Announcer (00:00:01): It is time to think about the Bible like you never have before. This is Christian Questions. After this episode, go to ChristianQuestions.com to check out other episodes, Bible study resources, videos, download the CQ app and more. Today's topic is, "If I Have God's Peace, Why Am I So Stressed?" Coming up in this episode, we all know what it feels like to be totally stressed out, to feel like you can't get a grip on things. Someone can tell you to take a breath and you respond, I'd love to, but there's no time! As Christians, God's peace is supposed to rule in our hearts. So does it, especially in today's world? What do we do now? Here's Rick, Jonathan and Julie.
Rick (00:00:43): Welcome everyone. I'm Rick. I'm joined by Jonathan, my co-host for over 20 years. And Julie, a longtime CQ contributor is also with us. Jonathan, what's our theme scripture for this episode?
Jonathan (00:00:54): Philippians 4:7: "And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Rick (00:01:04): It's a given that life is stressful. We all know that the sheer quantity of input that we are each exposed to from the various parts of our lives is overwhelming. Now come the decisions. Do I watch, do I listen? Do I click? Do I respond? Do I message, do I like? Now comes what's supposed to be the main part of our day, our work, our schooling, our caregiving, and attempting to do a good job. Next comes our downtime, which for many is laughable because it's now in our downtime that we watch, we listen, we click, we respond, and we message and we like. And so downtime easily becomes stress time. As Christians, we're supposed to have God's peace covering our lives. I say "supposed to," because many of us have a really hard time finding that peace in the midst of our daily chaos. Where are we going wrong and how do we correct it?
Julie (00:01:58): We do want to make a disclaimer right up front here. Some people suffer from depression or anxiety, and that's different from the stress we're talking about today and may require additional coping mechanisms. We recommend seeking professional help when appropriate. Also check out our three-part series about anxiety and depression, starting with Episode 1124.
Rick (00:02:18): We are talking about managing and dealing with stress. So let's take a look scripturally at how to understand the process and the issue. Let's start, Jonathan, with Philippians 4:6, one verse before our theme text:
Jonathan (00:02:35): "Be anxious for nothing." The word "anxious" means "to be anxious about, through the idea of distraction, solicitude." Now, "solicitude" means "care or concern for someone or something." The word for "anxious" comes from another word, which means "apportion, share and figuratively disunite; it is often translated divide." In other words, distraction or being taken off course. Biblical anxiousness in a negative sense is a distracting concern that divides one's focus.
Julie (00:03:11): Okay, that makes sense. Anxious, "Be anxious for nothing." I'm more interested in that word "nothing." How is that even possible? The Greek word for "nothing" is "not even one man, woman, thing, no, none. Not a whit." Nothing. Hmm, that's hard.
Rick (00:03:27): Oh, Julie, much ado about nothing. <Laugh>
Jonathan (00:03:30): Cute.
Rick (00:03:31): Well, but you're right. You look at this and it sounds like such a dramatic almost command, "Be anxious for nothing." And you're like, how do we get even remotely close to there? Well, let's back up. Okay, let's break this down a little bit. The anxiousness clearly describes our common idea of stress, that Jonathan, that you had defined for us, simply describes stress as a state of mental worry or tension that is caused by thoughts or emotions or circumstances. While stress can provoke us to action in a positive sense, it often has the opposite effect and provokes us toward fear, excuses, doubt, rationalization, and inappropriate compromise.
Julie (00:04:13): Here's another definition out of Drake University in Iowa. "Stress Is the psychophysiological state generated by the perception of demands (like deadlines and bills) being greater than the resources available (like your mental energy or your bank account balance) to accomplish a given task." So it comes down to this: the issue we face versus our capacity to handle it. We are saying that if God is the largest part of the equation, we're in balance and can more readily handle the situation.
Jonathan (00:04:45): Our bodies are built to handle short-term stress. As you were saying, Rick, some stress can be positive and provoke us to action. In the right setting, it can help us focus on danger, react quicker, and have more energy. The problem is when the stress becomes chronic or long-term, and we can't shut it off.
Julie (00:05:06): I learned something really amazing studying for this. Our cells in our body have something called telomeres. These are the caps at the end of our chromosomes that keep our genetic material from unraveling and protect our DNA from damage. They shorten with each cell division and help determine how fast a cell ages. So when they become too short, the cells may stop dividing altogether. Stress disrupts normal cellular function, including maintenance of telomere length. Shorter telomeres may signal biological aging for some cells. Some studies have shown an association between chronic stress and telomere shortening.
Jonathan (00:05:45): And we do know that chronic stress affects health and aging and is associated with many conditions like cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes, metabolic syndrome, autoimmune disease, depression and dementia.
Rick (00:06:01): Okay, you guys got me all psyched up about stress. Let me run and hide.
Julie (00:06:05): Are you stressed out from all those health problems?
Rick (00:06:05): I am. I'm over. <Laugh> It's like, oh man. I'm short enough. I don't need the telomere thing shortening me even further. So look, this is a big subject. Before we dive into stress and how to manage it, and look, there are ways to manage it, especially if you're a Christian. We want to first understand and visit the Christian remedy for stress. There is a Christian remedy for stress, and it's found in Philippians 4:6, which we had just begun reading, and Philippians 4:7:
Jonathan (00:06:39): "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Prayer, supplication and thanksgiving lead us to unlocking God's peace. We can't access God's peace without a relationship with Him through His son, Jesus. And that relationship is based on prayer. This is the answer to negative stress.
Julie (00:07:11): Let's get specific. What does it mean to have God's peace? Is it just a feeling that comes over us? Is it a heavenly gift that miraculously transforms us? What is it?
