Title: How To Cope With Stress
Series: God Uses Broken Vessels
Text: Luke 7:19-23
Subject: Stress is normal, and can be healthy. How we deal with it is what makes the difference.
Introduction
Psalm 23 Antithesis
The clock is my dictator, I shall not rest.
It makes me lie down only when exhausted.
It leads me into deep depression.
It hounds my soul.
It leads me in circles of frenzy, for activities sake.
Even though I run frantically from task to task, I will never get it all done,
For my ideal is with me.
Deadlines and my need for approval, they drive me.
They demand performance from me, beyond the limits of my schedule.
They anoint my head with migraines,
My in-basket overflows.
Surely fatigue and time pressures shall follow me
All the days of my life.
And I will dwell in the bonds of frustration
Forever
Illustration: The head of the Menninger Institute has stated that up to 70 percent of minor ailments such as colds and fatigue are psychosomatic reactions to day-to-day stress, and also that they can lead to more serious problems. (Source unknown)
I. EXPERIENCING STRESS DOES NOT INDICATE A WEAK FAITH.
Luke 7:19
19 And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?
Note: John the Baptist had introduced Christ as One who would bring a fierce judgment. He was understandably confused by the turn of events: he was imprisoned, and Christ was carrying on a ministry of healing, not judgment, in Galilee, far from Jerusalem, the city of the king – and not finding a completely warm reception there (Matthew 8:34). John wondered if he had misunderstood Jesus’ agenda. It would be wrong to interpret this as a wavering of his faith. (MacArthur, John. The MacArthur Reference Bible. Matthew 11:13.)
A. It Is Not Unusual To Experience Doubt And Uncertainty.
John 16:33
33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
1. Moses was ready to quit on one occasion.
2. Elijah fled from Jezebel.
3. Jeremiah cursed the day he was born.
4. Even Paul knew the meaning of despair.
B. There Is A Difference Between Doubt And Unbelief.
1. Doubt is a matter of the mind: we cannot understand what God is doing or why He is doing it.
2. Unbelief is a matter of the will: we refuse to believe God’s Word and obey what He tells us to do.
Note: “Doubt is not always a sign that a man is wrong, it may be a sign that he is thinking.” Oswald Chambers. In John’s case, his inquiry was not born of willful unbelief, but of doubt nourished by physical and emotional stress.
II. WHEN WE EXPERIENCE STRESS JESUS WILL CONFIRM OUR FAITH.
Luke 7:20-21
20 When the men were come unto him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?
21 And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight.
Illustration: A Winnie the Pooh story gives a delightful illustration of our desire to hear words that are friendly and warm, rather than harsh or hard.
One day Pooh Bear is about to go for a walk in the Hundred Acre wood. It’s about 11:30 in the morning. It is a fine time to go calling – just before lunch. So Pooh set out across the stream, stepping on the stones, and when he gets right in the middle of the stream he sits down on a warm stone and thinks about just where would be the best place of all to make a call. He says to himself, “I think I’ll go see Tigger.” No, he dismisses that. Then he says, “Owl!” Then, “No, Owl uses big words, hard-to-understand words.” At last he brightens up! “I know! I think I’ll go see Rabbit. I like Rabbit. Rabbit uses encouraging words like, ‘How’s about lunch?’ and ‘Help yourself, Pooh!’ Yes, I think I’ll go see Rabbit.’”
A. He Is More Concerned With Our Relationship Than Our Religion.
Illustration: Theory of Relativity
If you think your family has problems, consider the marriage mayhem created when 76-year-old Bill Baker of London recently wed Edna Harvey. She happened to be his granddaughter’s husband’s mother. That’s where the confusion began, according to Baker’s granddaughter, Lynn.
“My mother-in-law is now my step-grandmother. My grandfather is now my stepfather-in-law. My mom is my sister-in-law and my brother is my nephew. But even crazier is that I’m now married to my uncle and my own children are my cousins.” (Campus Life, March, 1981, p. 31.)
Illustration: We Need Each Other
We can live only in relationships. We need each other. A rather crude and cruel experiment was carried out by Emperor Frederick, who ruled the Roman Empire in the thirteenth century. He wanted to know what man’s original language was: Hebrew, Greek, or Latin?
