Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Stress = Self

I have been having a very stressful couple of days and I realized that I was slipping into an old, destructive habit or behaviour. Notice that I have already 'realized' it? That is the first positive sign. Well, stress does not come from God and when I am feeling it I have two options to choose from: 1.) Give it to God to handle and trust Him to help me deal with the cause of the stress. 2.) Ignore the need to turn it over to God and try to handle it my own way.

I have found myself in the face of stresses making the choice not to pray it through. Now, don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean I am not praying nor does it mean that I am not reading my Word. What it means is that I am only going through the motions in regard to what is really at the root of my stress. In other words, when I feel the stress I get busy with something other than what is bothering me. I may even get busy praying for someone else or studying the Bible. However, I have successfully avoided releasing the stress and the cause or root of the stress to God.

Why am I so dumb sometimes? I KNOW better than trying to deal with things on my own! I am no different than the Israelites who made the same DUMB things over and over. Okay, I have come to the point where I am ready to confess my self-centeredness that keeps me from turning it over to Jesus. It seems like such a contradiction but that is exactly what it is...Self-Centeredness! Whenever I take my eyes off the Author and Finisher of my faith, I turn my eyes to myself. I can dress it up, oh so prettily, but the bottom line is the same it is SELF that comes before Christ.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hey girl!! I enjoyed your post, and we are a hard-headed bunch of people, aren't we? It is a wonder God deals with us at all..and just think how much He LOVES us :-)
Hoping you are giving all things to our Father, and basking in the moments...one moment at a time!!
I love you,
Kendra

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I love Jesus and want my life to be a reflection of His life in me!

A Good Read...

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  • Any book written by Terri Blackstock
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