A Different Perspective Official Podcast - Pray the Prayer of Peace // Stress Busters, Part 8

It’s one thing to talk about trusting in God when we’re going through something stressful in our lives. That’s  … great in theory. But how do you actually do that? How do you lay hold of God’s peace, during those stressful times?

You see that's the question, how many times have you or I heard some preacher preach some great sermon that says trust in God, trust in God and trust in God? Brilliant sentiment, possibly it was a great sermon and it's certainly good theology, theologians even call it a doctrine, you've heard this Scripture perhaps, Hebrews chapter 11, verse 6:

Without faith it's impossible to please him for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

The problem I have with that is that when you're going through some stressful situation that particular Scripture verse almost seems to condemn you. It's like, hang on here I am, I'm worrying, I'm stressing, I'm struggling, that means I'm not pleasing God and that makes the whole thing a bunch worse.

Well fortunately Jesus didn't come to condemn us, He came to set us free, He came to save us, He came to set us free from the burden of sin and free from this slavery to a life of stress. Of course you and I can react from time to time in a stressful situation. The man who goes to work only to discover that he and a whole bunch of his work mates have just been retrenched. He has a wife, two kids, one on the way, a mortgage, now what? How am I going to make ends meet? How am I going to tell my wife that I've just been retrenched?

Is he going to experience stress in that moment? Of course he is. Are he and his wife going to experience stress in the coming days and weeks as they figure out what to do and wonder if they're going to lose their family home that they've worked so hard to get? Pretty certain they are.

You and I are going to find ourselves in stressful situations from time to time, we just are, that's normal, that's par for the course. In a very real sense that's what’s meant to happen and for anyone in a stressful situation right now my prayer is that that gives some comfort. We all end up there from time to time, the question is, what do we do about it? How are you going to respond in that moment of crisis?

Well if you're anything like me you've been taught that the right thing to do is put your faith in God. Hey that's exactly what we've been chatting about on the program so far this week, Proverbs chapter 3, verses 5 and 6:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your path.

Lamentations 3, verses 22 to 24:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end, they're new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion says my