Rick (00:07:21): No, it's not like a package delivered from Amazon. Oh, look, it's God's peace! I can't wait to open it up. That's not what it is. It doesn't come as a package. It comes as a process. We need to understand the unfolding of God's peace in our lives. So to do that, let's examine what God's peace is so we can know how it works and therefore know how to apply it. There are going to be several principles of peace. Julie, get us started with the first one.
Julie (00:07:53): God is the God of peace. Now, we've all heard that God is love, but He's also the God of peace. And we know that by Romans 16:20:
Jonathan (00:08:01): "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you." The Greek word for "peace" here means "a state of national tranquility." Peace between individuals and security and safety. Sometimes we are willing to accept something, but we aren't really at peace with it. It still eats away at us.
Rick (00:08:24): So God is the God of peace. As God, being this God of peace, our Father, our Father in heaven, has a plan that will create eternal tranquility on all levels for all who prove loyal to His righteousness. That scripture you read, Jonathan, is very powerful. "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet." The provoker of all disunity and stress is going to be removed. He is the God of peace. That's His plan. You can't look at at things any other way. Julie, what's next?
Julie (00:08:58): So our first principle was, God is a God of peace. Our second is, Jesus is called the Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6:
Jonathan (00:09:07): "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be on his shoulders; and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." The Hebrew word for "peace" here is "shalom." It means "completeness, safety, soundness in body, quiet, tranquility, contentment." Jesus is the "Prince of Shalom." He is the conduit through which God's plan of peace is enforced. He brings, applies and maintains all that is necessary for God's plan to flawlessly guide all of His creation.
Rick (00:09:46): So now we're looking at understanding God's peace. We see that He's the God of peace and Jesus is the prince of that peace. So you see that the two of them are exactly in step with peace as a primary objective. Julie, what's next?
Julie (00:10:04): Our third principle of peace is that peace with God can only come through Jesus. But I need to stop you and ask, what about Jewish people who are very peaceful in their relationship with God? And are you saying that there can't be any peaceful atheists? How is peace with God only through Jesus when there's peaceful people?
Rick (00:10:22): Okay, first of all, anybody can be a peaceful person. But we're not talking about being a peaceful person. We're talking about having peace with God. Now, under the Jewish Law, the Jewish nation came to God through the sacrifices, which were pictures of Jesus. So they have a relationship with God through that Law and through that faithfulness. But what we're saying is that to ultimately be individually at peace with God, we have to go through Jesus. How do we know that? Romans 5:1-2 are very specific:
Jonathan (00:10:59): "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exalt in the hope of the glory of God." Peace with God only comes through the purchasing power of Jesus' ransom.
Rick (00:11:22): Abraham was reckoned. He was considered justified. He was considered made right with God. God considered him because of his faith. And we look at the Jewish nation very much in that same kind of light. But this is actual peace with God comes through the ransom of Jesus. For Christians to have peace with God means that we are, because God is all about peace and Jesus is all about peace, it means that we are being trained to bring God's peace to the rest of the world. In other words, we're part of that equation of God's peace. So God's peace is not just some, oh, I feel better. It is not a feeling. It is a major earth changing objective that needs to have its place in our lives.
Julie (00:12:11): So what you're saying is, there is a peace being at peace WITH God, and there is peace FROM God. These are two different things.
Rick (00:12:19): Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. Okay. Yeah. We want to be really clear and understanding that both parts are important. When it says, "The peace of God shall keep your hearts and mind in Christ Jesus," that peace needs to be ruling in our lives. We want to understand the breadth of God's peace so we know what it is that we're looking to have rule in our lives. Again, it's not some little feeling, it's something very big and powerful. Julie, what's next?
Julie (00:12:44): Our next principle of peace: Jesus plainly promised his peace would be given to us. We know that from John 14:27:
Jonathan (00:12:53): "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful." Well, two words jumped out that hinder peace; that's "troubled" and "fearful." "Troubled" means to stir up or agitate. "Fearful" is defined as timid or afraid. When we are troubled or fearful, we become double-minded or distracted from that which is most important. Hence, no peace.
Julie (00:13:22): A great episode for this was called, "Am I a Double-Minded Christian?" Episode 1016. Discovering the pitfalls and remedies to distracted thinking. We don't want to be overcharged with the cares of this life. So if you find yourself with that, Episode 1016.
Rick (00:13:39): To have the peace of Jesus is to be given the ability through God's spirit to see the trials and traumas of life through the eyes of spiritual maturity and not through the feelings of anxiousness or fear that we might have.
Jonathan (00:13:56): And that's what Jesus did, isn't it?
Rick (00:13:57): Yeah, it really is. That's the real point here, is the peace of Jesus; "My peace I give to you." He's saying, here's how you cope. And how did he do it? Because he had God's peace in his life. See this is all interconnected, and this is much, much more than just a feeling. Next principle of peace, Julie.
Julie (00:14:18): Christianity is built upon grace and peace being applied to our daily lives.
Jonathan (00:14:24): The Apostle Paul often greeted the churches in the exact same way. Here's how he greeted the Galatians, the Ephesians, and the Philippians, as well as many others. "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."
Rick (00:14:38): If the apostle Paul saw it necessary to greet all the brotherhood with grace and peace, we'd better pay attention. He's not saying, I hope you feel good. He's saying, I want God's grace, His unmerited favor and His overwhelming plan of peace and harmony to be with you and work through you. That's what we are looking at when we think about God's peace. So as we attempt to walk through this, we want to learn how to sideline stress with purposeful peace. So Jonathan, what's our first point here?
Jonathan (00:15:15): Our first foundational point is realizing that God's character and plan are filled with peace. For us to access this tranquil approach in our lives, we need to accept the merit of Jesus' sacrifice and apply his peace. This opens us up to God's peace being able to have a place to dwell in our busy lives.
