Saturday, September 27, 2008

How Do You Handle Stress?

Daniel 3:26 "Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire."

Stress is going to happen in our lives. We cannot stop it. But when we use that word it dishonors the Lord. The way we handle stress will make a world of difference. If we don't handle it right...it will drive a person to wrong source. It will drive us to the bottle...drugs...or divorce court. That dishonors the Lord. Stress and trouble should drive us to the Lord.

We know a pastor and his family that are going through one of the worst times in a person's life. Their son who was 23 years old had been going through a very difficult time in his life. He is married and has a child. Things had gotten stressful for him. He chose to take his own life on Thursday morning in front of his own mother. She had to witness him putting a gun to his head and pulling the trigger and killing himself. Suicide does not honor the Lord. That is not the way God intended for him to handle his stress.

Nebachednezzar put the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace. He meant it to punish and destroy them. But those young men trusted God. When Nebachednezzar looked into that fiery furnace...he saw a fourth Man in the fire. Those young men could not see Him...but he was there.

God is not glorified when husbands and wives fight and go to divorce court or when children go wayward and the parents get out of church as a result. God will bring us out of our troubles!!

When we are in the midst of our troubles and we speak of the goodness of God...that honors the Lord. How are you handling your stress? Be mindful of how you are handling it...others are watching and listening. It is our choice if we honor or dishonor Him in the midst of our troubles.



12 comments:

Mimi said...

I feel so bad for that pastor and his family...nothing can be so bad as to see your own child take his life in front of you...
I am so glad for her that she has her Heavenly Father to help her and the rest of the family through this...
I agree with you that it is very important how we handle stress...because we never know who is watching us to see how we cope..
blessings,
Mimi

Sis. Julie said...

Sis. Mimi...He is the only One that can get her through this difficult time. I can not even begin to imagine what she is going through.

You are so right...we never know who is watching us...we can only know that someone is!!

Jerry Bouey said...

Sis. Julie, I was thinking about some of what we were talking about in our comments here, and wanted to share a new study with you. I believe it would be a blessing and a strength - an exhortation and reminder to both of us. It certainly was a blessing to study out!

Upheld By The Lord

Praying for that family too. God bless.

Deborah said...

Thank you for posting this Julie. No matter how unthinkable our circumstances, 'surely the Lord is in this place' too.

Sis. Julie said...

Bro. Jerry...Thank you. I will definitely do that study. I need encouragement and strength. Just when I think I'm doing better...there comes another blow.

Sis. Julie said...

Sis. Deborah...Yes ma'am...He sure is!!

Mishel said...

I'm so sorry to hear about this pastor's son...

I'm thankful for the Lord's grace and mercy during times of trouble in my life. I'm thankful that I can draw close to Him...and He is there. I'm thankful I can lay *whatever* it is, at His feet...and find rest from the burdens or stresses.

You are so right when you mentioned speaking of the goodness of God in the midst of our troubles...and I think you have been a wonderful testimony of honoring the Lord during these past months.

Hugs,
Mishel

Sis. Julie said...

Sis. Mishel...Thank you for saying that. I have to say that I haven't honored Him every moment. I have had my times of murmuring and complaining. The times that I have not posted are the times that I struggled with my walk with Him and I'm saddened to say that I was not honoring Him. I'm just thankful that He is longsuffering with me and that His mercy has been present in my life. I do not deserve to be sitting here today and having the kind things said to me or about me that are said...but I'm thankful that God uses those things that are said to encourage me to get right...stay right...and be faithful to Him.

Hugs to you Sister!!!

Ticopi said...

I am so sorry to hear about that family...and I certainly have learned where to turn in my times of weakness and despair.

Thank you and Kristina for your kind words this evening, i hope to talk with you again soon. i am sorry I so abruptly left; my browser crashed and I couldn't seem to reconnect. I hope you both have a good week, and again, many thanks.

Anonymous said...

You're so right, Sis!

Stress and trouble should drive us to the Lord. In fact, He allows those things so that we may truly know His comfort. He so desires us to trust in Him and to show forth His glory through us.

Awesome post, Sis! BTW: So sorry to hear about the pastor's son...and in front of his own mother. Breaks my heart. May God give great comfort and strength to the family during this time.

Lord bless.

Sis. Julie said...

Ticopi...It was a pleasure talking with you. Kristina wondered what had happened. She was about to have to let you go anyway due to being so tired and needing to get to bed. I pray you have a great week as well.

Sis. Julie said...

Ibcpastor...I haven't been able to forget about this family since I heard what happened. Have a great day!!

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