Got Stress?

As I was praying this morning, going through my prayer list for people who are really suffering (depression, recent loss of a parent, financial difficulties, unemployment, car accident, marital problems, prison), it suddenly occurred to me that if you are a Christian, you have the ultimate comfort.

This sounds harsh, but it isn't meant that way: none of this really matters. One day, sooner or later, you will stand before the Lord, all of your problems having been washed away, and you'll enjoy the bliss of God's company forever. That's really tough for some people to find comfort in, but I've seen others endure incredible hardship by leaning on that assurance.

There are secular ways to deal with things like this, and they often work: counting your blessings, or focusing on how much better you have it than most people, or thinking of how much worse it could be. But none of them is even close to God's comfort.

Right now I'm under more stress than at any point in my life. But I feel I'm handling it much better than at times when I had much less stress, but also much less faith. I pray a lot, and read the Bible a lot. If you are facing minor or major problems today, start with few of these verses, and lean on God.

• 1 John 2:15-17
• John 14: 1-4
• Matthew 10:16-39
• Matthew 6:19-34
• John 11:25-26