Naked And UnafraidSample

Day 7: Being Your Best In The Stress

There is no such thing as a stress-free life. Read that again.

So often, you see reminders and warnings about the harmful effects of stress, scaring you into believing that the only option is to work to eliminate stress completely. The sooner we come to terms with the fact that stress is inevitable, the sooner we can release ourselves from the pressure to chase a life without it. A life worth living is always going to bring hard decisions, painful turning points, learning moments, and hard-fought lessons. 

John 16:33 says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Jesus is telling us that trouble is unavoidable, but He gives us His peace to accompany us to the places He sends us.

God is in the quiet parts of your day, and it’s good to go there to recharge with Him. But, God is also in the turbulence. He’s in the noisy, loud, pressure-filled places that He has assigned to us. Good things happen in places of pressure. Pressure is where giants fall, and battles are won. Pressure is where diamonds are formed, and where babies are born. 

The truth is, the presence of problems doesn’t mean the absence of God. If you are facing a problem right now in your life, big or small, be encouraged and know that God is with you right in the middle of that problem. 

All progress has opposition, and all advancement has adversity. Everything that’s worth obtaining has a price. When you feel the pressure mounting, it’s not the time to retreat. God was with Daniel in Babylon and closed the mouths of lions. God was in Macedonia with Paul and Silas and opened the doors of their jail cell. God puts us in places that are stressful to achieve the work He wants to do in that place.

Stress is not the enemy! The enemy is the smallness we feel in those stressful places. Embracing stress (instead of retreating from it) can turn those high-pressure situations into positive experiences. You can use stress to your advantage. Stress isn’t the bad guy, when we embrace it we can actually convert it into usable, helpful energy.

How do you process stress? Do you retreat, or do you embrace the place of stress and use it to propel you forward in your life?