In Times Of Stress

Depend on the Lord in whatever you do,
    and your plans will succeed.

Proverbs 16:3 

 

Today I am talking to myself and letting you listen in.  Over the last several weeks, there have been quite a number of stressful challenges.  Most of which I did not handle as well as I should have.  Why? Because I tried to make MY plan work.....and when it failed, I was even more stressed.

 

I know we were promised that there will be trials, troubles, tribulations, and any other negative "T" word, in our lives.  I could accept that, but when they seem to drop on me all at once.....

 

But I was reminded that I teach a class on Law Enforcement Stress and I was not using the same tools I teach on how to handle stress, so the smack to the face was quite a wake-up call.

Here are some of the things that have helped me in the past, and will continue to help when I remember not to rely on me:

 

     1.  Face facts.  If I walk around with a smile on my face and my heart is racing because I am stressed, I'm lying to everyone!  The first step to any resolution is admitting and identifying the problem.  So the problem I was having was ME.

 

    2.  Write it out.  Writing things down helps your mind process and begin to put the situation in order.  When your mind is able to begin to put things in order, the strain of the situation will lessen.

 

    3. Talk it out. If you see me talking to myself in the car, I'm having a conversation with God about what's on my mind and heart.  If you see me with my head down walking quickly, I am on my way to the car to talk with God about what's on my mind and heart.  Why talk to God?  Because He understands how I feel, what I think, and already has worked out a resolution to the issue.  

 

     4.  Talk with your loved ones.  When we are enduring stress, our human response tends to be to isolate ourselves and push others away.  But when we talk with loved ones about what's going on with us, we have a support system that God has given us to help us.

 

The key to all of this is that I understand I cannot (and should not, given the results of many of my plans) try to handle stressful situations by myself.  God has given us so much and has so much He wants to give us when we depend on Him!

Got Troubles?

People who do what is right may have many problems,
    but the Lord will solve them all.

Psalm 34:19 

 

May want to sit down for this one because it's going to be relatively short.  I know, I can hear you saying "Short?  YOU?"  Laugh all you will, but I promise today's devotional will be relatively short.

One of the things we, as human beings, are very good at is finding problems.  It's like we have this innate drive to find the wrong way to do things right the first time.  I remember trying to put a computer desk together and instead of actually following the instructions, I just looked at the picture and a lot of duct tape.  

Being open and honest about mistakes doesn't make us look foolish (for long) because they help others know we're not perfect and hopefully learn how not to do something.  I've banged my face trying to push my way through a "pull" door.  When we stop to look back at our lives, many of us are astounded that we're still here.  But remember the Promise Jesus gave us in Matthew 28:20: "...I will be with you always, even until the end of this age."

We are going to have problems in this life!  That's a fact.  But God already has the answer for them and it's usually not what we expect or through whom we expect.