From Distressed to De- Stressed

“I called on the LORD in distress; The LORD answered me and set me in a broad place.” Psalms 118:5

Stress is one of the issues that every human being faces at some point in their life. From a baby going to get its first vaccine to an old person waiting to be put in an old age home. All people young, old, rich and poor go through it. The poor go through stress not knowing how to meet the needs. The rich go through stress thinking about what will happen to all the money they have. Will a thief take it? Will the government take it? So everyone irrespective of who we are will go through stress.

I think it is wise to learn how to handle stress as it is very much inevitable. So let’s turn to the book of all books -that brings wholesome wisdom and shows the right way to solve all our problems. The Bible has real life situations and how people from all walks of life handled it. It has the good, bad, ugly. I am so glad God chose to allow His servants to write all that is in it.

I want to show you the lives of two people who had tremendous stress and how each one reacted to it:

The first person who went through unbelievable amounts of stress is our precious Lord Jesus in Matthew 36:38

“He said to them, “My heart is full of sorrow, to the point of death. Stay here and watch with me.””

Here is a person who knew exactly this day was going to happen and the out come of the problem. He knew everything, but when the time came. He was totally stressed out to the point that His sweat started coming out as drops of blood. It is the peak of stress any one could go through. He could have had such a high blood pressure that his body started reacting. All through His life He was quite busy but, when the time came and He was by Himself, He was distressed… in every sense of the word.

The God of the Bible can be trusted and loved because He did not just create me and abandon me. He went through every emotion a human being can ever experience– Love, pain, hate, friendship, life, hunger, death, relationships, family, betrayal, expectations, disappointments, loss– Every single thing we can ever go through. So I have confidence that He knows what I feel and he understands how I feel.

“For our high priest is able to understand our weaknesses. He was tempted in every way that we are, but he did not sin. Let us, then, feel very sure that we can come before God’s throne where there is grace. There we can receive mercy and grace to help us when we need it.”

Often time when we are stressed we react. We react in all the wrong ways. We shout, get angry with others and with our selves. So in our times of stress, let’s learn how to handle it.

No matter how much knowledge we have of the outcome. We will still be stressed when we have no way forward. At such times the only way we have to look is upward towards our Father in heaven who created us. Who can perfect that which concerns us.

What did Jesus do?

He prayed to the Father. It was a small, frantic, repetitive cry for help.

He told His friends what was happening in His heart and asked them to pray.

Here is another man who also ended up stressed but handled it so wrong. It is Judas the betrayer.

The betrayer and the betrayed were both stressed. But both handled it differently.

In Matthew 27:3-5 we read, “Judas, the one who had given Jesus to his enemies, saw that they had decided to kill Jesus. Then he was very sorry for what he had done. So he took the thirty silver coins back to the priests and the leaders, saying, “I sinned; I handed over to you an innocent man.” The leaders answered, “What is that to us? That’s your problem, not ours.” So Judas threw the money into the Temple. Then he went off and hanged himself.”

His own heart condemned him. Nobody accused Judas. He knew he was so wrong. He did not think about the consequence of his sin. He did not think about how his decision would affect the lives of those who loved him, his friends. Like every other time he took some money out of the money bag, he thought this time also it will be just about some money. Money was always his problem. He was weak in the area of money. He had not dealt with this sin when it was still small. Now it had become a mammoth so big, that it led to the death of the Messiah. He had not confessed his sin and talked to others about the problem and dealt with the root of the issue earlier. Now it was too much to handle. He never realized that this sin was slowly taking control of his life. He thought if he threw the money back to the people the pain in his heart would be over but no, it did not go. Now it was too late. He was distressed. No way to go.

What did Judas do?

He spoke to the wrong people

He tried to handle the consequences with his own strength

He separated himself from Godly friends.

You see two people in stressful situations. One in a stressful situation because of himself and the other was not at fault but still had to face the same stress.

Some things to keep in mind while being stressed. With no way forward. No hope for tomorrow. No way to retrace your steps. No way to undo what has been done.

1. God is greater than our hearts:

I John 3:20 says “This is the way we know that we belong to the way of truth. When our hearts make us feel guilty, we can still have peace before God. God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.”

