Living Free in Him: Stressed-Less Living

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Phil 4:6

“Be anxious for nothing”

What if we really could be anxious about nothing? What if worry was a weapon of the past devoid of power to defeat us?

We live in a high stress society. Pressure is all around us to do more, be more, achieve more. Activities constantly call to us begging our attention. It is easy to become engulfed in the world’s enticements that yearn for our engagement. None of these activities may be bad, they may even be good. We just need to be on guard that we control our calendar rather than it dictate our destinations to us.

Stress is defined by Merriam-Webster as a “constraining force or influence”.

Wow! Stress constrains. Stress and worry hold us in bondage and hinder our level of influence.

When we allow too much on our already overloaded plates, we are in real danger of our schedule constraining us.

Stress, anxiety, and worry all constrain our ability to be effective for God’s kingdom. It is hard to show the love of Christ when we are focused on the busyness or concerns of our lives.

“Now the ones [people] that fell among the thorns are those who, when they have heard[the Word], go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.” Luke 8:14 (parentheses added)

Stress, whether it is due to cares of this world or overindulgence of activities (pleasure), constrains and chokes us of our fruit.

It is time to put stress in its place, which is under our feet in Jesus’ name! He came so we could have life and have it more abundantly. It is time to turn the tables and constrain stress. It is time to pray and let the peace of God guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Are you ready for “Stressed-Less Living”? I know I am!

Proverbs 31 Ministries Online Bible Studies (OBS) with Melissa Taylor is beginning a new study, “Stressed-Less Living” by Tracie Miles (www.stressedlessliving.com). The study begins April 7^th. I actually met the author, Tracie, during the She Speaks Conference last year. My friend, Becky Crenshaw, and I had the privilege of eating dinner with her, and I have to say she seemed very not-stressed!

You can go to www.melissataylor.org to register. I am a small group leader on facebook with Proverbs 31 OBS . If you are interested in joining my small group, you can leave me a comment below or contact me on facebook on my page “Living Free in Him”. Last time there was a waiting list to join the facebook small groups, so let me know soon if you are interested!

If you are new to online Bible study, it is wonderful! It is a great option for women who find it hard to get out of the house for Bible study. You can do it in your pajamas at your convenience! How awesome it that?!

I hope you will join Melissa Taylor and all of us on the Proverbs 31 OBS team as we learn to live “Stressed-Less”!