4 Keys to Relieving Stress  
by Karen Wolff

Being a Christian doesn't insulate you from stress. In fact, finding ways to relieve stress is important for Christians and non-Christians alike.

Because anxiety and stress are pretty much everywhere you look these days, it gets increasingly harder to see what's causing it. Why are people so stressed? Who's putting all this pressure on you?

Amidst all the turmoil, if you're able to step back long enough to answer this question, you will most likely discover that person is you. Yup, you're creating most of your own stress because of your habits, attitudes, and choices.

So why not just change all that stuff? Everything should be great, shouldn't it? Wouldn't it be wonderful if it were just that easy? Unfortunately for those of us who live amongst all the chaos of life, making changes seems to add even more stress. Ugh.

So what are your options? Where do you start?

• Spend Time with God. As a Christian, your first line of defense should always be God's Word. Spending time with God gives you time to relax, reflect, and truly hear what God has to say about everything in your life. Slowly, little by little, God will work with you on areas in your life that need changing so you can relieve the stress.
• Cast your care. Does that mean you don't have to be concerned about what's happening in your life? Not at all. But it does mean that you TRUST GOD enough to let Him do whatever He's going to do, however He's going to do it. Much of your stress comes from your own desire to control everything and everyone. But when you finally come to the place where you are able to give up control, your stress will go down substantially.
• Resist the urge to take the problem back into your own hands. When you turn things over to God, it usually starts out pretty well. You're feeling good, you're confident that God is working and you believe everything is going to turn out just fine.

  But then things don't change right away. In fact, sometimes things get worse. And instead of staying focused on letting God take care of things, you rush right back in and take the problem back. You go back to manipulating the situation or the people to try to make things turn out the way you think they should be.

  It's as if you had a back-up plan all along, just in case "God doesn't come through" by the time YOU think He should. So instead of relieving stress, you just make it worse.

• Learn the art of patience. In today's hurry-up world, patience is highly under-rated. People have expectations and they want them met right now, without hestitation or excuses. And when they aren't met, they proceed to dump stress, not only on themselves, but on the people responsible for the delay. Learning patience is a particularly tough skill to master because you can't practice it until you actually need it.

There are lots of ways to relieve stress. But, as Christians, wouldn't it make alot more sense to do things God's way in the first place? Of course, that means you actually have to read the book and do what it says! What a concept.....

For more help on this topic, go to Overcoming Anxiety and Stress

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