Storm In The
Finding Refuge in the Storms of Stress
Anchors in the Storm
We live stressful lives. At every turn, we are hardpressed and pressured by life’s circumstances and challenges. Stress has become our way of life.
Stress isn’t always bad. Performing under pressure motivates us to do our best. But when we are constantly running in emergency mode, our minds and bodies pay the price. Stress-related illnesses are on the rise. Medical statistics indicate that 75 percent of all doctor visits are stress related. But it’s not stress that kills us; it is our reaction to it. And our response to stress is something we can choose.
These selections from Our Daily Bread will not take away the stress in your life. But we hope these readings will lead you to the One who can give you peace of mind.
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© 2010 by RBC Ministries. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Day 1
reach For ...
read: Psalm 55:1-7,22
Oh, that I had wings like a dove; then I would fly away and rest! —Psalm 55:6
Atelevision commercial asks, “What do you reach for when you’re stressed?” Then it suggests, “Reach for [our product].”
The numbers of ways people try to deal with serious stresses in life are as numerous as there are people. Having a drink. Blaming God. Stuffing ourselves with food. Keeping our feelings inside. Blaming others. These responses might calm us, but they’re just a temporary means of escaping our problems. No product we reach for can take them away.
In Psalm 55, King David described his desire to escape from his difficulties: “My heart pounds in my chest. . . . Oh, that I had wings like a dove; then I would fly away and rest!” (vv.4,6). After the betrayal of his friend and counselor Ahithophel, who had gone to help his enemy, David wanted to get away (vv.12-13; see 2 Sam. 15). In this psalm, he tells us that he reached out to God in his pain (vv.4-5,16).
What do we reach for? Author Susan Lenzkes suggests that we reach out to God and pour out our heart to Him. She writes, “It’s all right—questions, pain, and stabbing anger can be poured out to the Infinite One and He will not be damaged. . . . For we beat on His chest from within the circle of His arms.” —Anne Cetas
Christian, when your way seems darkest, When your eyes with tears are dim, Straight to God your Father hastening, Tell your troubles all to Him. —Anon.
When we put our cares into God’s hands, He puts His peace into our hearts.
Day 2
a negLecTed reMedy
read:
1 Kings 19:1-18
IIn peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe.
Psalm 4:8
am often asked to speak on the subject of stress. I’m not an expert on stress, just an experienced sufferer! I simply share counsel from God’s Word that helps me live less stressfully and more restfully. Many listeners are desperate for any new insight I might offer. What blank looks I sometimes get when I make this particular recommendation: “Get more sleep!” In their longing to deepen their experience of God’s peace, they were hoping for something more spiritual than that.
But I’m not alone in linking spirituality to sleep. A godly Bible teacher was asked to share the key ingredient in his own life for walking in the Spirit. He studied the Bible and prayed regularly, but his surprising reply was this: “Get 8 hours of sleep each night.”
This reply is less surprising in light of God’s initial remedy for Elijah’s stress and depression (1 Kings 19:118). Twice God gave him food and undisturbed sleep before gently confronting him at Mt. Horeb with his error. Psalm 4:8 says, “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe.” Sleep is not the full remedy for stress, but other solutions can become clearer to people who get adequate rest.
—Joanie Yoder
When life is so busy and hectic and humming, You’re uptight and frazzled and stressed; Slow down for a while and spend time with the Savior, And be sure to get adequate rest. —Fitzhugh
We can sleep in peace when we remember that God is awake.
Day 3
InTervIew wITh
a gerbIL
read:
Psalm 34
Search for peace, and work to maintain it.
—Psalm 34:14
With appealing humor, Ron Hutchcraft, busy author, speaker, and counselor, tells about his battle with stress. One day Ron decided to “interview” the family gerbil.
“Tell me, Gerbie,” Ron asked, “what do you have planned for today?”
“First, breakfast,” he replied, “and then get started.”
“Doing what?” Ron questioned.
“Why, the same thing I did yesterday, and the day before that.”
“What’s that?” Ron asked again.
“The wheel.”
And sure enough, Gerbie climbed on his little wheel and started running in circles. Hours later, he was still running.
The more Ron watched that gerbil, the more he saw himself. He had his own personal “wheels”— demands, deadlines, aggravations, ambitions. He felt as if he was running in circles, and he longed for peace. In his search, he made this discovery in Psalm 34: Peace isn’t automatic or passive; it must be pursued. Not only that, but peace is also a result of a right relationship with the Lord.
