How To Cope With Stress
(Isaiah 40: 28-31)
PBCJuly 2, 2000

INTRODUCTION

Have you ever gotten up thinking it's going to be a bad day? A read a cute list just the other day about circumstances that let us know it is going to be a bad day "when".

(1) You know it is going to be a bad day WHEN you wake up face down on the pavement.

(2) You know it is going to be a bad day WHEN you call suicide prevention and they put you on hold.

(3) You know it is going to be a bad day WHEN your birthday cake collapses from the weight of the candles.

(4) You know it is going to be a bad day WHEN your twin brother forgets your birthday.

Stress seems to the be the "in-thing" to talk about these days. There are hundreds of books and articles on stress. Major money is being spent to research stress. Treatment centers are being built that are totally devoted to the full time care and management of stress. The Nutrition Society of America recommends that you take vitamins like B-Complex and you take Calcium and Magnesium because it's proven that they reduce stress.

It's no wonder that we're living in a stress-filled society. You just think about the fast pace in which we live. Someone has described the times in which we live like this: It's the age of the half-read page, the quick hash and the mad dash; the bright night and the nerves tight, the plane stop, the brief stop, the brain strain, the heart pain, the cat naps 'til the spring snaps and the fun's done.

We're living in a day, you know, when we might not do everything better, but I'll tell you this, we do everything faster. You could summarize life for most people in three words, HURRY, WORRY, AND BURY. Listen, even fast food restaurants are trying to invite faster ways to get the food out because people are in such a hurry they don't have time to wait. Mahatma Ghandi who certainly wasn't a Christian made what I believe is a true statement. He said, "The average American needs to learn there is more to life than increasing its speed." That's true. Do you know why some Christians don't have a walk with God? Because they don't SLOW down enough. Do you know why some Christians don't have a quiet time? Because they don't STOP to have a quiet time.

God is the Great Physcian. Do you know why I'm dealing with topics such as depression and stress? It's not because I'm a psychologist or psychiatrist or a medical physician. The reason I'm dealing with topics such as depression and stress is because I know God is the Great Physician. I can preach with authority, confidence, and boldness on these subjects because I know God is the Great Physician. God knows more about stress than anybody. He knows more about depression than all the psychologists and psychiatrists put together. And here is Isaiah, chapter 40, God gives us a prescription that is sure to cure the worse strain of stress.

(text) Isaiah 40: 28-31

(transition) Before I give you God's prescription that is sure to cure the worse strain of stress. Let me first talk about the problem of stress and then the pressure of stress.

BODY

Division #1 Now What is the Problem of Stress?

Stress is a major problem in America. Americans are the most stressed out people on the planet. A survey was taken of a thousand business people in North America and here is what the survey revealed:

(1) 85% of those surveyed worked more than 45 hours a week.

(2) 81% of those surveyed experienced stress.

(3) 48% of those surveyed experienced stress everyday.

 

Time magazine reported and I quote, "In the past thirty years, doctors and health officials have come to realize how heavy a toll stress is taking on the nation's well-being." Now listen to this, "According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, two-thirds of office visits to family doctors are prompted by stress related symptoms." 2 out of 3 people who will go to their doctor in the morning are going because of some problem with stress. This article in Time magazine went on to report that the effects of stress cost American businesses between 50 and 75 billion dollars a year which is equivalent to $750 dollars for every worker in America. The article went on to say that stress is a major contributor, either directly or indirectly, to coronary heart disease,cancer, lung ailments, accidental injuries, cirrhosis of the liver, hypertension, high blood pressure and suicide.

Take a look at verse 30, "Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall,..." Stress is not just an adult problem. It is a problem that affects children too.

A U.S. News and World Report magazine contained a major article entitled Children Under Stress. The article points out that the magic years of childhood are no longer so magical when children today have to cope with a world in which both parents work, when sex and drugs cloud even the grade school yard and violence is only as far away as the living room television screen.

One psychologist has estimated that up to 35% of American kids suffer stress-related health problems at some point in their pre-teenage years and it ranges from anywhere of pulling out their hair to migraine headaches.

If there's one time in your life you ought to be relatively stress-free, it ought to be as a child. And yet, 1 out of 3 suffer stress-related health problems at some point in their young life. The suicide rate among children and teenagers has tripled in the last 20 years. Stress is a big big problem in America today and it is one that is being handled very poorly if it is being handled at all.

