“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 7th. 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”!
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