The Stress of Life

I came across this quote from Francis Chan and it really resonated with me. "Worry implies that we don't quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what's happening in our lives. Stress says that the things we are involved in are important enough to merit our impatience, our lack of grace toward others, or our tight grip of control. Basically, these two behaviors communicate that it's okay to sin and not trust God because the stuff in my life is somehow exceptional. Both worry and stress reek of arrogance. They declare our tendency to forget that we've been forgiven, that our lives here are brief, that we are headed to a place where we won't be lonely, afraid, or hurt ever again, and that in the context of God's strength, our problems are small, indeed."

I love how Chan points out that stress and worry are, at the root level, signs of arrogance. They show us that we don't actually trust that God has everything under control - that he isn't big enough to handle everything that we are dealing with. Let me be transparent with you for a moment... I struggle with that daily. I tend to look at situations in my life that are outside of my control as big problems, and I allow them to consume me and worry me. The sad part is, most of the time, the things I am constantly worrying and stressing about are things that don't or won't even matter in the end. Because in the end, I need to realize that God is in control, and he can handle every situation I find myself in. And honestly...I was never meant to handle them on my own in the first place.

Matthew 11:28 - "Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."

Philippians 4:6-7 - "Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."

1 Peter 5:7 - "Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you."