From Stressed to Blessed

¹The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. ²He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.  ³He renews my strength.  He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to His name.  ⁴Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.  Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.  ⁵You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies.  You honor me by anointing my head with oil.  My cup overflows with blessings.  ⁶Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

 

“What’s going on internally that’s eating at you? STRESS” – Pastor Billy Johnson

• The World Health Organization defines stress as, “The state of worry or mental tension caused by a difficult situation.”
• Stress is a natural human response that prompts us to address difficult challenges.
• Everyone experiences stress to some degree.
• How we handle stress makes the biggest difference in our over wellbeing.
• Don’t let your heart stay in a place of trouble. Getting to a place where your heart is continually at a place of peace will have an effect on your physical body (Proverbs 14:30 (NLT) “A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body.”).

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Seven Most Common Sources of Stress:

• Worry – tormenting yourself with disturbing thoughts.
• Hurry – comes from the increased pace in our lives (created by speed).
• Crowdedness and Clutter – more people and more stuff create stress.
• Multiple Choices – create indecision.
• Loss – loss of privacy (the Internet), health, etc.
• Pluralism – living in a world where people are different. We’re all living together, but no longer share the same values, insights, etc. The Internet has reduced the world.
• Fear of the Future – the “what ifs?”

 

SEVEN SPIRITUAL HABITS TO REDUCE STRESS FROM PSALM 23

Looking To God to Meet All Our Needs Addresses the Stress of Worry (v. 1).

• God knows we have a need, He has the resources to meet our needs, and He wants to meet our needs (Romans 8:32 (NLT).
• Sometimes we are stressed because we have looked to people to meet our needs instead of looking to God to meet our needs (Matthew 6:31-33 (NLT).
• God is going to meet our needs His way; we can’t dictate how He meets them.

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Obeying God’s Instructions About Rest Addresses the Stress of Hurry (v. 2).

• So much of our stress is caused by being busy. We are often proud to be busy, which leaves little space in our lives for rest.
• Rest is the antidote for hurry.
• We must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from our lives. – Dallas Willard
• On our sabbath we need to rest our bodies (take a nap), refocus our spirits (spend some time in worship), and recharge our emotions (take part in some recreational activity) (Genesis 2:2). – Pastor Rick Warren
• Rest is reflecting and imitating God.

“If you rest from your work, you can work from your rest.” – Pastor Billy Johnson

 

Recharging Our Soul with Beauty Addresses the Stress of Crowdedness and Clutter (v. 2).

• Get beauty in your soul by taking time to intentionally enjoy at the beauty of God’s creation.
• Go outside every day.

“Sheep won’t drink from disturbed waters.” – Pastor Billy Johnson

• How much beauty do we pass each day without noticing it?

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Going to God for guidance addresses the stress of multiple choices (v. 3). 

• Ask God for guidance. We get paralyzed by indecision because we have not gone to God for guidance (James 1:5 (NLT)).
• God will show us which right paths to take (Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT).

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Trusting God in the dark valley addresses the stress of loss (v. 4).

• A shadow never hurts anyone. – Pastor Billy Johnson
• It’s never easy to go through dark valleys, but we can trust God in the dark valleys because we are going “through” them.
• The Lord is close to us in the dark valleys, and we are protected and comforted in the dark valley.

“Trust God even when you can’t track Him.” – Pastor Billy Johnson

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Letting God be our defender addresses the stress of pluralism, v. 5.

• Common causes of stress are conflict, opposition, criticism, and attacks.
• The natural thing to do is attack back.
• When we retaliate, we become our own defender instead of God.
• Let God fight your battles. Vengeance is mine says the Lord. If we want to be blessed, let God be our vindicator (Matthew 5:11 NLT).
• The greatest gift we can give to ourselves (young or old) is the gift of conflict resolution.

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Expecting God to finish what he started in us addresses the stress of fear of the future, v. 6.

• What are we expecting? We must get to a place where we are expecting God to finish what he started in us (Philippians 1:6 (NLT).
• Stop acting as if God is not going to finish what he started.
• If we see goodness and unfailing love, they’re looking for us.

“Goodness and mercy are in hot pursuit of me.” – Pastor Billy Johnson.

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• It’s going to be all right (Matthew 11:28 Message)

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“I move from stressed to blessed when I am yoked with Christ, and I move together in the same direction and at the same pace.” – Pastor Billy Johnson