Stress
Sermon by CH (CPT) Keith J. Andrews
29 January 2006
A couple of weeks ago, I had just finished doing PT and returned to my CHU when I heard loud rumble.
This was not your normal blast. It was a long sustained rumble.
After it was over, I heard people outside asking “What was that?” Somebody finally said it was a “controlled blast.”
Now my first thought when I hear controlled blast is, “every blast is controlled – the question is who’s controlling it.
My second thought is a picture of the people that are setting those things off.
I picture a group of guys standing around like a Jeff Foxworthy joke:
“If the last words you said before you go to heaven are “Hey, Watch this!”… You might be a redneck.” 1
So, I hear this rumble and out of fear, I crouch on the floor.
As I am on the floor, I begin to look around and think to myself. “Here I am in a tin can, seeking shelter behind an inflatable mattress – this is not the smarted thing I’ve done all day.
We all deal with stress in many different ways. Stress is a part of everybody’s life.
Stress is so common that we see it throughout the Bible in the lives of many different characters.
You can imagine the stress Job experienced when his children, his servants, and his possessions were all wiped away in one afternoon; only to find himself covered with painful boils. 2
Or what about Moses when he was leading God’s people out of Egypt. He had Pharaoh’s army behind him and the Red Sea in front of him. To add to that, he was and surrounded by people who were complaining about being freed in the first place. 3
David, had lots of stress. He was the only one to fight the giant Goliath. He was later pursued by King Saul. He was king of Israel for a time. He was overthrown by his own son. David demonstrates great wisdom in dealing with stress in 1 Samuel 30:6. I Samuel 30:6 is found on page 272 in the red Bibles underneath your pew. Tonight, we are going to bounce around a bit in the Bible. There are so many passages that reflect how we should deal with stress. Tonight we won’t even scratch the surface. But in 1 Samuel 30:6 we see how David deals with stress.
Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.(1 Sam. 30:6, NKJV) 4
So tonight, we are going to take a moment to talk about stress and how to be strengthened by the Lord our God.
Following 9-11, the New England Journal of Medicine surveyed Americans on how they coped with stress after the tragedy. Over 90 percent said that they turned to religion or spirituality for comfort.
We can all relate to crying out to God in times of trouble.
Yesterday marked the twentieth anniversary of the Explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger. I was reminded about it about mid-day yesterday. I began to remember how I was affected by the tragedy, how it was the first big news story that I remember, and how the country cried out to God it that time of stress.
It was one of those events that bring the country together in a common call to God. There have been times since, and there will be times in the future where we will all call to God for help.
Psalm 138:3 says
In the day when I cried out, You answered me, And made me bold with strength in my soul. (PS. 138:3, NKJV)
God is a God who answers when we call.
Turn to Jeremiah 33:3, found on page 700. Here we find a verse that assures us that God is a God who answers us. He promises in Jeremiah 33:3;
‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know. (Je 33:3, NKJV)
He first says “Call to me.”
God is a God that wants us to call to him. He wants us to depend on him.
Max Lucado says:
“Want to change your life? Begin by saying “the Lord is my shepherd.” 5
God wants to shepherd us. When sheep get into trouble they call out. God wants us to call out to Him.
But God also says; “I will answer you.”
We don’t just call out to God for no reason. When we call on God, he answers our call. He is with us when we call to him.
And when he answers, he will “show you great and might things, which you do not know.” He is a God of plenty. If we ask for help, He will hear us, and answer us and show us great and mighty things.
When things go bad, we are quick to call for help. But we need to be men and women that make a habit of calling for help. We need to make a habit of prayer.
If we trust God with the big things, certainly we should trust God with the small things. God wants to be involved in our lives.
Many times, stress is simply the combination of many little stressors. If we trust God with each one, it only makes sense that our lives will have less stress and less anxiety.
When we have prayed; when we have placed our trust in Him – we need to hear how he answers our questions; we need to listen to the words he has spoken, and we need to live the way he has commanded. We do this by opening the word of God.
Psalm 119:143 is found on page 548. This verse give us a good scripture reference for turning to the word of God in stress. Psalm 119:43 says
Trouble and anguish have overtaken me,
Yet Your commandments are my delights. (Ps. 119:143, NKJV)
Isn’t that interesting? Trouble and anguish have overtaken me. Do you remember when trouble has overtaken you? Do you remember when anguish has overtaken you? You may be feeling this tonight. You may have a problem so great that you are completely overwhelmed. You lie awake troubled by it. You are consumed by it.
