Managing Stress (Read Week One: Managing Frustration)

Stress is one of the major causes of chronic anger and we all want to get rid of it,as soon as humanly possible! We want to massage it out, breathe it away, counsel it and make it behave, only to find out, our stress still won't go away--it's just a part of life.

Ironically, we stress ourselves out trying to avoid stress. Avoiding tasks and people we must and should deal with is stressful. Look at all the things many of us think about avoiding every day:

• Avoiding the bills we don't have the money to pay
  
• Avoiding that conversation we don't want to have
  
• Avoiding those people we don't understand
  
• Avoiding the paperwork and reports we must complete
  
• Avoiding those errands and chores that are our responsibility

Now it's easy to understand why so many people are irritable. We're angry because we haven't been doing what we know we are supposed to do. When we find the strength and courage to confront the unpleasant but necessary issues in life correctly, we can eliminate much of the anger that stems from stress. God gives us the key to managing stress in His Word.

"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7, New Living Translation)

Before you get too excited, this scripture is not a one-way ticket away from the land of accountability. However, it is assurance that God will empower us with the wisdom and strength we need to handle life's challenges.

Isn't it amazing how stress-free and peaceful we feel as soon as we've met a major deadline or completed a project we've put off for way too long. The irritability we've misdirected at other people because we were unsatisfied with ourselves disippates as soon as we satisfy our own conscience.

There may be other technical definitions of conscience, but a simple way to think of your conscience is this: It is the leading of the Holy Spirit that speaks to your spirit telling you what is right and what is wrong. When you obey the leading of the Holy Spirit, you can say goodbye to stress. Knowing you have done what's right in God's sight is the best stress relief.

Anger Eliminator #2: Satisfy the demands of your own conscience.

Congratulations friend! You are one step closer to an anger free attitude. Now, let's seal it with a prayer of faith.

Dear Lord,
Thank you for helping me to identify the areas in my life that I need to confront. I ask You to forgive me for neglecting them, becoming angry at myself and then taking my frustration out on others. Right now I ask that You help me to do everything I am supposed to do in the right time and in the right season so that I do not stress myself out needlessly. Lord, I thank You in advance because I know that You are faithful and will answer my prayer in Jesus' name, Amen.

About the Author: Valerie Morrow was born-again at the tender age of 5, but has been chasing Jesus and the will of God seriously for about 10 years. As busy (we prefer the word productive) wife, mother, entrepreneur, leader, ministry student and writer, she focuses on being well-balanced, as a necessity in life. Valerie has been a waitress, a secretary, a receptionist, a marketing assistant, an account coordinator, an account manager, a marketing director, a business owner and the "candy lady." She has learned the meaning of being secure in Christ regardless of your position or function in life and loves to share her insights through devotionals, bible studies and "self- improvement" articles from a Biblical perspective. Valerie is the wife of Henry Morrow and the mother of Henry and Charli Kathryn. She is an active member of Without Walls International Church under the leadership of Sr. Pastor Paula White in Tampa, Florida.