21-Biblical Anger Management-C Factor-8-Stress

 

            8 –STRES-

 

“Come unto Me, all you that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30.

“Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me.” Psalms 131:1.

                  “Casting all your care upon Him; for He cares for you.” 1Peter 5:7.

 Responsibilities of life, heavy responsibility, carrying burdens, holding on to cares, taking on things that are not meant for us to be involved in, pride, and ignorance to the ways of the Lord, contribute to stress. With these factors stress develops, and under it we often lash out in anger -and at the most unsuspecting and undeserving people.

 

IDENTIFYING SIGNS:

                                - Fretting and worrying/insecurities 

                                        -   Confusion

                                       -   Emotional, and easily angered

     -   Unreasonable outbursts of anger and or rage.

     -  Unable to sleep properly

                                       -  Easily distracted, inattentive to those around, difficulty     

                                           focusing – preoccupied, unconnected

                                       -   No peace, nerves frayed.

                                       -   Certain physical ailments, ie. stomach problems, poor

                                            complexion…

          The pressures of life are often unavoidable, but how we handle them is up to us.

        The Lord is there to help us (“He is an ever present Help in time of need.”), but ignorance, carelessness, and pride can intensify the burden. (“Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me,”).  “A man’s own folly ruins his life, yet his heart rages against the Lord.” Proverbs 19:3.

 

           ARE YOU STRESSED?  NOTE!!!

                                                 No matter what, you cannot make excuses for

                                                 your anger and out of control behaviors. God

                                                  holds you responsible to not hurt anyone.

       ACTION STEP #1- Take it before the Lord, confess your situation and ask Him for                                wisdom and guidance and help. James 1:5

                           #2- EXAMINE AND CONFRONT! God in His Word gives us very clear and simple instructions on how to deal with stress; however, pride, ignorance, learned and undisciplined behavior, mindsets, and even carelessness, can snare us into breaking down under heavy loads. What is worst, others can pay for it too.

      #3- PREDETERMINED              Humble yourself and get ready to learn, be

            MINDSETS:                         wrong, make changes, share the load…

         ACTION STEP#4 – Do what God’s Word says to do for your particular situation.

                             e.g.- “Cast all your care on Him, for He Cares for you.”

                              -  Take your labors and heavy burdens to Jesus and receive

                                  His rest

                              - Take His yoke upon you and learn of Him. This means that

                                 He may show you how you should do things a little

                                 differently.

                              - “Take no thought/do not worry about what you will eat…”

                                Rather seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteous-

                                ness…” Matthew 6:31-34.

                             -“Be careful (anxious, fret) for nothing; but in everything by

                                 prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your

                                 requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God,

                                which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and

                                 minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7.

REMEMBER – “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” Isaiah 26:3.    - Allow only good things to occupy your thinking. Phil. 4:8-9

         NOTE - These are not merely religious jargon, these are God’s instruction to us, and they work perfectly when we apply them appropriately by faith.

 

                                   STOP-CONSIDER-DECIDE-DO SO—START NOW!

           NOTE- Again the steps are simple and the solutions are seem too easy, but the application will take wholehearted agreement leading to relentless diligence. Constant reading and studying and applying God’s Word will be priceless in helping you keep His perspective in your life.

             Helpful Hints: a. Maybe you need to learn some management skills.

                                           “Go to the ant, you sluggard, consider her ways, and be wise. Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler provides her meat in summer, and gathers her food in harvest.” Proverbs 6:6-8.

                                 b.  Perhaps pride or ignorance has hindered you from sharing

                                responsibilities. Exodus 18:13-26

                                       c. Need to ask God for more wisdom. James 1:5-7

                                           Good judgment will help you better prioritize,

                                           organize, plan ahead, and disregard!

                                  d. Re-evaluate your values and priorities. Have you placed an exaggerated

                                      value on something, or misplaced its true importance?

                                     What does God’s Word say about it?

                         (Even for work related or finances, we do our best and leave the results to God. Are

                           you doing your best?) 

