ÿþ<html> <head> <style type="text/css"> < a:link { color: #ff0000; text-decoration: none } a:visited { color: #ff0000; text-decoration: none } a:active { text-decoration: none } a:hover { color: #ffffff; text-decoration: none } > </style> </head> <body bgcolor=white text=black link=ff0000 vlink=ff0000 style="font-family: Times New Roman,Arial; font-size: 12pt" topmargin="0" leftmargin="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0"> <center> </tr> </table> <br> </center> <P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT FACE="Symbol">ã</FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="-2"> </FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">2001.John Creamer.All Rights Reserved.</FONT></P> <b>Stressed-out?<b/><br><br> According to Webster s, stress is  & a factor that induces bodily or mental tension and may be a factor in causing disease&  . The recent editions entered a new term, stressed-out, defined as  & suffering from high levels of physical or especially psychological stress&  . In my life, a close relative of stress is anxiety, defined as  & a painful or fearful uneasiness of mind over an impending or anticipated event; a strong concern or desire mixed with doubt and fear . Certainly, there is much I don t know about stress and anxiety, but there are some things I do know from personal experience. For example, it doesn t take a catastrophe for either one to germinate in my mind; I ve become fairly proficient at blowing little things out of proportion in order to maintain an ample inventory of stress and anxiety. In fact, I typically have enough in stock to adequately supply everyone in my family.<br><br> Do you ever feel the effects of stress and anxiety? Do you ever wonder if you are the only one who does? Do stress and anxiety attack only those of us who have some spiritual deficiency? Has anyone ever made you feel like a spiritual moron because you were  under the pile ? If so, you may be relieved to know that some pretty impressive people in the Bible also had stressful situations in their life.<br><br> The prophet Jeremiah wrote in Lamentations 3:<i>  & I have been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is. So I say, "My splendor is gone and all that I had hoped from the LORD." I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. <i/> The psalmist asked himself in Psalm 42:<i>  & Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? <i/>In his letter to the church in Corinth, the apostle Paul described his situation: <i> & We are hard pressed on every side, & persecuted, & struck down, &  <i/><br><br> These guys were headed  under the pile and God made sure their experience was recorded in Scripture for those of us who identify with them for a couple of reasons: so that we would not feel so guilty for being stress-out& and so that we could find out if-and how they got out from under their pile. <br><br> Jeremiah continued, <i> & Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.<i/> Jeremiah made a decision not to dwell on his circumstances, but focus instead on God s love and faithfulness. <br><br> Each time he pondered his distressed state, the psalmist reminded himself that God was his reliable source of hope: <i> & Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you. <i/><br><br> Paul explained how he dealt with his stress-producing circumstances:<i>  & We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.<i/> In his letters to the Christians at Philippi, Paul went into greater detail: <i> & 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.<i/> To the Christians in Thessalonica Paul wrote: <i>  & Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. <i/><br><br> What is the result when we learn to do this? Jesus said: <i/> "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." <i/><br><br> Jesus reminded us that stressful circumstances in our lives are like storms that reveal what kind of foundation we have built our lives on. No one is exempt from the storms and stressful circumstances in life, but, as Jesus said  & <i>everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice&  <i/> knows the way to get out from under the pile. <br><br> How are you doing under the circumstances? Wouldn t you rather crawl out from under them? </center> </td> </tr> <tr> <td height=5% valign=bottom> <center> <br> Think something else should be added to this page? E-mail us at <i><a href="mailto:info@z600.com">info@z600.com</a></i> </center> </td> </tr> </table> </center> <br> </body> </html> </body> </html>