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Enjoying Life In A (Mostly)
Joyless World
Enjoy Life By Reducing Stress
Philippians 4:1-9
Introduction:
Stress Test
The stress test is commonly administered to determine the
state of heart health. Connected to equipment to monitor the
heart, the patient walks on a treadmill. As the speed increases
and the incline steepens the test helps focus the treatment
program.
With the current financial woes ailing banks are being asked
to take a stress test to determine if they should be helped.
Banks are being asked to consider a worst case stress scenario
to determine if they have the necessary capital to cover losses.
The key questions are:
What if unemployment rises to 10.3 percent?
What if home prices plunge 22 percent?
What if overall economic growth drops to negative 3.3 percent?
Stress is identified as one of the leading causes of medical
problems. Stress affects all of us to some degree. The sleep
center at the St. Cloud Hospital reported on March 3 that
there has been a significant increase in people seeking help
with insomnia. People are concerned about the future and they
are having trouble sleeping. The cover of the current issue
of Christianity Today reads: The Depression Epidemic: Why
we’re more down than ever.
As Paul moves toward the
end of his letter to the Philippians he returns to his theme
of joy. He reminds them that they are a reason for his joy.
Dear
friends, I love you and long to see you. Please keep on being
faithful to the Lord. You are my pride and joy.
Philippians
4:1: CEV
But, even in the best of
situations there can be stress. One of Paul’s earlier themes
was about the importance of unity. He challenges them to work
through a specific problem relationship causing stress in
the church.
Euodia
and Syntyche, you belong to the Lord, so I beg you to stop
arguing with each other. And, my true partner, I ask you to
help them. These women have worked together with me and with
Clement and with the others in spreading the good news. Their
names are now written in the book of life. Philippians 4:2-3 CEV
Into this emotionally charged
atmosphere Paul breathes words of comfort and joy that are
intended to reduce the stress.
Rejoice
in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Philippians 4:4 NIV
He follows that up with
advice on a better way to handle the stress caused by disagreement.
Let
everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember,
the Lord is coming soon.
Philippians 4:5 NLT
Instead
of fighting, rejoice! It’s really hard to fight when you’re
rejoicing!
So, with the goal of enjoying
life by reducing stress we need to determine if it’s truly
possible to always be joyful. That’s what we are going to
check out this morning as we investigate four very simple,
but yet profound, statements on how to manage stress.
1st
Statement: Don’t Worry About Anything
Worry is a huge source
of stress. Some have called this the Age of Anxiety. We’ve
already established a substantial set of data saying that
there is certainly plenty to worry about. Here’s something
to worry about. I wish God had led Paul to instruct us to
merely limit how much we worry. That might be reasonable.
But, it wouldn’t be the revolutionary transformation that
God wants to work in our lives. God says,
Don’t worry about anything…
Philippians 4:6 NLT
We
worry when we begin to assume the role of God by trying to
control the uncontrollable. God never intended for that
to be the case. In a study conducted about worry it was discovered
40% of our worries never actually happen
30% of our worries deal with the past
12% of our worries are about non-existent health issues
10% of our worries involve insignificant issues
8% of our worries are legitimate
So, that’s one more thing
to worry about. Is what I’m worrying about really worth worrying
about? The survey says no!
Worry
is worthless. It does nothing to change the past or control
the future. The only thing worry does is mess up your life
right now. One thing we know for sure about worry is that
it makes something that may be bad worse. When we worry about
something, the problem only grows. We make mountains out of
molehills and create crisis where it never existed.
Don’t worry about anything.
This has to be one of the most difficult commands to obey.
Some people are born worriers.
They have the ability to find a problem in every solution.
They see the negative and focus on the bad. But, they really
weren’t born that way. The only way to become really good
at worrying is through practice. If we could only bask in
God’s beauty like the lily in the field or enjoy His provision
like the bird that flies, we would celebrate the faithfulness
of God. Jesus said,
So
don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own
worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
Matthew 6:34 NLT
Here is an insight to help
in overcoming worry and reducing stress.
Insight # 1: In
order to relieve stress, live one day at a time.
That doesn’t mean you ignore
the future. It does mean you don’t allow the future that
only God knows to dominate your thoughts and rule your life.
Could Paul have
worried about the future? He was in a Roman jail
and Nero was in charge. It would be easy—and expected—that
Paul could have puzzled each day, “I wonder if this is the
day Nero will send the soldiers to end my life.” Instead,
Paul advises us, “Rejoice in the Lord always.”
2nd
Statement: Pray About Everything
God is gracious! When He
eliminates something, he replaces it with something better.
Don’t
worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Philippians 4:6 NLT
Don’t
panic; pray.
If you stopped worrying, how much free time would you have?
Most of us would have some good solid blocks of time when
we could pray. At the very least it would make the protest,
“I just don’t have time to pray,” sound like the very poor
excuse it is.
What’s off limits when we pray? Nothing is off
limits. We are to pray about anything and everything. God
knows every detail of your life. He loves you and is interested
in what interests and concerns you.
Tell God what you need…
Philippians 4:6 NLT
Some of the translations
use the word petition for telling what you need. This is a
detailed, specific request. Get specific with God. Tell Him
what is bothering you and explain what you need. Far too often
we are way too general and much too vague when we pray. We
try to dress everything up in church clothes and make it sound
appropriate. It’s all right to tell God what is on your heart.
Tell Him what is causing your stress. Let Him know that you
know what the problem is. Phillips translates this phrase,
When you pray, tell
God every detail of your needs.
God wants us to know that
if it’s big enough to worry about; it’s big enough to pray about.