Rick (00:15:38): Does God's peace have a place to dwell in my life? Seeing the breadth and depth of God's peace can be breathtaking. Think about it. God wants us to have His peace in our lives.
Jonathan (00:15:56): God's peace seems so high and lofty. How can we expect to be able to harness its spiritual power in our little lives?
Rick (00:16:04): This is an important question. And while the answer is simple, it's certainly not easy. I think we say that a lot. Primarily what we need to do is to be willing to slow down enough and recognize when our stress is not a productive force in our life. By God's grace, this recognition becomes the basis for our ability to begin turning the tide of the role of stress in our lives. You know what? Stress isn't going to leave, but we can turn the tide of the kind of mark that stress leaves upon our lives. And that's really the core of what we're talking about. And to do this, we want to introduce four simple steps to harness God's power and peace when we have major stress.
Julie (00:16:56): Simple. Simple steps. Okay, they're going to be simple but not always easy. Let's go to step one. It's to recognize. Learn to recognize the negative stressors in our lives and their debilitating effect on us.
Jonathan (00:17:10): The Apostle Paul himself had to do this exact thing. 2 Corinthians 1:9-10: "In fact, we expected to die, but as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely on God who raises the dead. And He did rescue us from mortal danger and He will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in Him and He will continue to rescue us." What negative stressors did Paul recognize? His own conclusions about his life. He expected to die, but learned not to rely on what he thought because his own emotional conclusions were wrong. He created the negative stress that, it's all over.
Julie (00:17:54): Mm-Hmm <affirmative>. But from God's point, it was just the beginning. Paul perceived that he didn't have the tools necessary to meet the need. We talked about how stress is created when there's that imbalance between the issue we're facing versus our capacity to handle it. Here Paul expected to die, but God had other plans and he now understood that God would deliver the next victory. We need to understand that God will deliver our next victory one way or another.
Rick (00:18:21): Yeah, and that one way or another can be a resounding defeat in life that can actually be a victory because that's the lesson that we need to learn. At one point in Paul's life, the victory was the taking of his life. His life was over. Whatever it is, it's in God's hands. It's not my definition of victory; it's the Father's definition of victory that brings us peace. Now later in the same letter, he gave us details on what can be the negative stressors and our necessary response to them. So in 2 Corinthians 1, he talked about, I was thinking in my own way. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, he's expanding and showing a greater grasp on dealing with the negative stressors of life.
Jonathan (00:19:08): "Although we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ."
Rick (00:19:28): You see how he's now ten chapters later saying, "Earlier I thought I was going to die and I left it up to me, but God rescued me." He's saying, "Here's what I've learned. I've learned that the weapons of warfare are not of the flesh, but it's through God. We bring down this destruction of these fortresses, bringing every thought into the captivity of the obedience of Christ."
Jonathan (00:19:50): Again, we're talking about how negative stressors reduce our ability to remain single-minded. We need to fight these battles with spirituality.
Julie (00:20:00): This phrase "destruction of fortresses," that's kind of interesting. The King James Version says, "pulling down of strongholds." This word for "fortresses" or "strongholds" is only found once in the Bible. It's here in this text. This is a fortified military stronghold. Figuratively, he's using it like a false argument in which a person seeks a safe place to escape reality. Like perhaps pride is one of our fortresses, or selfishness, holding onto false doctrine, superstitions, aspirations of our own importance. Basically wrong thoughts and perceptions. The key, again, he's giving you the answer - to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
Rick (00:20:43): So negative stressors can come from the fortresses that we build ourselves. That's scary, but it's also handleable. Our thoughts and feelings may trigger negative stressors and can become fortresses of fleshly protection and speculation. Now if we let it, God's power helps us see this and manage the distracting concern that divides our focus. Remember, it's about being single-minded, not divided in our attention. So let's look at this now; sidelining stress with purposeful peace. Based on what we've seen the Apostle Paul develop, what do we have so far?
Jonathan (00:21:23): Well, James 1:8 tells us, "A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways." Let us resolve to recognize that negative stressors are symptoms of our fleshly heart and mind creeping into positions of influence as we attempt to serve God through Christ.
Julie (00:21:42): We want to be careful also not to be the cause of our own stress. Natural consequences from sin and dishonesty cause a great deal of stress. A lot of brain power has to go into covering up when we're in places we shouldn't be doing things we shouldn't be doing with people we shouldn't be with and so on. We can eliminate a lot of anxiety just by living a clean, righteous life. This idea of double-mindedness though can have this negative connotation, but there's a lot of stressors that we can't prevent. It makes me think of those who are going through caregiving. Caregiving of any kind is extremely stressful, and those in the medical field especially can be burned out on caring for others.
Jonathan (00:22:22): Loss of loved ones can be very stressful. Our congregation has had to focus on the recent unexpected deaths of four of our members. People going through war or natural disasters also comes to mind.
Rick (00:22:35): So there are a lot of things that bring stress, And what we're not suggesting is throw all the things that bring stress in your life away. Absolutely not. What we're suggesting is embrace the responsibilities that you're given, but learn to embrace them by taking every thought into the obedience of Christ. Learn to. Some stresses aren't ever going to go away. So what do you do with that? You embrace it. How? That's what we're beginning to lay out here.
Julie (00:23:05): One of our listeners, Rick and Jonathan, sent us this next sound bite to illustrate how to understand the effects of stress using a glass of water.
Sound Bite (00:23:17): How heavy is this glass of water? Melissa, would you care to answer? Eight ounces? 12 ounces? 16 ounces? The absolute weight of the glass doesn't matter. Depends on how long I hold onto it. If I hold it for a minute, nothing happens. If I hold it for an hour, my arm will begin to ache. If I hold it all day long, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. Well, the weight of the glass hasn't changed, but the longer I hold onto it, the heavier it becomes. The stresses and the worries of life are like this glass of water. If you think about them for a little while, there's no problem. Think about it for a little bit longer. It begins to hurt you. Think about them all day long and you'll feel paralyzed, incapable of doing anything. Always remember, put the glass down.