Yes, we all make mistakes. We are all guilty. We cannot keep everything going well. We mess up big time. No matter how much we try we fall into the same sin. We feel so bad. Our hearts make us guilty and tells us to give up, to end life, to give others peace that at least they deserve, but we should remember God is greater than our hearts. So what God says matters more than what others or our own heart says. There is nothing He cannot forgive. He is our Father. If we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. Don’t listen to your heart. But tell your heart to beat again because God is greater than your heart. He is greater than the world. He is greater than anything that you are facing. He is greater than what tomorrow holds.

2. Remember with God all things are possible. Matthew 19:25

At times when we are stressed we should never forget with God all things are possible. Jesus remembered it when He prayed in the garden of gethsemane; Mark 14:36 says, ““Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” Mark

Only God can change the outcome. He can do anything so trust him to help you.

To be with a God who can do all things is a privilege. To be with someone who has been there is assuring. He did not have to go through all that He went through, He is God. But, He did it for you. To understand you, to help you when you need His help.

The psalmist says in Psalms 18:29 that “With your help I can attack an army. With God’s help I can jump over a wall.” Psalms

An army is a group of people holding deadly weapons to destroy us. People can be waiting to accuse us. Loan sharks may be wanting to destroy us. Like A wall a situation that cannot be crossed may be before us. A failure in exams, a broken relationship, a hurtful word, barrenness, a problem or a block that stops our progress. But with God’s help we can crossover any stressful situations.

Being with God means to read the word. Talk to him, hear anointed sermons, go to the church, pray with prayer partners, worship, fast, help the poor etc., when we do that we can be sure that we can be de-stressed.

3. Remember God is near

“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted, and he saves those whose spirits have been crushed.”

The people who are distressed can be sure of one thing that God is near and not far. He is just a prayer away. A call away. He needs to u hear you say. You need help. So when in distress we are not suppose to imagine the outcomes or let our heart decide for us. We should just ask God to help. To come into the situation and ease it. Ask God to strengthen your heart. Wait for God as it is written in Psalms 27:14, “Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.”

4. Finally Remember to seek Godly counsel

There are times in distress when we have to make certain decisions. So at those times the Bible says in Proverbs 20:18 that, “Get advice if you want your plans to work. If you go to war, get the advice of others.”

Distressful times are a time when the mind is at war. There are so many feelings bombarding our mind. We wage a war of rage and anxiety. So in those moments, it’s better to seek counsel and get the advice of others. It is better not to isolate ourselves because our mind can play games and make us feel hopeless. Jesus shared His heart with His friends and asked them to pray but Judas went away from all Godly counsel. Paul the apostle always wanted others to pray for him whenever he was in distress. Likewise, let us find Godly people who will hear us out and guide us in the right way.

Finally, The Bible tells us about the last words of King David. “And the king took an oath and said, “As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life from every distress,” I Kings

Isn’t that a great testimony about the Lord to whom we have entrusted our lives with. He is trust worthy. He will surely deliver us from every distress every time we call on him to help us. He is good God, a faithful Father, a very present help in times of need.

So once again, no matter what you are going through. Whatever be the stressful situation of your life, ask God to help you and rescue you and set your feet on a spacious space, de-stressed once again to continue on your journey in life. Yes, distressful situations can come but every time God will rescue us and help us cross over.

In the book of Revelation, we read in chapter 7:13,14, “Then one of the elders asked me, “Who are these people dressed in white robes? Where did they come from?” I answered, “You know, sir.” And the elder said to me, “These are the people who have come out of the great distress. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Because of this, they are before the throne of God. They worship him day and night in his temple. And the One who sits on the throne will be present with them.”

Heaven will be with people who have gone through great distress but have chosen not to give up but, wash their robes in the blood of the lamb. They have held on to God and now they will see the one whom they have trusted and worshipped all their life. Christian life is not stress free but we have a God who understands and a God who helps us come out of the stress each and every time till the very end of our life. Amen

Happy De-stressing…

God bless you

Jemimah Amirtharaj