Stress, anxiety, fear and
anger are warning signs that someone is forcing us to do something that
disturbs our peace in some way. They indicate that our soul – our thoughts,
will and emotions – feels insecure, overwhelmed or abused in some way. In short
amounts, stress helps us to perform under pressure and to motivate us to do our
best. However, continual stress is unhealthy.
If we ignore the signs of
stress, we end with:
-
cognitive problems such as lapses in memory and concentration,
worry or poor judgment;
- emotional indications such as moodiness, agitation, isolation and
depression;
- physical issues such as aches, pains, bowel issues, chest pain,
frequent colds and sexual dysfunction;
- behavioral symptoms such as loss of appetite, sleeplessness,
procrastination, addictions and nervous habits.
The Bible offers many remedies for stress. For instance, James encourages us to be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger (James 1:19-20). Normally, we speak before we think. We say the first thing that comes to our mind. We often take pride in the fact that we “speak our mind”. We fail to use good judgment prior to expressing our opinions. That is why it is important to be slow to speak and to think before speaking. If we are quick to hear and slow to speak, then we will also be slow to express anger.
When we allow our negative emotions to erupt in rage, profanity or sulking, they ruin our testimony as a Believer, increase the stress in our life and cause others to have a very bad day. Sometimes, we feel negatively because we do not hear what the other person is really saying: either because they chose the wrong words to convey their thoughts and feelings, or we misunderstood the intent of their words or took them out of context. Some people have selective hearing and filter out parts of a conversation they do not want to hear. We also often fail to hear the unspoken meaning attached to someone’s words. That is why God uses James to caution us to be quick to hear.
We do, however, need to honestly feel all of our emotions in order to stay healthy. Journaling our feelings to understand where they are coming from is a healthy option. It allows us to express those pent up negative emotions without hurting anyone else or presenting to the public a poor example of a Believer. God gave us anger to protect us. It causes us to fight or to take flight to defend our self. If we use anger for any other reason, all we ever accomplished is to hurt the ones we love (Proverbs 29:11).
Past and current
circumstances affect our feelings, and expose our deepest fears. Although our
workplace, home or community can be pressure-packed and the demands on our life
unrealistic, we can choose how we react. We cannot blame anyone else for making
us feel the way we do. That is why James cautions us to listen carefully, to
premeditate before speaking and then to use anger sparingly. This will diminish
the amount of stress in our life.
Prayer:
Lord
Jesus, help us to learn to control our reactions, to listen carefully, to pray
before we speak and to use anger only when the circumstances really warrant
that intense reaction to protect us. Anger is the signal that something else is
going on in or around us, just like the warning light on our car signals
impending issues and dangers in our engine. Help us not to allow unmet expectations
or feelings of entitlement to drive our reactions towards other people. Help us
to take responsibility for our actions and to always live as an example of Jesus
Christ in every circumstance of our life (1 Timothy 4:12).
Thought
for the Day:
Ask God to reveal the inner root of your
negative emotions and to heal you with His truth. Thank you, Zoe Novak, for the use of your lovely photo.
