Stress & Anxiety

Stress seems to be my best friend these days. I am finishing up nursing school in a few weeks, and have a lot of stress sitting on my plate. I am sure that stress seems to be a lot of people's best friend these days. The economy isn't doing well right now, people are without jobs and work, there is a virus running ramped throughout the world, and there is the uncertainty of when it will be over. Just the sound of that sounds stressful to me. Can I get an amen? I recently had someone ask me about stress and anxiety in the bible. You see stress and anxiety is something that affects everyone. There isn't a single person who can say that they have never been stressed before and if they can, please come to talk to me and tell me your ways. I have a lot of close friends and family who deal with anxiety on a day to day basis. It's something that keeps them from leaving their homes. It's something that leads them to depression, which then can lead to even darker places mentally. Stress and anxiety are apart of the sinful world we live in, and unfortunately, they won't go away. But here's the good news: God has an answer for it. Psalms 94:19 says this, "In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul". First, let's define "anxieties". Webster's dictionary has a couple of different definitions of anxiety, but there are two that I want to mention. The first definition is "a strong desire sometimes mixed with doubt, fear, or uneasiness". The second one is "an abnormal or overwhelming sense of apprehension and fears often marked by physical signs, by doubt concerning the reality and nature of the threat, and by self-doubt about one's capacity to cope with it". Did you see a common word between both definitions? Fear. Fear is defined by Webster's dictionary as, "an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness to danger". Now that we have defined the words we are discussing, let's get right to it. You see fear does not come from God. It comes from the Devil. God makes it a point to tell us in the bible that the spirit of fear does not come from him and that the power of self-control and love comes from him (1 Timothy 1:7). When you are starting to become anxious or fearful about the future, those emotions and thoughts you begin to experience are just Satan trying to get into your head. Satan's goal is to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10), meaning he wants to take your happiness, he wants to kill off the good things in your life, and he wants to destroy your relationship with God. The verse I mentioned up above in Psalms 94:19 says at the end "your comforts delight my soul". What does that mean? It means this, Psalms 46:1-2, "God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble..". I've said this many times in my previous blogs, but it's so important to reiterate. When you're stressed, anxious, or fearful about something going on in your life, you do not have to do it alone. Pray to God and talk to him about it. He is listening and he wants you to share with him your troubles. That verse states he is PRESENT in our troubles. He is with you, standing beside you, ready to take them on with you. He is the only comfort we have when we are going through periods of stress or anxiety. He does not promote fear, he promotes love and self-control. I encourage you from now on when you're going through a period of stress and anxiety to stop at that moment and give it all to God. He's listening to your prayers and he doesn't want you to feel those emotions. That doesn't mean if you have God in your life, your life will be free from stress and anxiety. It won't be. The Devil never stops tempting us to stray from God and live a sinful life. What it does mean is that when you are feeling stress and anxiety, you have someone to turn to who will love you and comfort you through it. I pray for all those out there who are experiencing these emotions and are fearful of what is to come. I pray God provides you all with comfort. I pray you to allow Him to comfort you. I hope you find encouragement in this. God Bless.