Summer Sorensen

Triumphant Living

How to Deal with Stress as a Christian

How to deal with stress as a christian

To stress is to be human. But as Christians, do we deal with it differently than others? Let’s talk about how to deal with stress as a Christian.

In the next few paragraphs, I’m going to:

  1. Provide a simple yet often overlooked answer
  2. Give more context to its power
  3. Opine about how we often neglect this powerful solution
  4. Finally, I’ll share an example of how this played out in my life during a particularly stressful few days I had recently

How do we deal with stress as Christians?

(If you’d rather watch this content:)

The simple answer: pray.

I told you it was simple. On the surface it is. But there is more to it than we often think, especially when we are in the midst of stress.

What does prayer do for us?

Prayer is so powerful because it allows us to humble ourselves to ask the God of the universe for help. So why do we often neglect prayer in our time of greatest need? 

We’re too self-important and prideful.
We think we can solve it all on our own. Am I the only one that has felt that way? If we could, why would stress be such a dominant force in our lives? It should serve as a reminder of our own limitations as humans.

We’re “too busy.”
I’m guilty of this one. More often than I care to admit. When facing a day that I know is going to throw me for a loop, how often do I choose to “just get started” on the list and the problems, rather than taking a few minutes on my knees to humble myself before God, acknowledging that I need His help?

We don’t realize how transformational prayer is.
Until you’ve embraced prayer to address your stress, you may not realize the peace and the power that has been available to you all along. Once you do, and you start to receive the benefits of prayer (see the Scriptures linked above), then it slowly becomes clearer why this is how to deal with stress as a Christian.

How to deal with stress as a Christian: a personal example

We all go through days and seasons of stress. Here is something that happened to me recently.

As I was approaching the time of the month when two of my biggest work deadlines arrive, I got sick. It was a cold that came bundled with fatigue, and I didn’t have the energy to work. Plus, my strategy is always to beat sickness with vitamins, minerals, supplements and REST.

For three days, I was barely able to do anything, as the deadlines encroached. The week of the deadlines arrived, and I was still feeling under the weather.

Not only did I have those to contend with, but I was working out the details with a new client, with whom I was pioneering a brand-new service offering for my social media marketing business.

The day before the deadlines came and I was navigating more than I could handle:

  • Still recovering from sickness
  • Navigating several unknowns with new client
    • Figuring out not one, but two new software subscriptions I needed to get her work done
    • Issues with customer service on one of the software providers
    • Complications with posting on one of her social media platforms
    • Navigating my lack of knowledge on using a new post scheduling tool (having to watch YouTube videos to figure it out)
  • Plus, the stress of my normal deadlines, being behind when I had been sick for several days
  • I hadn’t heard back from a client on a few key issues necessary to complete my assignments

Words don’t adequately describe how I was feeling that day, but I was in over my foggy head. I’ve been down this road of stressful workdays often enough that either it’s starting to get through my thick head, or perhaps it was a gentle nudge from the Holy Spirit.

“Summer, you’re freaking out. This is way too many things to deal with at once. You need to pray.”

I got the message. And I prayed. I stopped to thank the Lord for His goodness (having too much work to do is a blessing, after all – especially for a business owner), and I lifted my concerns to Him while asking for peace, clarity and wellness to get through it.

Do you know what happened afterward? I felt a sense of calm and determination. Remember Philippians 4:6-7?

I was realistic about the challenges ahead of me, but I made up my mind to tackle them one problem at a time. If memory serves, I even fit a power nap in that afternoon. Those are an important part of my routine. 🙂

Conclusion

Here I am, having lived to tell about the most stressful day in recent memory. Once again I thank God for His gracious kindness in instructing us to pray, and being faithful to fulfill His promises to His children when we do.

So how do we deal with stress as Christians? The answer itself is simple. The application is where things get interesting. But it is my wish for you, dear reader, that you remember to humble yourself before God when life gets stressful. It is the best thing you can do.

Is there a time when prayer helped you? I’d love to hear about it in a comment!

 

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Summer Sorensen

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One response to “How to Deal with Stress as a Christian”

  1. Marilyn McCoy Avatar
    Marilyn McCoy

    Thank you, Summer, for nailing it, once again. How blessed we are as God’s creation to have a direct line to his ‘ear’. I could certainly relate to your personal experience, although I was not physically ill at the time, just overwhelmed with exhaustion and stress. When I was a secondary teacher years ago, I was asked by my administrator to re-write and edit our school’s application for recognition as a “National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence”. What started out as a simple task turned into a monster overnight. The pressure to produce an exceptionally well- written application (40+ pages of narrative, charts, and graphs) was enormous. I was given sole use of the school’s computer lab so that I could type the document with focused concentration and privacy. The district superintendent even placed a substitute teacher in my classroom for a week so that I could devote my full attention to the project. For two weeks, I feverishly worked around the clock trying to finish the project by the deadline….even sleeping on the floor of the computer lab two nights in a row. Within two days of the deadline, it was very apparent that I was not going to make it, even if I typed non-stop for 24 hours. In desperation, I crawled into one obscure corner of the lab, fell on my knees and cried out to the Father, pleading “What am I going to do?” His answer was as clear as it was calming: “Go back to the computer, Marilyn, and continue typing. I am with you.”
    From that moment on, I felt a heightened sense of alertness, a clarity in my thinking, and (wonders of wonders) my fingers started flying over the keyboard. Fast forward: In the months that followed, I humbly received many accolades for my efforts, along with other teachers, in winning that highly coveted national title. It was especially rewarding to be flown to Washington D.C. to stand with other educators at the Department of Education and accept the award. But Summer, you and I know the actual truth behind that accomplishment. That’s why at that time, and to this day, I do not hesitate to give credit to the power of prayer. His strength was made perfect in my weakness.

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