As never before, Ron enthroned the Lord as the Shepherd of his life. As he did, peace, instead of the stressful wheel, became normal. Which will be normal for you today?
—Joanie Yoder
Give me a heart of calm repose
Amid the world’s loud roar, A life that like a river flows
Along a peaceful shore. —Anon.
For peace that lasts, put God first.
Day 4
sLeepLess nIghTs
read:
Psalm 16:1-11
TheI lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night.
—Psalm 63:6
psalmist David had his dark, lonely nights when everything seemed out of control. Doubts and fears assailed him, and there was no escape from his problems. He tossed and turned just as we do, but then he turned to his Shepherd (Psalm 23:1) and reminded himself of the Lord’s presence. That brought peace to his anxious, troubled soul. David said, “I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for He is right beside me” (16:8).
We too have occasions of wakefulness when anxious thoughts jostle one another for attention, when we curse the darkness, and when we long for sleep. But we mustn’t fret, for darkness can be our friend. God is present in it, visiting us, counseling us, instructing us in the night. Perhaps on our beds, as nowhere else, we may hear God’s voice. We can listen to His thoughts and meditate on His Word.
We can talk to the Lord about every concern, casting our care on Him (1 Peter 5:7). We can talk about our failures, our conflicts, our challenges, our anxieties, our frustrations over His lengthy delays—all the things that stress us out and render us sleepless—and listen to what He has to say. That’s what can set us apart from ordinary insomniacs. That’s the secret of quiet rest. —David H. Roper
I couldn’t sleep last night, but did not toss And count my wakefulness a dreadful loss; Ah, no! I was quite glad to lose my sleep— I had such wondrous company to keep! —Seller
When you can’t sleep, don’t count sheep. Talk to the Shepherd.
Day 5
how To handLe Fear
read:
Psalm 56:1-13
But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. Psalm 56:3
Some years ago as I lay in a hospital bed, I overheard two women talking in a waiting room outside my door. Evidently the husband of one of them was in critical condition. She had been under extreme stress and was greatly concerned about his recovery. She said to her friend, “You know, when you’re as worried as I am, you just have to smoke!” That made me think about how people handle their fears. Some turn to alcohol, others turn to food, and some to busyness. The psalmist gave us a better solution to the problem of fear. He said, “But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you” (56:3). It’s tragic when we turn to something other than the Lord to fill the void or cover up the pain we’re feeling.
If we have put our faith in God’s Son, Jesus Christ, we can have confidence that our heavenly Father sees us in our trials and has promised His protection. In times of distress, we can place our trust in the Lord. He wants us to call on Him so that He can encourage us with His presence and give us His peace.
As you rest in the Lord and rely on Him today, you will be able to say with the psalmist, “But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you.” —Richard De Haan
Nothing is hid from His all-seeing eye, Never a teardrop nor even a sigh; Anxious and troubled you never need be— Trust Him completely and doubtings will flee. —Nienhuis
When fear knocks at your door, let faith open it.
Day 6
The Lord Is My rock
read: Psalm 18:1-3
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. —Psalm 18:2
Itturns out that we humans reason largely by means of our hearts and not by our heads. As French mathematician and theologian Blaise Pascal noted long ago, “The heart has reasons that reason does not know.”
Poets, singers, storytellers, and artists have always known this. They use symbols and metaphors that speak to our hearts rather than to our minds. That’s why their ideas penetrate where everything else has failed. And that’s why we say, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Images remain in our minds when all else is forgotten.
David wrote, “The Lord is my rock, my fortress . . . my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety” (Psalm 18:2). He was thinking of physical elements that convey spiritual realities. Each picture expresses a deeper thought, linking the visible world to the invisible realm of the Spirit. David doesn’t wander into definition and explanation, for explanation can blunt imagination. Each picture is left hanging in our minds—images that evoke mystery, arouse our imagination, and deepen our understanding.
David wakes up what is hidden deep within us. It’s good to think long thoughts about it. What does this mean to you: God is my rock, my fortress, my shield?
—David H. Roper
The Lord’s our Rock, in Him we hide, A shelter in the time of storm; Secure whatever ill betide, A shelter in the time of storm. —Charlesworth
To survive the storms of life, be anchored to the Rock of Ages.