One year past, another underway. What can possibly be to come?
Even the years that we think we have all figured out can take an unexpected twist. My friend Anna has a quote hanging on her fridge that says "We plan, God laughs." And sometimes that's exactly what happens.
How do you react to those changes?
It is a natural phenomenon to have difficulty accepting change, even if it's good change.
Hans Selye defined stress as "the non-specific response of the body to any demand for change." (stress.org)
New Year's Resolutions can be pretty demanding, can't they?
For many, the demands simply become too much. The New Year's Resolution of 2006 has become the New Year's Resolution of . . .
well. . . every year since 2006. You just can't seem to get past it, the urge to give up, to relieve that terrible pressure called stress. I've been there. I'm still there.
For anyone who has ever been in this place, let me encourage you with this thought.
Romans 8:28 says
"And we know that God works all things together for good to them that love God; to them who are the called according to his purpose."
Your stress can be an instrument in the hands of God.
Stress is not inherently a bad thing. Stress is caused by change. Not just bad change . . . If we ask God to use our stress in a positive way, we can be assured that He will. I used to ask God to take away my stress like it was bugs crawling under my skin, like it was solely responsible for robbing my joy. I must have been forgetting, that I was ultimately the one responsible for my own joy. But one day, I asked God to take my stress and use it - to turn it into something good. I wanted Him to take that energy and recycle it into something positive.
I am NOT trying to say that you should be stressed out all the time, or be trying to live like a martyr when you should be seeking professional help.
What I am saying is that we need to recognize that there is good stress and bad stress in our lives, and that God can use it. He is after all, the great Redeemer. You do not need to feel guilty for harboring stress or continue to bear the burden of your stress alone.
He can use your stress.
He can use you.
What about you?
Have you seen God redeem your stress in a powerful way?
Do you think that stress is always a bad thing?
Feel free to comment below . . .
Thanks for reading,
Keep living joyfully.
Melody Maynard
Even the years that we think we have all figured out can take an unexpected twist. My friend Anna has a quote hanging on her fridge that says "We plan, God laughs." And sometimes that's exactly what happens.
How do you react to those changes?
It is a natural phenomenon to have difficulty accepting change, even if it's good change.
Hans Selye defined stress as "the non-specific response of the body to any demand for change." (stress.org)
New Year's Resolutions can be pretty demanding, can't they?
For many, the demands simply become too much. The New Year's Resolution of 2006 has become the New Year's Resolution of . . .
well. . . every year since 2006. You just can't seem to get past it, the urge to give up, to relieve that terrible pressure called stress. I've been there. I'm still there.
For anyone who has ever been in this place, let me encourage you with this thought.
Romans 8:28 says
"And we know that God works all things together for good to them that love God; to them who are the called according to his purpose."
Your stress can be an instrument in the hands of God.
Stress is not inherently a bad thing. Stress is caused by change. Not just bad change . . . If we ask God to use our stress in a positive way, we can be assured that He will. I used to ask God to take away my stress like it was bugs crawling under my skin, like it was solely responsible for robbing my joy. I must have been forgetting, that I was ultimately the one responsible for my own joy. But one day, I asked God to take my stress and use it - to turn it into something good. I wanted Him to take that energy and recycle it into something positive.
I am NOT trying to say that you should be stressed out all the time, or be trying to live like a martyr when you should be seeking professional help.
What I am saying is that we need to recognize that there is good stress and bad stress in our lives, and that God can use it. He is after all, the great Redeemer. You do not need to feel guilty for harboring stress or continue to bear the burden of your stress alone.
He can use your stress.
He can use you.
What about you?
Have you seen God redeem your stress in a powerful way?
Do you think that stress is always a bad thing?
Feel free to comment below . . .
Thanks for reading,
Keep living joyfully.
Melody Maynard