 

Division #2 The Pressure of Stress

The problem with stress is that it is inescapable. Dr. Thomas H. Holmes at the University of Washington did some considerable research in the area of human stress. He developed a scale by which one can measure the amount a stress a human receives. On a scale of 1 to 100, he devised what he called stress-change units (or life-change units). He said that no one can undergo no more than 300 units in a year's time without suffering a complete emotional or physical breakdown over the next 2 years. The most stress-inducing unit is the death of a spouse.

(1) The death of a spouse equals to a 100 units. (200 units left)

(2) A divorce equals to 73 units. (127 units left)

(3) A pregnancy is equivalent to 40 units. (87 units left)

(4) Remodeling a home is equivalent to 25 units. (62 units left)

(5) Christmas is equivalent to 12 units. (50 units left)

(THERE ARE THREE KINDS OF PRESSURE THAT STRESS BRINGS ON YOU)

A. Physical Pressure: (Hans Cellia) is called the father of stress because he was one of the early pioneer's of stress study. In 1930, he gave this classic definition of stress, "Stress is the non-specific response of the body to any demand made upon it." Well, what does he mean by that? STRESS IS GOING TO AFFECT YOU PHYICALLY. That's what he means. (Dr. Herbert Benson) of Harvard Medical School describes the effect that stress can have on the body and I quote, "When you're under stress, there is an increase within the body of a hormone called adrenadline. This, in turn, increases the blood pressure, that is, the amount of blood flowing into the muscles, and the rate of the heartbeat. it causes excessive sweating, headaches and an upset stomach. This can create a fight or flight resonse with the body. Soif you want to suffer the side results, possibly heart attack, premature death, stomach disorders, high blood pressure, nervous difficulties, you just continue down the road of uptightness and tenseness and stress."

Stress has been called the SILENT KILLER. Did you know that stress effects every vital part of the body? Here is a list of those parts. (1) Stress can cause severe hair loss and even some forms of baldness. (2) Stress can cause the brain to experience depression, anxiety, insomnia and even memory loss. (3) Stress can cause temporary blindness in the eyes. (4) Stress can cause premature wrinkling. (5) Stress can severly deteriorate the muscles in the neck and the shoulders and cause painful spasms. (6) To the heart, stress can bring cardiovascular disease and hypertension because it stimulates the release of fatty acids which hardens the arteries. (7) Stress can attack the digestive tract and aggravate ulcers, heartburn and even nausea. (8) Stress can cause high blood pressure and can trigger literal, physical changes in the heart. (So there's physical pressure).

B. Psychological Pressure. There is the mental strain of stress. What is it that causes an actor to forget his lines in the middle of a play? Stress. What causes that basketball player to miss that tying free throw with no time on the clock? Stress. What causes that football player to drop the winning touchdown pass as the buzzer goes off? Stress. Stress can mess you up metally in a big, bad, way. It can cause what we call today BURNOUT. It can bring a complete mental breakdown. (So there is the physical pressure. There is the psychological pressure and then there is the

C. Practical Pressure: Stress can cause marital difficulties. Stress can keep parents and children from relating to one another. Stress can bring your marriage to a streching halt. It can destroy your relationship with your children. It can even reduce and effectively neutralize your effectiveness as a Christian in the kingdom of God.

(transition) The pressure's incredible. But you didn't come here today to hear about the PROBLEMS or the PRESSURES you came to hear about the PROVISION. So I want to finish my sermon today talking about the PROVISION of STRENGTH.

Division #3 The Provision of Strength (God gives us the provision of strenghth to help us cope with stress).

Look at verse 31, "But those who wait on the Lord Shall RENEW their strength;..." Do you see that word "renew"? The word "renew" is an interesting word. That word in the Hebrew language means to EXCHANGE. Now read it this way, "But those who wait on the Lord shall EXCHANGE their strenght;..." Do you see what God is saying to us? God says, "I want to make a trade with you." You give me your weakness and I will give you my strength. Isn't that a wonder exchange for us? We give Him our weakness and He gives us His strength. That's what God told Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9 where He said, "...My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness." Listen God knows your stress, strains, and strife of every day life. But God, in His grace, and God, in His goodness, has supplied His strength. He has provide His power so that you can meet the stresses of everyday life. Listen, there is nothing that you will face today that you and God cannot handle together.

