Continuing in this series of messages regarding stress both in college life and in the Christian walk, I first want to give a clear differentiation between good, healthy stress and bad, malignant stress. As I discussed previously in PT 1, I believe stress has a healthy place in the Christian walk. God uses stress to alert us in times when we forget His bold and powerful promises to us. He promises to provide (Jehovah-Jireh), to shepherd us (Jehovah-Rohi), and to heal us (Jehovah-Rophe), but yet many times in our lives, we fall victim to our own conceit. It’s like Satan calls out from the Burger King from Hell saying, “Have it your way!” Well, friend, we MUST realize that our way is not always God’s way. And therefore, my definition of good stress is that which God uses to keep us from falling victim to complacency, both in our Christian walks and in our ministries. For you baseball fans, it’s God’s way of going from fastball to changeup. He is lighting a fire underneath you, because like a good parent, your Father in Heaven challenges you to grow spiritually, emotionally, physically, and mentally. Your Father in Heaven desires that you do not fret or become anxious when his trials give you stress, but rather that you fall on your knees and pray to Him for guidance. It’s a tool that God uses to test your loyalty and faithfulness in good times and bad times.
Now let’s discuss bad stress. Bad stress, in my opinion, is the stresses in our lives that we create ourselves. We create this stress ourselves by not trusting God to fulfill his promises. For example, one might be applying to a graduate school or a medical school- a stressful process indeed- but a process that is completely in God’s hands. If we pray for His will to be done, WE CAN’T GO WRONG! God’s plan for each and every one of His children is perfect, yet so often we question whether God will provide us with what we need. By stressing over matters in God’s control, we essentially say to God, “Father God, you’re lying!” That sounds absolutely horrific and sacrilege to say, but it’s true. I’ll give you another example. For some folks, there is stress in tithing, because for some people, a pay check is hard to come by, but I strongly believe that the stress of tithing is merely God asking us, “Are you going to obey My commands and trust that I will provide for you, or will you reject My love and My promises?”
Bad stress is also stress that one does not surrender to God. It becomes baggage and cancer, as I discussed in “Baggage Claim”. We must remember that we don’t get to pick apart God’s gifts and take only what we choose. It’s an all or nothing proposition. We don’t have the choice to say, “Well God, I want to keep your gift of salvation, but I want to be able to hang on to some of my sins. I like to hang on to some of my sins, because I like feeling like I’m in control of my situation.” We have to be willing to allow God to be in control of everything in our lives, from our finances to our relationships. Academically and emotionally, we MUST whole-heartedly believe that God is the Alpha and the Omega. He is EVERYTHING! We are insufficient to achieve victory over sin alone! The gifts that this secular world have to offer you can not compare to the gifts that your Father in Heaven has promised you, as John 14:27 says,
"I am leaving you with a gift--peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn't like the peace the world gives. So don't be troubled or afraid."
If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you don’t have to worry about your fate as lost people do. As a matter of fact, lost people have a legitimate reason to worry, because they have not yet accepted the eternal gifts of God that provide the only means for victory. God gives you victory if you trust Him.
I promise, in the next installment, I’ll start discussing the three ways to deal with stress in the Christian way. They are prayer, meditation, and praise.
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