“Yet,” the psalmist writes, “Yet, God’s commands are his delight.”
God’s commands are his delight because they provides safety and promises.
God’s commands provide safety. They protect us from harm. Harm can come through physical injury, from emotional injury, or from spiritual injury.
Much of our stress is due to sin—the sin that we ourselves do, or the sin that others do. The whole reason we are fighting this war is because somebody wanted to murder other people.
When husbands and wives commit adultery – whether in Iraq or back in the states – these effects ripple over the ocean and cause stress for individuals.
When we lose our temper with others, we cause stress on both individuals.
When we lie, we create stress as we try to cover story after story.
We are to delight in His commands, they will guide us away from stress. The only way we can delight in these commands is to know them.
The Bible says.
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. (Ps. 119:11, KJV) 6
How do we hide his word in our hearts? This verse is typically used to encourage people to memorize scripture. I want you to look at it a different way.
When you fly those aircraft, when you repair the aircraft, when you provide medical care, when you drive in a convoy, do you remember word for word, paragraph and page number of the procedures?
No – but you are very familiar with them. In some cases, you can quote the regulations. You know what is in the books because you spend time day and night. You also know them because you have experience with them. You know they work.
Now, I’m not saying that scripture memorization is not important. It is a good skill for learning the Bible, for intentionally hiding the God’s word in your heart. Hiding means storing and assimilating into our mind the verses, the principles, and the character that is represented in scripture. It means changing your entire worldview.
However, this verse deals with more than memorizing. It deals with becoming familiar inside and out with the Bible.
We hide the word of God so that we may not sin. Sin brings stress. We are to delight in His commands. So, take time to study God’s word.
And as you study and as you pray, you will find comfort in Him.
You will find rest. Jesus talks about rest in Matthew 11:28, which is found on page 859.
Jesus says in Matthew 11:28;
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Mt.11:28, NKJV)
Rest. That is something that all of us would say we need.
I am one of those strange people that enjoy road marching. I remember when I was a ROTC Cadet, about 15 years ago, we did a lot of road marching. After that, I was in the I artillery and never road marched much until this year at the Chaplain’s course.
I truly enjoy it. I enjoy the challenge. I enjoy the walking. I enjoy the peacefulness – nobody talks during the road march.
Even as much as I enjoy the road march itself, I enjoy the end of the march. I love the feeling when the pack is dropped and for a solid half-hour my back feels like I’m still carrying 80 pounds. I love the feeling of accomplishments and I love the rest.
Sometimes it is hard for me to sleep anyway because I’ve constantly got things going on in my head; people to see, sermons to write, research to do, counseling I’m involved in , people I’m praying for – but after a road march, I’m so tired—I go right to sleep.
We carry so much baggage, so many burdens. We just pick them up and carry them everyday.
Many times, we have carried the baggage around for so long that we get in the habit of being miserable.
We are to drop our packs. And that comfort will delight our souls.
Comfort in God is a wonderful thing! When we get the point where we just place our concerns completely in God’s hands, He envelops us in rest and comfort.
We find that blessed assurance to know that all of our concerns, all of our hearts aches, and all of our troubles are being handled by God.
On April 9, 2004, Thomas Hamill was working as a fuel truck driver for KBR. He was captured by terrorists near Fallujah. 23 days later, Hamill heard a U.S. convoy passing by and pried open a door where he was held. He ran about a half-mile down the road and into the arms of a U.S. patrol, near Balad.
Hamill certainly experienced stress. He had come to a point when all he could do was to trust God and pray. Thomas Hamill said;
"I’ve been a Christian all my life, but it’s hard to say exactly if you can put everything in God’s hands unless it just comes down to that fact,…That’s what happened to me on the deal with being captured. I didn’t have anybody else to put it in, and I laid it in God’s hands." 7
Are you dealing with stress tonight? Are you overwhelmed with trouble? Maybe you are at a place in your life when you are finding that there is no one else to turn to. Take time to cry out to God. Take time to read His word. And He will give you rest.
You can find rest, tonight, in Jesus Christ. I want to give you an opportunity to invite Jesus into your heart.
Jesus died on a cross to pay the penalty for your sin, and my sin. Sin separates us from God and from His comfort. Jesus bridged that separation so we can have peace in our heart.
Tonight, after the service, I will be down front. And you can come and talk with me more about accepting His free gift of comfort and salvation. Take this opportunity tonight.
Let us pray.
