Stress, worry, fear, etc & the Christian

God's ways of dealing with stress, fear, worry, anxiety and depression that I talked about in this study are exactly what has enabled me to not just "get through" the last year and a half, but has enabled me to go through it without anxiety and with great joy! Most of you know that my husband, Bruce, has been laid off for 16 months now and was about to lose his unemployment benefits in a couple of weeks. He heard about a possible job opening yesterday afternoon and went there this morning to apply for the job. He just called me and he got it!!! It's "local", just in the next town up from us so it will only take him about 20 mins to get to work each day. He's going to be working on a horse farm which is owned by an old friend of his! This is really great because the work won't be as hard on his back as the construction was. He's really getting too old for construction work anyway. But he loves working outdoors so this will be perfect for him! (but then God always gives us perfect gifts!)

James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

But that's only half of the praise report! The other half is that the Lord carried both of us through these last 16 months, keeping us calm and keeping us from being stressed out about it. We've always lived from pay check to pay check so we had no savings to rely on. But the Lord covered our bills every single month somehow so that even now the only bills that we are behind on are hospital bills. (and that's my fault, not the Lord's... I could have gotten them on a payment plan but simply didn't bother. I did that with the ones from the doctors, but the hospitals billing dept for the lab, xrays, etc was just so obnoxious that I decided they'd be the last thing I'd pay) The Lord always even made sure we had money to get our 9 grandchildren birthday and Christmas gifts! He even provided for us to loan our children money occasionally when they needed it!

I know that this would be wonderful for anyone, but because in the past financial security was very important to me, the fact that the Lord got us through these last 16 months this way, depending solely on Him for our finances, was a real miracle! He has taught me so much and this has been like a "final exam" for me to see if I would truly trust Him. There is NO way that I could have handled this before I was saved. There was no way I could have handled this even two years ago. If the Lord hadn't made sure that I had grown enough in Him to face this, I would have fallen flat on my face and probably been in a psych ward within the first 6 months easily and it probably would have been the end of our marriage.

In the past I would have been anxious, worried, tense, scared to death, angry, and full of fear, but the Lord helped me keep my mind focused on Him so that instead I felt calm about it. I did have some moments when I'd go to Him and tell Him that I just didn't see how we could possibly keep on going; or tell Him that I really couldn't handle much more, and each time I did, He would comfort and encourage me and most important, He would strengthen me.

Because of Him, and only because of Him, I was able to stand firm in faith these last 16 months and I'm so very grateful to Him! I can say from personal experience that these verses are indeed true and that God's way of dealing with worry, fear, anxiety, stress and depression really work!

If we will be obedient to Him and simply take that first step each day and study His Word and apply it to our lives, then He is always faithful and merciful to help us, encourage us and strengthen us so that we can have the kind of victorious life He wants for us to have. No, I don't mean that we won't have trials...but instead, we will be not just happy, but full of joy in spite of those trials! Satan loses big time when we are obedient to God and when we're obedient, we then experience the abundant life that Christ died to give us!

Romans 14:4 .... And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

Isaiah 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.

Philippians 4:6-9 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Philippians 4:12-13 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Philippians 4:19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

1 Peter 1:3-7 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.


To read this study from the beginning click here: Stress,worry,fear etc & the Christian