Life as a Christian Woman

I admit it, I stress. Job security, health issues, raising children, you name it and I stress out over it. But something tells me I’m not that different from anybody else

According to WebMD.com, stress effects our bodies in many ways… none of them good. Short-term symptoms may include rapid heartbeat, sweating, headache, backache, fatigue, irritability, nausea and diarrhea. Long-term effects are staggering: Cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, ulcers, heart attack, and worsening of ongoing medical conditions such as asthma and diabetes.

In short, our bodies were not created to handle stress. So if God created us, and we assume that He created us to successfully survive in this world, we have to draw the assumption that He doesn’t want us to stress out over things… so what do we do?

We can’t avoid conflicts in our lives. Bad things are going to happen to us and to those we love. That’s just life. But how we respond to conflict strips away the outer layers and shows who we are, and where we put our trust.

What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31

God tells us time and time again to turn our worries over to Him. In Matthew, Christ goes into detail about our worries, and how to handle them.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:25-34

Years ago, a Christian counselor taught me a stress management tool that I use to this day. When I feel life overwhelming me, I write down my worries on a piece of paper. I am very specific in my listing. Then I pray over the list. I pray for God’s guidance, for discernment. I pray that His will is followed, that my heart will be open to whatever and wherever He leads. Then I put the list in an envelope, write the date on it, and put the envelope in a safe place. At some point in the future, usually a month or so, but sometimes as long as a year, I go back, open the envelope, and read about my fears from that day. And I see how God has been faithful and answered my prayers.

I’m not perfect with this system, I wish I could say that I was. But we all need to learn to let go of our stress, of the situations that cause them, and turn them over to God. He is ever faithful and will not leave us.

His promises and love endure forever.