PSALM 37:1-7 – Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! 2 For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. 3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. 6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. 7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!”
THEME OF THE DAY: RELIEVING STRESS. Quick question – have we suffered any stress the past week? Yesterday? Maybe even right now? It’s okay to acknowledge it. Stress is real and even for Christians.
According to The American Institute of Stress, about 33 percent of people report feeling extreme stress. 77 percent of people experience stress that affects their physical health, and 73 percent of people have stress that impacts their mental health. Those serious statistics reveal stress is a major problem for Americans, but it doesn’t need to be for the Christian. When the Lord Jesus saved us, we entered an inseparable union with Him and all the resources to overcome all things were granted to us, and that includes overcoming stress. The Apostle Peter encourages us with this truth – His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire (2 Peter 1:3-4). Yet, God doesn’t just “spiritually zap us” with the power of His promises. He includes our obedience to apply the promises and that leads to the topic of today – relieving stress.
Psalm 37:1-7 provides five actions of obedience we must take to know the peace of God that is challenged when stressful situations and circumstances come upon us. If we strive to obey them, then we will consistently defeat stress in our lives and give a stressed-out world the hope that comes from the stress-relieving power of Christ’s Gospel.
For the sake of time, space, and to help us “do the hard work” individually in applying today’s scripture to relieve stress, all I am going to do is identify the action, then encourage us to take time and prayerfully meditate on each one we are to obey. I will add an additional action which is associated with what God would have of us at the beginning of each applied verse. Here we go; verse 1 – stop fretting; verse 3 – resolve to trust the Lord; verse 4 – cultivate delight in the Lord; verse 5 – commit everything to the Lord; verse 7 – Be still before the Lord and let Him carry our stress.
These are practical steps to help us bring our emotions under control when the temptation to be stressed is high. And because they are commands, we are responsible to obey them. May the Lord help us as we relieve stress His way by His Word.
PRAYER: “Father, I praise You for providing all I need to overcome the stress of living in a fallen world.”
QUOTE: “The Lord includes our obedience in His promises of help in all we face in this world.”
In the affection of Christ Jesus,
Pastor Jim