                            e.   What are your expectations of yourself, others, things? Are they reasonable  

                                   and justifiable before God? There are instances where things are out of our

                                   control. All we can do is our best, and then by faith leave the results to God.

                                       f. Recognize the snare of PERFORMANCE AND COMPETITION and do  

                                          yourself and everyone else a favor and deliver yourself from them.

                                            1 – You have only one duty = fulfill your responsibility and do your best.

                                                     Are you in a competition?

2        - Recognize, acknowledge, and accept your limitations, weaknesses, failures, and commit them to the grace and mercy of the Lord, Hebrews 4:16 and then

take a break! Do you take Sabbath rests, time off?

              

         Point - At all times, and in the fear of God Almighty, we must constantly evaluate our lives, and in Him maintain control of our attitudes, behaviors, ways, thinking, values. That is important as His steward or manager. We will find that when we are diligent in these our lives will be less disorderly, better controlled, and better prepared to help others. “Take heed to yourself and to your doctrine, continue in them. For in doing this, you will both save yourself and them that hear you.”1 Timothy 4:16.

a  Sometimes good practical advice from a trusted source is the counsel of God for you. Exodus 18. Moses’ pride could have been put to the test here, but listened to the advice of his father-in-law.

b Simple faith – trusting God is the biggest stress reliever that exists when dealing with things that are out of our control, And next to that, using simple practical judgment and rational thinking..

                                               3-“Take no thought...” This is an absolutely indispensable

                                                    instruction from the Lord Jesus Christ for relieving stress.

                                                    God knows that we have these basic needs and promises to

                                                    take care of them. In return, He wants to direct the focus of

                                                    our cares and concerns off of ourselves and our  needs and

                                                    place them on His Kingdom and Righteousness. Then leave

                                                    the cares of tomorrow for tomorrow -He will be there again

                                                    faithfully. Matthew 6:25-34

                                STOP- CONSIDER - DECIDE -START- RENEW DAILY

                                        4-   Redirect your treasures – When our treasures are on the things of life,

                                               welcome to troubles, worries, and stress. Our priorities are out of

                                               God’s order. Matthew 6:19-21  We don’t need to add to life’s hardships.                

                                                       

                                   STOP - CONSIDER - DECIDE - ACT

                                            5- Who is your master? -The fruit of our lives

                                                 will indicate who our master truly is. In our minds

                                                 we may think it is the Lord Jesus, but He is meek

                                                 and lowly of heart and His yoke is easy and His

                                                 burden is light (Matthew 11:29-30). Yet we may

                                                 find ourselves stressed, overworked, worried, fretful,

                                                 resentful, angry, fatigued, ... not likely Jesus Christ 

                                                 is being your Master in this area. Check these out:

      A.  What is truly most important to you? What do you spend most of your

                                                time doing?

                                                What do you spend most of your free money on?

                                                What are your favorite past times?

                                                What dominates thoughts, especially in you quiet times?

                                                What goal(s) or pursuits consume your time,

                                                energy and finances?

                                                What do you like to talk about the most? “Out of

                                                the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”

                                                Matthew 13:34. You may be shocked to discover

                                                what is really your driving force.

                           STOP - EXAMINE - DECIDE - ACT ACCORDINGLY

      B. Expose Presumption and Assumption - Believing more is required of

                                               you than actually is.

                                              - Assuming more of yourself than you are able.

                                              - Misunderstanding....(Exodus 18:13-26) our actual responsibilities.

                                              It can be amazing how much relief comes when

                                              the facts are really clear!

 

       C. Taking Sabbath rests - God Himself took a rest and gave us a Sabbath

                                                  rest to refresh even our animals. He also provided

                                                 feasts, and especially the Feast of Tabernacles

                                                 lasted 7 days, live out of home, celebrate, and

                                                 they were to REJOICE. Leviticus 24  

                                                 Take breaks and enjoy the life God has given

                                                 you, the people, and most of all enjoy HIM!

 

           “Cast all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you.” 1Peter 5:7.

                                       COME ON, YOU CAN DO IT.