Stress And Distress

By Michael Guido

A man hurrying to meet a deadline was caught in a traffic jam. As his anger grew and his patience diminished, he noticed a bumper sticker that read, “Go ahead and honk. It’s your ulcer.” It added to his rage, and he tried to strangle his steering wheel by squeezing it as tightly as he could. But, nothing happened as his rage grew, and he became more upset.

Stress invades all of our lives and quickly causes distress. Whether it is a problem we are having difficulty solving, a goal we can’t achieve, or a decision that eludes us, we all face events that seem to be more than we can bear or beyond our capabilities. What then?

Peter said, “Give all your cares and concerns, worries and woes to God for He cares about what happens to you!”

When we refuse to give our stresses and struggles to God, we reveal our lack of trust in His power and strength. Often this shows a lack of humility on our part because we are saying to Him: “I really don’t need You – I can do this all by myself!” It takes real humility to admit to God that we need His help and the help of others who care for us and are concerned about us. We need to recognize our limitations and His greatness and willingness to do for us what we can’t do for ourselves.

PRAYER: Father, give us an understanding of our limits and limitations, and our need for Your help. When we come to the end of our abilities, may we be humble enough to call on You for Yours! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY: Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. – 1 Peter 5:7