Dealing with Stress Biblically

Everyone deals with stress at some point, and Christians are not immune to the pressures and pitfalls of life. Stress tends to hit us when we're overtired, when we're sick, and when we're outside of our safe and familiar environment. When we've taken on too many responsibilities, during times of grief and tragedy, when our circumstances spin out of control, we feel stressed. And when our basic needs are not being met, we feel threatened and anxious. Most Christians share the belief that God is sovereign and in control of our lives. We believe he has given us everything we need for living. So, when stress dominates our lives, somewhere along the way we have lost our ability to trust in God. That's not meant to imply that a stress-free existence in Christ is easy to obtain. Far from it. The dictionary defines stress as "physical, mental, or emotional strain or tension." Some stress is necessary and even good—such as the physical strain we put on our muscles in order to make them stronger. But when we talk about "stress," we are usually referring to excessive or negative mental or emotional strain or tension. While "stress" is not specifically mentioned in the Bible, Scripture does speak to things such as anxiety, worry, and trouble—things we often associate with stress—and gives us clear answers on how we should deal with them. Everyone suffers from stress at one time or another. How we naturally deal with it depends in large part on who we are. For some, emotional stress causes physical illness. Others might become hyper-productive. On the other hand, some people under stress shut down mentally and emotionally. And, of course, there are a variety of other responses. Stress is a common human experience, particularly in a world where the demands for our time and attention seem to be unending. Our jobs, health, family, friends, and even ministry activities can overwhelm us. The ultimate solution to stress is to surrender our lives to God and seek His wisdom regarding priorities as well as His enabling to do the things to which He calls us. He always gives enough, so we need not be defeated by stress.