I’m going to guess that most of us have never been shipwrecked, whipped, sent over a wall in a basket in an attempt to save our life, or have assassins sent to hunt us down. However, these things happened to Paul and I can only imagine the unbearable pressure and stress that he must have felt during those times.

This doesn’t go to say that we don’t live without stress in our day and age. Stress can come in many forms and sizes. It has a unique way of bending us out of shape, taking our characteristics and twisting them so that we don’t even recognize ourselves, which then makes us more vulnerable to temptation. We find ourselves snapping at loved ones, becoming depressed, and losing our cool when we need it most. In the end, it causes us to lose our focus on Christ and focus only on our problems, which then causes us to lose our sense of gratitude.

When stressed, it’s important to realize that our actions can have adverse effects on our relationships with other people. We should reach out to God for help when under pressure, but how do we do this?

We pray and continue to trust God when things are beyond our control. We believe that God can bring victory to a situation even when we can’t see a way out, and we continue to obey God’s word, and stand strong against the enemy’s flaming arrows.

Dear Lord, remind me that nothing is happening to me today that you do not already know about. Let me trust you to help me handle it, or remove it, or conquer it. Bring a sense of calm and joy to replace any stress building up in me so I can react better to others and be an example of faith to them. Amen.

Go Deeper — Write the word “stress” on a sticky note, index card or piece of paper. Now fold it over and write the word “peace” on one side and “trust” on the other. Let it remind you that peace and trust can cover any stress you feel.



Tags: 1 & 2 Corinthians 2 Corinthians 1
Photo Credit: Ümit Bulut