Rick (00:24:16): I love the "thump." Always remember thump. Put the glass down. I've got to tell you just by way of personal experience, even though these words aren't used in the explanation, my dear wife Tricia is always telling me, Rick, (thump,) put the glass down. The words she uses are really actually very scriptural. She says, "You know what? God invented a Sabbath for a reason. It means to rest." Put the glass down. It is a tremendous valuable experience that we all need to put into play.
Julie (00:24:54): If you're experiencing stress, even extreme or chronic stress, it doesn't mean that you're a bad Christian or that you're failing, because thinking that way will just cause more stress. We want to go through these steps, learn them and gain a higher perspective, and therefore gain relief.
Rick (00:25:11): Recognize was the first piece, the first step. Learn to recognize the negative stressors in our life and their debilitating effect. Notice we said the negative stressors because good stress is good. We'll expand that as we go a little bit further. As we recognize these negative stressors in our lives, the fact that they can be debilitating, that helps us to be able to move forward. What's the second step after recognizing?
Jonathan (00:25:37): Reconsider. Intentionally look at these negative stressors in a different light. Back to Philippians 4:6: "Be anxious for nothing."
Rick (00:25:48): This verse recognizes that we are naturally anxious and stressed by a variety of things.
Julie (00:25:55): The Apostle Paul isn't making a suggestion. <Laugh> This is a strong and confident command. "Be anxious for nothing," and that seems absolutely impossible in this day and age.
Rick (00:26:05): Well, and I get that. I absolutely get that. The Apostle Paul is making it simple. He says, don't stress about anything. He's essentially saying, as you fall into the stressed patterns of life, consider the consequences and reconsider going there. Okay, and that's our second step. Reconsider intentionally. Look at these negative stressors in a different light. So now that you see them, try something like Deuteronomy 31:6:
Jonathan (00:26:34): "Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you."
Rick (00:26:43): Can you believe that? How strongly do we believe that? How? How firmly do we repeat that promise in our own hearts and minds? Because if that is something that drives us, and you know what that is? It's God's peace. That's what it is. That helps us to cope. So once we've recognized the first step, that there are stressors, problems in our lives and once we've reconsidered our natural reactions, this brings us to the third step. Julie, what is that?
Julie (00:27:14): It's time to relabel. We find the strength to relabel a natural negative stressor disaster as an opportunity to give God complete control.
Jonathan (00:27:24): The disaster equals opportunity. How about that? <Laugh> Philippians 4:6: "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God."
Rick (00:27:38): So, the formula here is to go to God as God and put our petitions before Him. This is not some quick, "Oh Lord, please help me" little quick prayer that's said in three seconds. Now, I'm not saying you shouldn't do those. This is an intentional laying out of our issues, our stressors, and asking for help. This is going to God, as the Creator of all, saying, "I am stressed, I am drowning. Here's why. Here's what I feel. Here's why I can't. I need you." It is unburdening before Him and that helps to get rid of the anxiousness because you know what? We need to vent. Why not vent to God Almighty who has the power to do something about that which stresses us?
Jonathan (00:28:26): Going to God with passing thoughts gives you blessings that pass by you! <Laugh>
Julie (00:28:32): At least Paul gave us the answer as to where to go to exchange our concerns. So before they turn into all-out anxiety, we take them to the Lord. But I notice in this scripture how the requests have to be made with thanksgiving. We don't approach God mad or crabby that bad things are happening. No matter what, we're thankful and expectant that we will do and we will be better. I've got a great unknown, a quote from an unknown source. "Worry is the conversation you have with yourself about things you cannot change. Prayer is the conversation you have with God about things He can change."
Rick (00:29:08): That's why I say all the time, "it's all good," because it helps me refocus my heart and my mind that God's got it in control. So rather than get all stressed out, why not try for instance Psalm 86:11-12:
Jonathan (00:29:25): "Teach me Thy way, O Lord; I will walk in Thy truth; unite my heart to fear (or revere) Thy name. I will praise Thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Thy name forevermore."
Rick (00:29:38): I love the way the King James Version says "unite my heart." Don't let it be divided in my thoughts and my emotions. Unite me to revere Your name. Pull me all together so I can be on that page that honors you. These are the steps to managing stress. We're going to get to practical applications very, very soon. But let's get to our fourth step, Jonathan. What's next?
Jonathan (00:30:02): Receive and respond. Move forward with the process. It is not enough to put it before the Lord in prayer. Action is required. By focusing on a godly remedy for a negative stressor, we put space between us and that stressor and make room for God's peace to be planted and thrive. Back to our theme text, Philippians 4:7: "And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Rick (00:30:34): So God's peace can and will come to us if we make room for it and invite it to abide with us. We have to give the invitation, we have to make room. We have to make it an event that changes our life rather than a passing thought. God's peace is not arbitrary. It's looking to live in our hearts. Do I have my heart open for it? So rather than get all stressed out and worried about things, why not try Psalm 56:3-4:
Jonathan (00:31:07): "When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, in God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me?" How about a mirror question: What can I do to me?
Julie (00:31:24): And once we place our trust in God, we can't take it back. One of our core CQ volunteers, Becca, sent us many practical tips on managing stress. Here's one of the things she said, "I have found that when I am stressed, I have a really mean inner monologue and all sorts of bad things creep in. When this starts to happen, I recognize this is from Satan and I actually say out loud, "Leave me alone Satan!" Because I know that what he's trying to do and I do not have to listen to him. Trying to remember that Satan works to play on our fears and anxieties and it's not just me that's the problem, makes me feel much more defiant and wanting to lean on God and defy what Satan is trying to do." And I'll just add a little quote on my own, <laugh> there's a reason why the reverse of "stressed" is "desserts." <Laugh> That can help too.
