who want to praise and
worship Jesus as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Jesus said,
    But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will
    send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind
    you of everything I have said to you.
    (John 14:26)
The Holy Spirit is the missing part of overcoming the power of sin
that we don’t have until we surrender our lives to the Lord.

We can see that the Psalmist knew the importance of the Holy Spirit
in his life when asked God,
    Do not cast me from your presence
    or take your Holy Spirit from me.
    (Psalm 51:11)

ACTION:
Questions to consider:
    – Do you feel that you are constantly in a state of stress?
    – Can you identify the cause of your stress?
    – Have you been trying to alleviate your stress on your own?
    – What type of relationship do you have with the Lord?
    – Is there anything in your life that you have not surrendered to the Lord?
    – Have you felt the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life?
    – Can you ‘feel’ the presence of God
       and His sanctifying process in your own life?
    – What changes do you plan to make so you can receive
       divine help in resolving the stresses in your life?
       Note: We can’t expect changes without making changes, can we?

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for understanding the stresses that
I have in my life. Thank You for Your promises to provide me with
an advocate to deal with my stresses, and especially the stress of
constant attacks by the evil one through temptations. I pray that
You will fill me with the Holy Spirit so I can escort the sinful
thoughts from Satan out of my mind, and replace them with my
gratitude and appreciation for how you have blessed me. I also
pray that You will show me how to fill my mind with righteous
thoughts, so I can serve You and develop a close fellowship with
You. Help me to fill my mind with what You want to plant there.”

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