Stress
Stress, we all experience it to some degree or another. Stress is a part of life and some stress helps to keep us aware of our surroundings, of others, and of our need for the Lord’s help. Too much stress can weigh us down and cause physical, emotional, and sometimes even spiritual distress.
The Thorndike Barnhardt Comprehensive Desk Dictionary, ©1967, defines stress as follows:
- distressing, painful, or adverse influences
- severe strain upon endurance, feelings, etc.
In our lives, we may experience many types of stress, from mild to intense. Some of these forms of stress might include
- Meeting deadlines for school, or for work responsibilities
- Taking on new responsibilities we are not sure how to handle
- Having to go to work when we are not feeling well or while other things are occupying our minds
- serious illness in ourselves or loved ones
- death of family members or close friends
- daily pressures of life, especially if many things are happening all at once and piling up on each other.
Some incorrect views of stress from a human perspective:
Some people say that stress is not the things that are happening in our lives but rather our response to those things. It has even been said that, if we are allowing stress to adversely affect us, that this is sin. Stress does not need to have an adverse effect upon us because we can cast all our cares upon the Lord and He will care for us. After all, God will sustain us, and “he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” (See Psalm 55:22) In some cases, this type of thinking has been taken so far as to say that, if we are stressed out, this is sin because we are trying to handle things ourselves and not trusting the Lord to carry it for us.
There are a couple of problems with the above mentioned views of stress.
- A view of stress like those above makes it seem as if we should not be affected or moved by pressures around us. It ignores the effect that the troubles of life have upon us. It is as if we are supposed to live and act like those troubles do not even exist because God will carry us through them and He will bear all our burdens for us. Therefore, we can go on through life as if those burdens were not even there. This idea of life, of course, is very unrealistic.
- A view of stress like those mentioned above is also unbiblical. If these views were Biblical, then several characters in the Bible, including David, Jesus, and Paul; were horrible sinners because of the effects stress had on their lives and their actions.
Bible Examples of People Under Stress –
Both Bad Examples and Good Examples
Let us look at some Bible examples of stress, the effects it had on individuals, and the Biblical way to handle it.
Eli
The first example we will look at is a negative example, that is, an example of someone who brought stress upon himself and did not handle it Biblically. This person is Eli. Now Eli had much stress in his life that could have been avoided. It was brought about by his own sins and by the sins of his sons. Because sin went unchecked in his sons’ lives, it eventually cost them their lives and the life of Eli as well. When the final blow came, Eli was overweight and old and his heart just could not take it. Israel went to war against their enemies and lost. Eli’s sons were killed and the ark of God was taken. “And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he [Eli] fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.” (I Samuel 4:18) In Eli’s case, the final blow of stress caused him shock, possibly a heart attack, and also a broken neck. Years of reaping the consequences of his poor choices and his sons unchecked sinful behavior, finally took their toll and the effect was death.
This is a negative example, but it does show the emotional and physical toll stress can take on a person’s life.
Next time we will begin looking at the life of David. What stresses did he face? How did he deal with them? Does his life show us examples of the correct and Biblical way to handle stress? Lord willing, we will delve into the word of God and find our answers.