Emily began writing short stories and poetry as a little girl, entered the blogging world in her early 20's, and recently released her first book, Yielded in His Hands (eLectio Publishing). She enjoys being a stay-at-home momma while still being able to freelance write. Believing she has been forgiven of much, she loves much, and desires to point others to Christ and His redemptive and transforming power. If you would like to connect with Emily or learn more about her book, you can visit her website: www.emilyrosemassey.com
A few weeks ago, Marcus from Psysci.co, reached out to me and asked if he would be able to share some encouragement on emilyrosemassey.com for my readers, especially regarding his expertise in psychology. He decided to write a blog about 5 Bible verses when you are feeling stressed out. Please welcome Marcus!
Whether you consider yourself to be religious or not, Bible verses hold basic humanistic truths that apply to various situations. The following Bible verses are especially comforting in times of stress and remind us that being anxious and worrying about things will do nothing to put you in a better state mentally, physically or spiritually.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” [Philippians 4:6-7, ESV]
This verse is a constant reminder that the peace of God is freely accessible to everyone and can be so easily obtained through a simple prayer devoting your worries to God. To let your requests be made known to God through thanksgiving is a way to humble yourself and realize that God is bigger than any stressful situation that you might be going through. Keeping a gratitude journal is also a great exercise to help you reflect on the things in your life for which you are thankful.
“Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.” [Psalm 55:22, ESV]
By casting your burden on the Lord, you are transferring anxiety, stress and worry from the shoulders of a mere mortal to the hand of God that can hold an infinite amount of burdens without beckoning under the weight.
“When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to the broken-hearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.” [Psalm 34:17-19, ESV]
The righteous are afflicted – this notion is not uncommon to the world in which we live. In fact, it forms the basis of every good versus evil battle that is represented in the movies we watch, the books we read, the conversations we have and even the relationships we form with those around us. Heartbreak, affliction, sadness, hurt and other stress-inducing emotions are impartial in the sense that everyone will experience these at some point throughout their lives. This Bible verse offers a glimmer of hope and the promise of the ultimate hero to save us when we are in distress, all through God’s great grace and mercy.
“Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” [Isaiah 40:30-31, ESV]
Often, a state of distress and worry will urge an unhealthy desire to intervene in situations out of our own strength with disastrous results. Patience is a virtue for a reason and by devoting time to praying and hearing God’s voice and His desire for you to be peaceful and achieve success in whatever you do, you are sure to be renewed in spirit. God’s divine intervention is on His perfect timing, not yours – distract yourself from stress by doing exercise, meditating or doing something that you enjoy and trust that God will bring you a new sense of calm.
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” [Matthew 6:34, ESV]
This last Bible verse speaks directly to the crux of stressful situations. There will always be something to worry about but by worrying, you are not adding a single moment to your life – in fact, you’re doing the opposite! The articles found here, here and heredetail the effects of stress and worry on both your physical and mental states of health. Focus on one thing at a time to avoid reaching a point of breakdown and take time in your day to address the problems that continually cause stress and anxiety. Be confident in your ability to overcome and remind yourself of these inspiring Bible verses whenever you are stressed.
About the Author: Marcus has a degree in psychology, a master’s degree in health psychology and has worked within the NHS as well as private organisations. Marcus started psysci a psychology and science blog in order to disseminate research into bitesize, meaningful and helpful resources.
Did you happen to read Madeleine L’Engle’s “A Wrinkle in Time” in grade-school? I don’t remember too many details of the book, but I do remember it impacting my little heart now decades ago.
And if you haven’t heard the news yet, Disney’s movie adaptation will be released in Spring 2018 and the teaser trailer has already been creating a buzz online. The stellar cast (Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, and Mindy Kaling to name a few), awe-inspring special effects, and vividly colorful costumes and make-up definitely drew me into the promo clip and got me excited for the release of the retelling of this children’s classic.
Although the book is not considered a Christian piece, L’Engle, who actually used to teach Sunday school at her church and wrote a devotional on grace later on in her life, wove Christian truths throughout the book. There are actually many scriptures quoted throughout the novel as well as mention of Jesus being a “great warrior of light.” Ultimately, this book is about the powerful force of good over evil and love triumphing in the end, a message believers proclaim and live by.
“What if we are here for a reason? What if we are apart of something truly divine?”
A Wrinkle In Time opens in US theatres March 9, 2018.
Catch the teaser trailer at the link below:
I have debated on deactivating my Facebook account many times over the years, and sometimes I was brave enough to take the plunge, yet it always seems to suck me back into it's time-wasting vortex.
EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.
I have started to ask myself why this is.
With the invention of smart phones and these (often anti) social media apps , we now can be distracted and ignore the reality in front of our faces at any given moment of every single day.
Many have lost the art of communication because there really is no need to actually TALK (aloud) to people anymore.
It's all about these black letters on white background.
We text instead of call. We use emojis instead of an emotional face-to-face conversation. We post "insta" updates like engagements or the birth of a new baby instead of waiting to share that news in person, especially to close friends and family members. I hate finding out important things through Facebook first, don't you?
We can't even sit in a 20 minutes car ride without grabbing for that block of distraction. My husband knows how guilty I am of this one!
Y'all, I have been hiding behind my social media platforms ignoring that there is a deeper rooted issue going on.
I've been lonely.
Social media somehow makes me feel like I'm connected to people, but why I am still left feeling lonely?
It's because I'm longing for a deeper connection. Instead of sharing an article or funny meme, I want to share actual life experiences with others.
And recently I discovered that existing behind my keyboard hasn't just affected my relationships with people, but with God.
My prayer life has been so silent and not because I have taken the time to be still and listen.
I just have stopped talking to God in general.
Wow. Writing that out just seems to make me sound like such a horrible Christian.
But it's true.
I have to wonder if living a communicative existence of only black letters on white background is the huge reason my prayer life is on life support.
You can't text God.
You have to talk out loud sometimes. Just like my husband and I's relationship is affected by verbal communication., I'm forming my relationship with the Lord with every conversation I have with Him.
I can't say that I'm strong enough to cut social media and time on my cell phone cold turkey, but I know this has been a major stumbling block for me and I don't like that it has.
The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.
Well, I can say I'm finally being honest about that fact.
And now I need to manage my time more wisely and limit my exposure to this social media thing. That looks different for everyone, but for me it is deleting the apps from my phone and signing out of my web browsers. Deactivating my profile hasn't proved much help for me since you use Facebook to sign on to other sites and I hate remembering passwords for every single website.
I have also found it helpful to leave my phone on the charger in my bedroom during the day so it's not constantly with me in every room I'm in. I also put it on airplane mode at night so I'm not tempted to look at notifications.
So here's to mending my prayer life as I work on this anti-social media experiment once again. I'm hoping for a stronger connection up above.
I hear ya, God, I hear ya.