Rick (00:32:16): Okay, <laugh>, there you go. But to defy Satan, to stand firm on the holy ground that God has put us upon, is such an important part of our lives. So these are the four steps, and now we've got to do something with them. Let's wrap this up at this point. Sidelining stress with purposeful peace. Jonathan, what do we have?
Jonathan (00:32:40): Negative stressors can be everywhere and our natural reactions to them can seriously diminish our spirituality. Let us keep our eyes open to recognize them and our hearts open to reconsider them in a different light. Let's keep our minds open to relabel them as God's opportunities, and our expectations open to receive God's peace and respond with His grace.
Rick (00:33:06): There's a lot of opening and recognition there that we have to put in place, and it has to be intentional. This does seem simple and straightforward. However, we all know that learning is one thing and applying what we learned, well that's another.
Jonathan (00:33:25): Okay, so there are four easy steps. What examples do we have of heroes of our faith following this process?
Rick (00:33:34): This is where the practicality of putting negative stressors away from us really begins to shine. Even though Jesus was a perfect man, he continually had to put the stressors of his human life into a clear and godly perspective. While we will touch on other heroes of faith handling their stressors, our Lord Jesus will be our primary example. So now we get to where the rubber meets the road, taking these four steps and saying how do they actually work in real life? We've gone over two very basic things. First, the principles of peace, and then the four steps. Jonathan, get us started. Let's just recap very quickly the principles of peace. Then Julie, the four steps.
Jonathan (00:34:20): The principles of peace we have reviewed have given us the target to strive for. That target is having God's peace being the overriding influence when stress is high.
Julie (00:34:31): The four steps that bring us God's peace are important because they help us focus on the changes that we need to make. And again, they are recognize, reconsider, relabel, and finally receive and respond.
Rick (00:34:44): So we've got these four steps, and we've got the goal of God's peace living within us. Now we look at stress-relieving principles that can give these four steps space to work. It's great to have steps to accomplish a goal, right? Okay, I've got the steps, but how do I use them? Well let's look at the practicality of life experience, especially in Jesus' own life and we'll get to that in a moment, and see exactly how to apply these things. So we have several stress-relieving principles and the really simple, the first principle is the principle of, and it's just one word, it's the principle of empty. Empty. Jesus plainly taught us about the singular loyalty that we ought to have to God and His will. We're going to be looking at Matthew 6 quite a bit. Let's start with Matthew 6:24:
Jonathan (00:35:35): "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth."
Rick (00:35:45): So again, we have that double mindedness that just does not belong, and the practicality of this is important. To serve only one master, we need to empty out any other loyalties. Empty out any other thoughts of, well I'd rather do this, or this is more important, or I feel this way so therefore that doesn't apply. We get in our own way too often, and we become that second master to ourselves. And when you have two masters, you don't serve either very well, and oftentimes because "how I feel" is tangible and "what God wants" is further away, guess which wins. We've got to empty that loyalty out, be involved just for the sake of the will of God through Christ.
Julie (00:36:31): And you don't mean loyalties like when we have loyalty to family obligations or (oh no, no) like serious commitments that we have. That's not what you're talking about. You're talking about self-will, really.
Rick (00:36:40): Right, right. We're not talking about responsibility. We're not talking about living up to scriptural principle. We're talking about things that take us from the scripture or principles. Jesus dramatically showed us how this principle of "empty" works. We're going to take a look at those four steps and look at and apply them to Jesus in a very, very unique way. Julie, what's this first step again?
Julie (00:37:02): Step one again is recognize the negative stressors in our lives and their debilitating effect on us. Recognize.
Jonathan (00:37:08): Let's read Philippians 2:3-11, beginning with 3-4: "Do nothing from selfish or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves. Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others." This is saying to have selfless love for others as Jesus did. We need to put our own agenda away. Our agenda and the agenda of Christ will inevitably conflict. Our agenda must be subservient to Christ.
Julie (00:37:42): This also reminded me of Psalm 32:3 from the New Living Translation: "When I refused to confess my sins, my body wasted away and I groaned all day long." The stress of a double life is heavy. It takes a lot of effort to keep lies straight. So recognize what could stress us and avoid that.
Rick (00:38:02): All right, so we've got to recognize the negative stressors, and this scripture in Philippians talks to us about taking ourselves out of the limelight, so to speak. So Jonathan, what's the second step?
Jonathan (00:38:12): Reconsider. Intentionally look at these negative stressors in a different light. Philippians 2:5-6: "Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped."
Rick (00:38:32): Now why are we bringing this up? We're talking about negative stressors and let me be very, very, very, very clear. Jesus leaving the heavenly realm wasn't a negative thing. Being in the heavenly realm wasn't a negative thing. What we're looking at is the principle of empty. What Jesus did is he left the glory of being the right hand of God, of being the Word of God to become a mere human being and suffer. He left the most glorious position that any being ever had to become something small and something that would be tortured. And it looks like he left something great for something bad, but in fact he left something great to do the will of the Father, which was even greater.
Jonathan (00:39:18): Jesus' humility was beautiful. He knew his place. Look at him in relation to Lucifer. Jesus emptied himself; Lucifer was full of himself. He said, "I will be like the Most High."
Rick (00:39:31): Yeah, entirely opposite, entirely opposite. Jesus emptied himself. He taught us a very important principle here. Julie, step three:
Julie (00:39:42): Relabel. Relabel our negative stressors as opportunities to give God complete control.