A. Now notice the kind of power that God said He would give us. First of all there is SERVING POWER. Look at verse 31, "But those who WAIT ON THE LORD shall renew their strength:..." Listen carefully. The phrase "wait on the Lord" does not mean what you think it means. The word "wait" in the Hebrew is an active word not a passive word. Since it is not a passive word it doesn't mean to get in a room somewhere, sit down, and stare at the walls. Let me give you a couple example to help you understand that this word is an active word not a passive word. Example number one: Have you ever gone into a store and someone comes up to you and asks, "Pardon me, is somebody waiting on you?" Now, what are they asking you? They don't mean by that is somebody standing around waiting for you to come talk to them or come see them. What they mean is, "Is somebody serving you? Is somebody trying to help you?" So when you are waiting on the Lord according to this verse it means that you are pursuing the Lord, going after the Lord, trying to serve the Lord. You are trying to do something for the Lord Example number two: Question: What does a waiter do? Is he over there is the corner somewhere waiting for you to come to him with your order. No. He comes to you with a desire to please you. He;s there to work for you. That's what it means to wait on the Lord, to be busy for God, to be active for God, to be made to realize that every minute, every moment is to be given in service to God.

The first step in handling pressure is to get a handle on who you're trying to please and who you're trying to serve. We were put on this earth to serve God a long time before we were put on this earth to serve somebody else.

B. Second there is SOARING POWER. Again look at verse 31, "But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like EAGLES;..." Let focus for a moment on the word "eagles..." Have any of you ever seen an eagle in the wild? I saw my first eagle about a year ago when I went fishing with Eddie Gibson in Great Falls. If you have never seen an eagle fly, it is a maginfiant sight. I'm glad the eagle is the symbol of America. do you know what Benjamin Franklin wanted to make the symbol of America? A turkey. Can you believe that. A turkey as the symbol of America. He must of thought of that after flying one to many kites with a key at the end of the string.

Did you know that every other bird known to man except an eagle fly away from a storm? When a storm comes up every bird except an eagles gets out of town. When a storm comes up an eagle will fly right into that storm. Is it crazy? Is it dumb? No it's courageous and it is smart. Because you see, the eagle has discovered that the THERMAL UNDERDRAFTS of that storm can gather up under those gigantic wings and can cause that eagle to soar higher than normal, it can compel him to fly faster than normal. In just ordinary weather, an eagle can fly 50 miles an hour. But in a thunderstorm, an eagle can fly 100 miles an hour. That's moving! Not only that but those turbulent winds and those thermal updrafts allow that eagle to stay up longer. And not only that but those thermal underdrafts allow that eagle to work less than he normally has to work because the wings of that eagle are designed to glide in the wind.

Now you may be wondering, what does that have to do with stress? It has everything to do with stress. At different times in our lives allof us are going to be buffeted by stress storms. You know what we tend to do when we see a storm coming? Run. By the way, you can't run from a storm, it's too fast for you. So when you see that storm coming don't fear have faith. Wait on the Lord, because what you'll discover is that the Lord will not only take you through that storm, He will lift you above that storm so that you will fly high above the stresses, the strains, and strifes of everyday life.

C. Third, there is SURGING POWER. Again, look at verse 31, "But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary;..." So far I given you the impression that all stress is bad. Not all stress is bad. Some stress is good. Sometimes we can function better under pressure. It is the pressure of a championship that forces that football player to give one extra effort to cross that goal line. It is the pressure of a world series championship that causes that baseball pitcher to rare back for a little bit extra and strike out that batter.

Pressure's not altogether bad. Opportunity doesn't alway come knocking on your door. And when it does not you had better open the door and you better open it quickly. You better be ready to take hold of that opportunity and do the things that God has called you to do. And what God is saying there is this, when those stresses of life come, when that opportunity comes into your life, those golden opportunities, when you have a chance to do something you normally could not do, God will give you the strength to run to it. You will not be weary.

D. Fourth there is STAYING POWER. Again in verse 31 it says, "...They shall walk, and not faint." Now listen, what did he mean by that, they'll walk? First, he said they'll soar. Then he said when you finally land, you'll hit the ground running. But then finally he says you'll slow down to a walk. Now here's what he was saying. He says they'll walk and not faint. Let me put it another way. They will keep on keeping on and they won't quit. What he was saying was that when the hammer of stress continually pounds against the doors of your life, don't give in and don't give out.

Do you know what I believe is the greatest ability a person can have? Dependability. Listen folks real faithfulness to God isn't how fast you can run but how long you can walk. Life is not a hundred yard dash, it is a marathon. The best thing anybody can say about a Christian is that he finished well.

 

CONCLUSION

restate: There's the problem of stress, the pressure of stress, and the provision of stress.

visualization:

Any of you own a grandfather clock? I read that there are two things you never do with a grandfather clock. Number one, never let it run down. Number two, never wind it too tight. Listen, you body is more important to God than a grandfather clock. God doesn't want you to be too run down and God doesn't want you to be wound too tight.

action:

Give God you weakness and let Him give you His strength and when you do you will find out that you can cope with stress every time it comes your way.