How much of our worry does God want us to give Him?
He’s ready to take it all.
Give
all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. 1 Peter 5:7 NLT
Prayer is God’s safety
release valve for stress.
In a study conducted by life insurers, they found that people
who attend church once a week live 5.7 years longer on average
than the general public. Medical studies found people who
pray tend to be healthier and heal more quickly than those
who don’t. These studies affirm the positive benefits of doing
what God invites us to do—unload your worries on Him.
God cares about you. God,
who made every fingerprint unique and every snowflake different,
cares for you and is big enough to handle the details of your
life. I love Phillips translation of Peter’s invitation to
us.
You
can throw the whole weight of your anxieties upon Him, for
you are His personal concern!
1 Peter 5:7 Phillips
Here is an insight to wrap
up this second statement.
Insight # 2: There
is no problem that is too big for God’s power or too small
for His concern.
3rd Statement: Thank God For What
He Has Done
This completes the verse.
Don’t
worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell
God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
Philippians 4:6 NLT
Ungrateful people tend
to be unhappy people. Nothing is ever good enough. That attitude
weighs on emotional health and produces an unnecessary drag
on our physical well being. Gratitude is an emotion that promotes
health. Gratitude releases beneficial hormones that not only
lighten the psychological load but also produce positive physiological
results. The wisdom of Proverbs states,
A
cheerful look brings joy to the heart; good news makes for
good health. Proverbs 15:30 NLT
I feel better just reading
that verse.
When
you’re feeling down, try making a list of 50 things for which
you are grateful. Then, thank God for those things. Pray
through your list telling Him how grateful you are for His
blessings.
Let’s try it right now.
We’re going to pray short prayers. I will start the sentence
and all you need to do is thank God using a word or short
phrase. “Dear God, I am grateful for…”
Does anyone want to thank God for the difficulties you may
be facing? God says,
Be
thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for
you who belong to Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 NLT
Part of God’s will for
you is to thank Him in all circumstances. Let’s try that.
How do you feel? When we’re grateful it takes
our focus off our problems so we can refocus on the benefits
God is producing in our lives. Here’s the insight to tie these
thoughts together.
Insight # 3: There
is always something for which to be grateful.
4th
Statement: Think About Things That Are Excellent And Worthy
Of Praise
The human mind is a special gift from God. While huge advances
have been made in the field of computer science there is nothing
to rival the human mind. While one of the supercomputers has
been able to defeat a
grandmaster at chess, that was the only task being done by
this piece of monster machinery capable of making billions
of computations each second. In a package so small that it
could be made portable, God designed the human brain capable
of seemingly thinking about everything at once or nothing
at all. It is capable of storing over 100 trillion thoughts.
Even in this age of trillion dollar budgets—and deficits—that’s
huge!
To
reduce stress in your life, you have to change the way you
think. Your stress doesn’t come from out there. It comes
from in here. God has given you the freedom to choose what
you think about. When you’re feeling stressed out, here’s
a good list to work through.
And
now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your
thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure,
and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent
and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned
and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw
me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. Philippians
4:8-9 NLT
Consider what can enter
your mind—even if you’re being careful about what you read,
hear or watch. We are bombarded with the negative. We are
assaulted with that which is impure. We are forced to deal
with gossip. Paul provides eight
filters for your thoughts. If the thoughts aren’t 1) true,
2) honorable, 3) right, 4) pure, 5) lovely, 6) admirable,
7) excellent or 8)
worthy of praise, don’t let your mind settle there. Move on
to better thoughts.
This reminds us that the
root of stress is what’s going on in your thoughts. Here’s
the insight for this section.
Insight # 4: Whatever
I think about is what I am becoming
If you don’t like the way
you’re headed, change the way you’re thinking.
Conclusion:
The Result
We finish this morning
with the result. It is profoundly powerful. Look at it.
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. Philippians 4:7 NLT
This truth is life-changing!
God promises you peace of mind.
People will try almost
anything to reduce stress and find peace of mind. In fact,
they have—often at great expense and with no guarantees. Even
though offered with a tentative, “This might help,” we desperately
risk our resources on a maybe.
God
offers His peace. His peace is better than anything offered
through other means. It goes beyond anything we can understand.
How do we receive this peace? It comes as we
live in Christ Jesus. God’s peace is the result of a relationship
with Him through Jesus. God designed you to know Him and need
Him. We try to fill that need with all kinds of counterfeit pretenders: popularity,
pleasure, possessions and prestige. They can produce a
narcotic-like effect for a time. But, it wears off and we
are left with the haunting realization that nothing seems
to work. All of that can be used by God to bring you to the
point of being ready to invite Him to do what only He can
do.
God’s
peace will guard your heart and mind as you live in Jesus.
There is a comforting word picture here. Guard is a military
term. It draws from the picture of a Roman sentry standing
guard ready to sacrifice his life to carry out his task. Paul
wrote this letter to people who lived in a city guarded by
a Roman legion of 5,000 soldiers. The people knew that they
were protected from anything that might threaten them and
that if the legion wasn’t sufficient all the power of the
empire backed them up.
The peace of God guards
your heart and mind in Chris Jesus. God places His soldiers
at the gates to your heart and mind as you stop worrying and
start praying. As you thank God for all things and think about
the right things He positions His troops to protect you.
As we finish, let me ask
you, “What worries you?” Is it your
finances or health or family? Is it your job or needing a
job? What is it that makes you anxious and causes your stress
levels to rise? Are you ready to turn those things over to
Jesus? Jesus took your sins to the cross to provide for your
eternal salvation. He can carry your stress in the present—if
you will give it to Him.
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