Why do I stress?
Because I forget that God is God.

Stressing brings out two kinds of people in me: the neurotic and the fixer. I either focus on what can go wrong or contemplate how I can fix things so that they go right (with my limited perspective this usually flops astronomically).

I hesitate to use the word ‘meditate’ because of the connotations with other practices, but it is scriptural to meditate on the Word of God. To meditate means to reflect, ponder, contemplate, think, and ruminate. So if I’m thinking of what stresses me all the time I am meditating, just on the wrong stuff. And this wrong thinking robs me of the truth that God is God, and He is in control.

Psalm 46v10 tells me to be still (calm, at peace, restful) and know that God is God. How can I? Hello. I live in the real world here – lousy stuff has happened to me and to people who are close to me.

The disciples walked with Christ, and even they got stressed at times.

• They worried that they would not have enough food.
• They worried that their kids were bugging Jesus.
• They worried that Jesus was breaking social norms.

They were so concerned about life and so busy looking out for Jesus that they forgot He is God.

At least one hundred times I have heard and read the verse that tells me to cast all my anxiety on Him because He cares for me. ‘Cast’ is a strong word. I struggle with tentatively leaving my worries at God’s feet; never mind throwing them with abandon into the vastness of His omniscience.

Another verse that has popped up over the years tells me to be humble before God so that He can lift me up when the time is right. I always assumed that this verse referred to humility before man. How troubling that I only half-read and thus skipped over the truth in this verse. ‘Humble yourself before GOD …’ it’s so clear to me now.

Because of this, I discovered something revelationary (that’s a new word which means: a revelation that will turn my world upside-down if I let it).

The two verses I referred to above follow one after the other in 1 Peter 5 v 6-7.
If I read them together, the way God intended them to be read – instead of taking them out of context and applying each one to separate issues – the former helps me accomplish the latter!

Here they are from the easy reading version of the Bible.
“So be humble under God’s powerful hand. Then He will lift you up when the right time comes. Give all your worries to Him, because He cares for you.”
They appear exactly like that – with no extra space or new line between the sentences; which means they are meant to be read together.

So what was my revelationary discovery?

1. I need to humble myself before God’s powerful hand.
   I need to acknowledge the fact that God is more powerful than me. I can’t trust God with my uncertainties unless I am certain that He is capable of handling them to my best advantage.
2. I must toss everything that stresses me into His abundant powerfulness.
   In a Philippians 4 v 6-7, I read that when I make my requests (even more than one at a time!) known to God, the peace of God, which doesn’t make sense in the troubled times of this world, will look after my heart and mind.
3. I can be still, be calm, be at peace, have rest, and sleep well.

My revelation began while reading:
Chara Donahue and Anchored Voices

 **Please note that this blog is my interpretation of the scriptures. Please pray for discernment. **