Five Ways to Overcome Stress: A Daily DevotionalSample

THE NUMERO UNO STRESS BUSTER

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Stress, or the need to alleviate it, is the number one felt need in our society today.

And everywhere you look, every day, there are lots of things in this world that can cause stress. You might lose your job. You might have conflict in your life. You might get a bad medical diagnosis. 

But the good news is, you never have to deal with your stress alone. 

So, if you’re living with stress, let me share my number one, numero uno, stress buster with you right now: Trust in the Lord your God.

It’s the one solution that decisively deals with the root cause of the stress response.

And you know it will work because you know who God is; you know His character.

First, He loves you beyond measure. In fact, He loves you so much that He wants you with Him for all eternity. 

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life (John 3:16).

Second, nothing escapes Him. He never fails to notice what you’re going through. 

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. But even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows (Luke 12:6-7).

Third, nothing is outside His control. If He created the universe, He has the power to deal with anything and everything that’s going on in your life.

… and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe … God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand … (Ephesians 1:19-20).

Now, put those three facts together and what you have is a compassionate, loving, powerful God who completely understands you and your needs. 

My friend, no matter what you’re going through … no matter what has happened in the past … and no matter what lies ahead … your God is faithful. Putting your trust in Him is the best way – the only way – to truly live free from the grip of stress. 

LIFE APPLICATION QUESTIONS 

QUESTION 1 

What is the number one thing that is causing you stress in your life at the moment? Identify it, think about it, name it. Turn it over in your mind and look at it objectively. 

QUESTION 2

Is your level of stress in proportion to the level of pressure, or are you stressing over things in an unreasonable way?

QUESTION 3 

Is there one small action you can take today – perhaps a particular prayer you can say or Bible verse you can meditate on – to begin handing the source of your stress over to God and trusting in Him more?

QUESTION 4  

Go back and read the Scriptures that we’ve just covered. Pray them over this stressful situation and ask the Holy Spirit to give you God’s peace.

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