"Help! I'm getting STRESSED Out"

(Gal 6:9 NIV) Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

This morning we continue our new series: "Help! I'm STRESSED Out" where we are looking at Biblical ways to handle and deal with negative stress

I would love to be able to tell you that after giving your life to Christ that you would NEVER face another challenge again. But if I did I would be lying. The truth is that life in Christ is not without opposition, believers do face challenges, and we also have to deal with the repercussions of our mistakes (everything is not satan's fault).

Paul is a great example of what can happen when a believer is submitted to God. Through Paul's cooperation the Father was able to take Paul on four missionary journeys, take the gospel to the Gentiles, preach the gospel when it was unpopular, continue to preach at the risk of imprisonment and punishment, help start churches everywhere he went, and then mentor the pastors he left behind. And if that were not enough, he wrote half the New Testament, so he is still blessing us today as we read what he wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

By all accounts Paul had an amazing and fulfilling life. However, what we don't like to point out is the challenges he faced. Paul received 39 lashes, like Jesus did, but Paul received that punishment five times. Three times he was beaten with rods, three times he was shipwrecked, once he was stoned, once he was even bitten by a venomous snake.

I am convinced that Paul faced so many challenges because satan was trying to get him to quit preaching, to throw in the towel, to give up on his assignment. Why? Because satan knows that he cannot stop God or what God wants to do in our lives when we are cooperating with the process. In other words, he can't beat us when we live by faith. However, if he can get us frustrated, irritated, and stressed-out (which is what this series is about), then we will quit and we basically beat ourselves. So with that in mind, let me give you five things to do when you are at the brink of giving up:

1. Brace Yourself: Snap out of it... come to yourself and realize that challenges are part of the process. If you taking the fight to the enemy, he will fight back.
2. Face Yourself: There is a difference between persecution and reaping what you have down. We all make mistakes that cause SETBACKS! If you made a mistake, repent, as God to forgive you, FORGIVE YOURSELF, and move on!

3. Trace Yourself: The same God that saw you through YESTERDAY will see you through TODAY and TOMORROW! Think about ALL the times He has seen you through before!

4. Pace Yourself: Your destiny will not be fulfilled today, this week, this month, or this year. But you can do things today and tomorrow that will take you INCREMENTALLY closer to God's expected end for your life!
5. Grace Yourself: With two things: (1) God's Love, (2) God's vision for your life!

Father, I thank You for this reminder this morning. I realize that satan will do all that he can to get me to give up and quit. But I declare, by faith, that I will not. I refuse to allow distressing anxiety to overtake me. I deal with negative stress Biblically and I am able to walk as You would have me to walk in the earth daily. When facing challenges I realize that there is a blessing waiting for me on the other side of the challenge, and I declare that I will get there by faith. And when I do, the enemy will be sorry that he challenged me in the first place. What the enemy meant for evil, You Father will turn in around for my good! I declare this by faith, in Jesus' name. Amen.

This is Today's Word! Apply it and Prosper!