Christian Resources for Coping with Stress

Stress is a significant dimension of the human condition.  Stress can be unrelenting.  To one degree or another, it affects us all.  Stress affects young and old, rich and poor, strong and weak.  Stress does not discriminate based upon race, religion, occupation, or intellect. 

What is stress?  For our purposes, stress is mental and/or emotional strain and tension created by fear and anxiety.  

            In moderation, stress can actually be good for us.  A little stress can motivate us to do our best or to get started on a difficult project.  When I was a teacher, I sometimes had students who confessed that they couldn’t seem to get started writing their papers until the deadline began to loom over their heads.  The deadline created stress, which motivated them and helped them focus on the writing assignment. Creating stress within a novel or film usually makes for a more compelling story.  So, in moderation, a little stress can be good.

            However, when stress rages out of control; when stress grows and grows until it becomes this monster in our lives, then stress becomes evil.  Unmanaged stress creates chaos and panic.  Left unattended, stress can become detrimental to mental and physical health.  Persons can develop physical illnesses due to out of control stress.  When individuals are under excessive stress, personal relationships can even begin to deteriorate. 

            We know from the work of psychologists and other researchers that our success in coping with stress depends in large part on our attitudes and the resources which we have for coping.  Obviously, each of us must learn to manage our stress if we are to flourish as human persons.  Are there special Christian resources for coping with stress?

            This weekend, I want to explore Christian resources for coping with stress.  There are several important scriptural passages about coping with stress, but, for this weekend, I would like to focus on Philippians 4: 4-7: 

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, 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 understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

There are five points that I would like to emphasize from this pithy little passage of scripture.

1.      One of the core characteristics of living a life of faith should be joy and peace.  God does not intend for us to become so stressed-out that we are no longer flourishing and finding joy in life.

2.      An important characteristic of faithful discipleship is living a life of “gentleness.”  Of course, Paul wrote his letter to the Philippines in Greek—not English.  The Greek word that he uses is epieikes. Although it is usually translated into English as “gentleness,” Biblical scholars note that this word carries a very broad scope.  It includes a generosity towards others, such that we might also translate it as “magnanimous,” including not only generosity but also being free from vindictiveness or resentfulness.  In other words, the life of faithful discipleship involves being generous and up-lifting in all of our relationships with others. 

3.      God is near.  God is with us when we open our hearts and lives and invite God to be an integral part of us.  God wants to travel with us through the Holy Spirit, as we make this journey of life.  God intends for us to open our lives to God’s presence and love.

4.      If God is with us, then we do not need to worry.  As Paul says in his letter to the Romans, “If God is for us, then who is against us?” (Romans 8: 31b)  Thus, when we encounter stressful situations or times in our lives, then we need to turn our worry and anxiety over to God by prayer and supplication, but also with thanksgiving because God is with us. 

5.      When we turn our worries and anxieties over to God and trust that God will travel with us, then we will experience a genuine, long-lasting peace from God that passes all understanding.

Thus, the fundamental Christian resource for coping with stress is basically turning all of our worry and anxiety over to God and trusting that God will show us a way to work through the situation. 

This is harder than it sounds.  From early childhood through to maturity, our culture encourages us to take control of our lives and fix our own problems.  We depend upon ourselves alone to solve our problems and to give us peace from all the stresses of contemporary life.  It is hard to let go and trust God.  To really let go and trust God requires a deep and profound faith.

At first blush, it may appear as though there are hardly any Christian resources for coping with stress.  And, it is true that there are many Christians who have difficulty managing stress.  Yet, on the other hand, there are many other Christians who manage lives that could be extremely stressful. 

The key is to see that we must constantly work to grow in our faith so that, when we encounter times of great stress, our faith is strong and capable of sustaining us in these difficult or anxious periods.  That is, we build our faith so that it provides a strong resource for managing stress in these critical moments.  John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, believed that we build our faith and grow closer to God in two different ways.  The first approach was through helping and caring for others; or, as the Apostle Paul writes to the Philippians, when we practice “gentleness,” understood broadly as generously caring for others and building them up.  Wesley’s second approach was through worship, study, and prayer.   

Christian faith actually offers strong and significant resources for coping with stress.  But, in order to access these resources, we must work at growing closer to God spiritually.  Come, join us this Sunday, June 8th, as we explore Christian resources for coping with our stress.  Our church is located at the corner of Main and Dawson Streets in Meriden, Kansas.  Our classic worship service starts on at 10 am on Sunday mornings.  Everyone is welcome and accepted because God loves us all.