Jonathan (00:39:48): Philippians 2:7-8: "...but emptied himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." Jesus emptied his perfect human life for Adam and all of Adam's descendants. The attitude of Jesus was always, "Not my will, but Thine be done, Father."
Julie (00:40:15): I've got another great quote from Becca. "When there is something we're worrying about over and over, this is sort of like we are trying to be like God. We want to become basically a little dictator in our own lives and when we worry, we are trying to tell God how we want things to turn out. And if it just turns out this one way, then everything will be great and good. Satan also wanted to try to tell God how things were supposed to be, and I don't want to be like that."
Rick (00:40:44): Instead Jesus humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even the death on a cross. That's emptying so that God's will can have a place to grow. Jonathan, what's that fourth step?
Jonathan (00:40:59): Receive and respond. Focusing on godly remedies for negative stressors puts space between us and those stressors and makes room for God's peace to be planted and thrive. Philippians 2:9-11: "For this reason also God highly exalted him, and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Jesus emptied himself and was exalted to the right hand of God, the highest favored position under God.
Julie (00:41:41): The point is we have to be willing to continually empty ourselves of self-will. We can't make room for something better if something mediocre is already there. It just doesn't work.
Rick (00:41:52): So we've got the goodness of Jesus contrasted with Satan who sought to fill himself and he ended up being destroyed. So now we're looking at this. Let's put this example, this principle of "empty" in perspective. Julie, sidelining stress with purposeful peace.
Julie (00:42:10): To empty oneself is to intentionally remove all of what was, to open space for what God and His will would put there. Even if what was. was good, we are called to be a spiritual family and need to replace it with God's driving spirit.
Jonathan (00:42:26): Negative stressors take up a lot of space.
Rick (00:42:29): So let's work at digging out their influence and filling the space with the seeds of God's grace and peace. You have to dig out those negative stressors driven by the negative pieces and make space for the seeds of God's grace and peace. The next stress relieving principle, another very simple thing, one word; it's the principle of surrender. We can empty ourselves of other loyalties, but that's just the beginning. Next we must surrender to God's will, which may be difficult but inevitably brings us His peace. Again, back to Matthew 6:25-26:
Jonathan (00:43:10): In Matthew 6:25, Jesus tells us not to be worried about what we eat, drink or wear. Picking up with verse 26: "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?"
Rick (00:43:27): So instead of stressing about this and this and this and that and that and that and the other and the other and the other, be like the birds of the air. God takes care of the details that are necessary for our Christian lives. That is the principle of surrender. Let Him do His work. Now, personal example. Jesus showed us this process of going through the challenge of to eventually bring God's peace. Julie, let's go through those four steps again. What's that first step and what's the context?
Julie (00:43:58): Recognize. Recognize the negative stressors in our lives and the debilitating effect on us. We go to Matthew 26: 36-46, beginning with the first two verses. "Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, Sit here while I go over there and pray. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed. Then he said to them, My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with me." And for me it's comforting to see that even Jesus was stressed and needed prayer time to be comforted and gain perspective.
Rick (00:44:34): And the key is he recognized the depth of his stress and what did he do? He went to the source of comfort to put that overwhelming stress in perspective. "Sit here while I go pray." If that's not one of the biggest signs we could ever have as to how to handle the negative stressors in our lives, I don't know what is. So he recognized himself.Jonathan, step two.
Jonathan (00:45:05): Reconsider. Intentionally look at these negative stressors in a different light. Matthew 26:39-42: "And he went a little beyond them, and fell on his face and prayed, saying, My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not as I will, but as You will. He found his disciples sleeping." Continuing in verse 42: "He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done." Rick, this second prayer shows a change in his perspective.
Rick (00:45:41): It does, it does. First, if it's possible, let this cup pass from me. Then he comes back. And now he's considered. He's already put the petition before God and now he says, well if it can't pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done. So he is saying, I am seeing this differently and if it can't pass away, I want you to know, Father, I will drink this cup. I will accept whatever it is. First was, please let this pass. Second is okay, if it can't pass, I am ready. So the prayer brought him small step by small step. He reconsidered. He saw things in a different light and was able to see them in the light of doing God's will. That brings us to the third step. Julie, what's that?
Julie (00:46:25): Relabel. Relabel our negative stressors as opportunities to give God complete control. Matthew 26:43:45. And here's where Jesus found them sleeping again and he prays for a third time. "Then he came to the disciples, and said to them, Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners."
Rick (00:46:49): You think about this.This third step is to relabel the stressor as an opportunity, and the opportunity is the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed. You look at that and say, wait, what? That's the beauty of relabeling. He knew it had to happen and he's now embracing the fact that he's announcing the hour is here. I'm about be betrayed. The very opportunity that he had looked forward to through his whole human life was right before him and it would be the hardest thing he ever did and he walked towards it. Step four, Jonathan.
Jonathan (00:47:25): Receive and respond. Focusing on godly remedies for negative stressors puts space between us and those stressors and makes room for God's peace to be planted and thrive. Matthew 26:46: "Get up. Let us be going; behold, the one who betrays me is at hand!"
Rick (00:47:43): Not only does he know that the betrayer is there, he says, let's go. We're going to meet him. I'm going to make it easy so that God's will can be done. The grace with which Jesus would handle the last days of his human life is utterly, incredibly, totally inspirational when you see the depth of his putting things in perspective. So Jonathan, sidelining stress and with purposeful peace, what do we have here?
Jonathan (00:48:16): As we continue to work on emptying ourselves of the negative stressors and clutter on our hearts and minds, we need to focus on surrendering to God's providence.
Rick (00:48:26): So surrendering to God's will is the fertilizer that nourishes the growth of God's peace. Remember emptying made space for the seeds. Now surrendering is the fertilizer in which those seeds can grow. These two examples of Jesus emptying himself and surrendering to God are about as dramatic as they can be.