He decided to isolate a few infants from the sound of the human voice. He reasoned that they would eventually speak the natural tongue of man. Nurses who were sworn to absolute silence were obtained, and though it was difficult for them, they abided by the rule. The infants never heard a word—not a sound from a human voice. Within several months they were all dead. (Joe E. Trull.)
B. He Is More Concerned With Instructing Than Imposing.
Illustration: How Else are You Going to Learn
A Father and his small son were out walking one day when the lad asked how electricity could go through the wires stretched between the telephone poles. “I don’t know,” said his father. “I never knew much about electricity.” A few blocks farther on, the boy asked what caused lightning and thunder. “That too has puzzled me,” came the reply. The youngster continued to inquire about many things, none of which the father could explain. Finally, as they were nearing home, the boy said, “Pop, I hope you didn’t mind all those questions.” “Not at all,” replied his father. “How else are you going to learn!” (Our Daily Bread, Friday, January 9.)
III. OBEDIENCE IS THE KEY TO REDUCING STRESS.
Luke 7:22-23
22 Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.
23 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
A. Some Stress In Our Lives Is The Result Of Sin.
Note: The sin may be our, sometimes others, most of the time both.
1. When husbands don’t love their wives as Christ loved the church or wives don’t treat their husbands with respect, stress fills the home.
2. An atmosphere of tension invades the home when children don’t obey their parents and the parents ignore scriptural principles of discipline.
3. When someone breaks the law and is worried about being audited, a great deal of energy is expended unnecessarily in not getting caught.
B. Disobedience Originates In The Desire To Become Or To Appear To Be Something We Aren’t.
Illustration: Judge Said She Was Too Fat
Christy Henrich, as a teenager, ranked among America’s best gymnasts. But a judge told her that at 95 pounds, spread over a 4-foot-11 frame, she was too fat to make the 1988 Olympic team. So she began starving herself, subsisting some days on an apple or just an apple slice. If she ate more, she would force herself to vomit. She missed making the Olympics by a fraction of a point but, thanks to nine-hour training days, she placed fourth in the uneven parallel bars in 1989’s world championships in Stuttgart.
Last week—months after her weight fell to 52 pounds—she died at age 22 in a Kansas City hospital of multiple organ system failure. In the past two years, gymnastics officials have advised coaches and judges about the effects of anorexia and bulimia and urged them not to comment on the weights of gymnasts. (Source unknown)
1 Peter 5:6-7
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
NKJV
1. In an attempt to become more popular a teenager compromises.
2. In an effort to build a reputation, you take unnecessary risks.
3. In the desire to speed up the wheels of success, we make quick decisions, ignoring the counsel of others.
4. The solution is to humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand and recognize His right to rule.
a. When you do, God will exalt you because He is for maximizing your potential.
b. God promises to work things out if you submit to His plan.
c. God will work things out in due time.
d. How often do we trigger stress because we try to do it our way and in our time?
C. To Humble Yourself Positions You To Trust God With Life’s Unavoidable Pressures.
Illustration: Pictures of South Africa
Kevin Carter could never escape his continent’s turmoil. For a decade, the photographer captured vivid pictures of repression and strife in his native South Africa. In 1993, he went to famine-racked Sudan and came upon a starving toddler stalked by a vulture. He photographed the scene—an image that won a Pulitzer Prize—then chased the vulture away. As the child resumed her walk to a feeding station, he lit a cigarette and wept. In August 1994, at 33, he killed himself with carbon monoxide pumped into his pickup truck.
Explained his father: “Kevin always carried around the horror of the work he did.” (U.S. News and World Report, August 8, 1994.)
1. To cast your cares is to give God the responsibility for things you have no control over.
2. You are important to God, and He cares about you.
Conclusion
God doesn’t intend for you to lead a stress-filled life. Jesus knew incredible pressure. Luke notes that His response was to go away and pray. If He found relief from the pressures of life by pulling away to be with the Father, I imagine you can, too.
Stress can be managed as you realize God’s intimate care for the details of your life. He is willing to bear your burdens, and He assumes complete responsibility for the person committed to Him.
Make a list of each area of concern that adds significant stress. Take time to thoughtfully pray about each one. Take confidence in God’s promised help and provision. He has equipped you to handle life’s loads with a standing offer to bear their emotional weight.
Things can be very difficult for us, but nothing is too hard for Him. Believing and resting in that truth will protect your mind, heart, and spirit from the overload of stress.
