Are you at the breaking point right now?

Do you feel that if you have one more pressure added to your life, you will break?

Learning to Dwell First on God’s Faithfulness

Whether you’re experiencing a significant transition in your life or just a daily hassle, your individual beliefs, your attitudes, your thoughts will influence what becomes stressful to you. Therefore, it’s critical that the first signs of stress, or distress, be met with God’s truth.

Think about the words found in Philippians 4:8 we’re told how we can have His peace, “… 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.” Now the next verse ends with these words, “and the God of peace will be with you.” So, if you dwell on God’s faithfulness to provide for you, He will replace your stress with His peace.

Stress can be a monster, and stress can also be a motivator.

Is your overcommitted schedule weighing you down? Are you at a breaking point? Better stop and take stock. If you’re not careful, stress will come between you and your relationships with others . . . and with God. Stress can have either a positive or negative impact in your life. It can increase your ability to endure . . . or it can paralyze or even break you. In these Keys for Living, learn what the Bible says about stress and how to allow right thinking to transform your mind by trusting God to be your source of calm in stressful situations.

Looking under the hood isn’t enough. You need to inspect the parts that have received excessive wear and tear. Are you worn and torn by stress? Have you analyzed your own condition? By taking a closer look at Paul’s many experiences, you can check out what circumstances are most likely to cause stress. If the pressures in your life are not being used to press you closer to the Lord, you may be on the way to a blowout!

The Four Stages of Stress

• Stage 1 – NO LIGHT
  Insufficient Stress: No motivation to move responsibly.
• Stage 2 – GREEN LIGHT
  Positive Stress: Motivation to move responsibly.
• Stage 3 – YELLOW LIGHT
  Negative Stress: Motivational warning signs to slow down movement.
• Stage 4 – RED LIGHT
  Burnout: Movement is stopped and repair is necessary.

What do you need to know and believe that will enable you to have success over stress?

• Wrong Belief:
  “My life is out of control. I feel helpless to cope with all this stress in my life.”
• Right Belief:
  God has allowed this stress in my life to bless my life and reveal my weaknesses. I am grateful for the pressures that have pressed me closer to Him and caused me to allow Christ to be my strength.