Jonathan (00:48:47): To be emptied and a surrender are really big steps. What comes next in our quest to minimize negative stress?
Rick (00:48:56): These are big steps. They are challenging us, to say the least. It's so easy to give up and give in. We feel like we fail, but in reality we just need to get up and try again. We need to take to heart the fact that God knows us and He knows we will struggle. He will not abandon us in this struggle as long as we keep fighting. Say that again. God knows us. He knows we struggle. He will not abandon us as long as we keep fighting. This brings us to the next stress-relieving principle. And again, it's one word; it's the principle of acceptance. Acceptance to empty out our stressors before God and surrender to His will, we need full acceptance of what His will has to offer. To surrender is a moment's decision; to accept is a long-term commitment.
Jonathan (00:49:58): We left off in Matthew 6 with Jesus telling us not to be so concerned over what we eat, drink, or wear, the basic cares of life. Let's pick back up with Matthew 6:27-32: "And who of you being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, you of little faith?" He ends by telling us not to worry about these things because our heavenly Father knows our every need.
Julie (00:50:48): If we remember step one, we recognize the negative stressors in our life and their debilitating effect on us. Let's switch gears a little because the Apostle Paul is a great example of this. He experienced what he called a "thorn in the flesh." It was something that he felt was holding him back. Many surmise it was his poor eyesight, but the Bible doesn't actually tell us what it was. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10. This is Paul. "Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me - to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me." Here he recognized this hardship was a negative stressor, so he prayed that it would be removed.
Rick (00:51:36): And there you have the classic, "This is negative. Lord, remove it. I could run so much harder, so much faster if You just take this out of my way. You know I can run faster, You know I can work harder for You." And this was sincere. He believed in this and he prayed three times about this. He petitioned the Lord. Now this brings us to step two. Jonathan?
Jonathan (00:51:59): Reconsider. Intentionally look at these negative stressors in a different light. 2 Corinthians 12:9: "And He has said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Paul prayed for his weakness to be removed but was told it was here for his benefit. He was being forced to look at what he thought was a negative stressor in a different light. He needed help to see things differently.
Julie (00:52:27): We tend to focus on what we think is holding us back, not understanding that the experience or limitation may be ultimately used for our highest spiritual welfare. We have to think about it in a different way. And that brings us to step three; relabel our negative stressors as opportunities to give God complete control. Now that Paul is shown a different way, what's his reaction? A paradigm shift. We continue with 2 Corinthians 12:9. He says, "Most gladly, therefore, I would rather boast about my weaknesses, so the power of Christ may dwell in me."
Jonathan (00:53:02): He realized that if he can accomplish all he did with this issue, it shows God's glory to be even more powerful. The negative stressor becomes an opportunity and a catalyst for growth.
Julie (00:53:14): Let me add one more practical tip from Becca. She suggested reframing experiences of high stress and anxiety. Instead of trying to get rid of or push them away, see them as a springboard to bend your heart to God. Times like these are an opportunity to talk to God. And it can be a big change to look at this in a positive light with other experiences we have that we consider positive for our spiritual growth. Keep in mind, most stressful events don't last forever. Big projects at work end. Challenging moments with toddlers are for a season. We just have to practice breathing and talking to God in those seasons.
Rick (00:53:54): But you know, one interesting fact is that is sometimes those stressors don't end. Whatever that thorn in the flesh was, it stayed with the apostle. He had to cope with it and he had to grow through it. And that's a key. And for me, a personal experience along those lines has been Christian Questions. For 25 years, 25 years in June, this coming June, it has been an every week demand, if you will. I say that with the greatest reverence and respect, to be on and be ready and be studied and be prepared. I will tell you unequivocally, there were times where it became a negative stressor. There were times where anxiety was overwhelming. But by God's grace, small step by small step by small step, you learn to take what was negative, and to say it's opportunity, and turn it into something positive. And even though I do still get overwhelmed sometimes, it is one of the greatest positive stressors in my discipleship, in wanting to be part of proclaiming the word of God to whomever will listen. It is a stress that never goes away, thank God, because that's how you learn. Let's go to step four.
Jonathan (00:55:07): Receive and respond. Focusing on godly remedies for negative stressors puts space between us and those stressors and makes room for God's peace to be planted and thrive. This is where acceptance becomes important. Continuing with 2 Corinthians 12:10: "Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong." Paul sees things more comprehensively now. Beyond just his thorn in the flesh problem, he now graciously accepts all weaknesses, insults, persecutions and so on as they are being overruled and permitted for a higher reason.
Rick (00:55:51): Yeah, see there he's got one on me, because he says he can see and accept it all. I still fight. I do, I still struggle, I still get tripped up. I still have that whiny little attitude. But by God's grace it comes and it goes and it comes and it goes. And each time by God's grace, you learn and develop a little bit further. So we've looked at the Apostle Paul dealing with something that he thought was negative that was actually there for his growth and development. Jonathan, what do we have? Sidelining stress with purposeful peace.
Jonathan (00:56:22): For the Apostle Paul, what began as a negative stressor became a defining moment and a purely positive experience.
Julie (00:56:29): The stress was still there, but his use of it would now glorify God.
Jonathan (00:56:33): Let us seek to lay down the stressors in our life before the Lord and find His peace instead.
Rick (00:56:39): Accepting God's will. Accepting is the water that nourishes the growth of God's peace. We emptied ourselves to give place for the seeds to be planted. We surrendered and put fertilizer on those seeds and now as we accept, we water those seeds so they can grow into something significant. Our next stress-relieving principle; this is two words. It's the principle of true rest. True rest. Once we truly accept, we can then truly rest. Being able to rest in the trials and tumult around us is evidence of God's peace having taken root in our hearts. Jonathan, let's look at Matthew 6:33, which happens to be one of my very favorite scriptures.
Jonathan (00:57:30): "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things will be added to you."
Rick (00:57:36): Jesus taught us how to rest in tumult. We're going to go to another practical example from our Lord. Julie, let's go back to step one and that example.
Julie (00:57:49): Again, it was recognize. Recognize the negative stressors in our lives and their debilitating effect on us. We're going to drop in on the event of Jesus calming the sea of Galilee in Mark 4:36-38: "Leaving the crowd, they took him along with them in the boat, just as he was; and other boats were with him. And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. Jesus himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion." Here Jesus felt the movement of the boat but was unfazed by it because he had complete peace in the power of God in his life. Everybody else was panicked but he could completely sleep through the storm. And how often does something stressful keep me up in the middle of the night? If anyone should have been stressing, it should have been him, because he had people plotting against him. Crowds around him were overwhelming, and he knew he had very little time left to teach his disciples before his untimely death.
Rick (00:58:45): And yet he slept soundly. So you've got the negative stressor, a boat that looks ready to be filled with water and sink. That's kind of a negative stressor. What's step two, Jonathan?
Jonathan (00:58:58): Reconsider. Intentionally look at these negative stressors in a different light. Continuing with Mark 4:38: ...and they awoke him and said to him, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" Jesus tells the wind and waves to be quiet and the sea is calm again.
Rick (00:59:14): So "cares now not that we perish," I mean think about that. They're not seeing it in different light. They're saying, we're dying here. We're absolutely dying. Now, Matthew 8:26 adds that Jesus said to them, "Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?" And they're looking around going, what do you mean? Why are we afraid? Do you see the water in the boat? Do you see the waves? Do you feel the wind? Hello...! Are you paying attention? They are overwhelmed. And his reaction is, why are you afraid, you men of little faith? Because he was with them and they didn't understand that at this moment. This brings us to the third step.
Julie (00:59:53): Relabel. Relabel our negative stressors as opportunities to give God complete control. We pick up that story in Mark 4:39: "And he (Jesus) got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, Hush, be still. And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And he said to them, Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?"
Rick (01:00:16): Why are you afraid? He immediately stopped all of the tumult miraculously through the power of God, demonstrating, I'm with you. You don't have to worry. So they didn't relabel the experience. Jesus relabeled it for them. Okay, too much for you? I'll stop it. I want to teach you something. Brings us to the fourth step.
Jonathan (01:00:42): Receive and respond. Focusing on godly remedies for negative stressors puts space between us and those stressors and makes room for God's peace to be planted and thrive. Mark 4:41: "They became very much afraid and said to one another, Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" This was said in wonderment, not in doubt. What they just witnessed was beyond their imagination.
Rick (01:01:10): It would've been beyond anybody's imagination. And you see it, but you see how Jesus took the negative circumstance and by his mere presence and the power of God in him, put it in perspective. That's how we learn to handle our negative stressors. So, Jonathan, one more time here. Sidelining stress with purposeful peace. What do we have?
Jonathan (01:01:32): This experience was truly a remarkable example of just how strong the peace of God can be when it has grown to maturity in our hearts. To rest in trials is to see our experiences through our Father's eyes.
Rick (01:01:47): Resting in God through our stressors is the evidence that God's peace has been planted in our hearts. It is the plant that grows, the tree that grows, because we made room, we emptied, we fertilized, we surrendered, we accepted, we watered. And now we're seeing this in a space of being able to actually rest.
Julie (01:02:12): I've got a great quote from bible.com. "The good news is that peace isn't found in the absence of problems. It's found in the presence of Jesus."
Rick (01:02:22): Which can be in the presence of lots of problems. But if you have the presence of Jesus, you can have the peace of God. So the final principle is one that transcends the power of stress. The final principle, again, it's one word. It's the principle of rejoicing. To rejoice in trial is the fruitage of God's peace, having been planted, nourished, watered, and grown in our hearts. It's the evidence of a single-minded approach to daily life. Negative stressors can't live with that competition. This crushes the negative stressors in our life if we allow this process to happen. Julie, Isaiah 26:3:
Julie (01:03:10): "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee (here's that single-minded focus), because he trusted in Thee." The New Living Translation says, "You'll keep perfect peace, all who trust you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you." So notice our focus is to be on God, not on our problems.
Rick (01:03:27): And Jonathan, one last scripture in terms of this principle of rejoicing, Romans 5:3-5:
Jonathan (01:03:34): "And not only this, but we also exalt in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts, through the holy spirit, which was given to us."
Rick (01:03:55): Negative stressors exist. What am I going to do with them? That's the question. Empty; make room to plant the seeds of God's peace. Surrender; fertilize those seeds. Acceptance; water, those seeds. True rest; allow those seeds to grow into this tree of God's peace. And finally, rejoicing. That's the fruit of God's peace actually living in your hearts. The peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Don't let the negative stressors take over. Instead turn it over to the peace of God. Think about it. Folks, listen, we love hearing from our listeners. We welcome your feedback and questions on this episode, and our other episodes at ChristianQuestions.com. Next week, "Why Did Jesus Ride Into Jerusalem?" Talk to you then.
Final Notes (01:04:53): copyright @2023 Christian Questions. In addition to this transcript, we provide comprehensive CQ Rewind Show Notes for every episode. They include every scripture quoted during the podcast, as well as graphics, illustrations and bonus material. Click the "CQ Rewind Show Notes" button near the audio player or sign up to receive these weekly at ChristianQuestions.com. This transcript was created using artificial intelligence. While we believe it to be accurate, we apologize for any errors that may exist.