
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
Stress, anxiety, and worry are all inescapable facts of life. But you might have already guessed, stress is complex, and it can actually benefit us. In fact, we’ll look at good stress (eustress) recognizing distress (bad stress) and Biblical strategies for dealing with all of it.
Understanding Eustress
Eustress is the positive stress that challenges us and helps us grow. For example, you may challenge yourself to run a half marathon and commit to the training. Or you may decide you want to learn Spanish, so you take on the challenge of the class, learning the vocabulary, and passing the tests.
Put in the framework of your Christian life, you make take a step of faith and agree to teach or lead a small group. You may go through a crisis like a job loss that forces reliance on God, and you see that He proves faithful to His word.
All of these things cause varying degrees of stress and anxiety. There may be frustration and even thoughts of giving up. However, sticking with it, accomplishing the goal or looking back, we can see how God was working and how we’ve grown as a result of the challenge.
This is the kind of stress James has in mind when he said:
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:2-4
Notice all the benefits of getting through the eustress: Steadfastness, perfection (that means maturity, more that being perfect), completeness, lacking nothing. In other words, you become more unshakeable in you faith and your commitment to Jesus Christ. You are matured, experienced, wise. You are no longer a novice. Admittedly that’s a good feeling. Eustress is worth it.
Recognizing Distress
Distress, on the other hand, is the negative stress that can weigh us down and lead to anxiety and worry. It’s the type we feel where we’re afraid of failure, or when there’s family tension.
In your Christian life, it may show us as questioning God’s promises, wondering when (or if) He’s going to intervene. It may include things like watching the evening news and coming away with lingering concern about the way the world is going.
The key distinguishing factor with distress is that it lingers and it has negative impacts. If it’s on your mind constantly, if you lose sleep, if you recognize that you’re short-tempered and cynical, you may be feeling distress.
Scripture tells us that kind of stress is hard on us.
Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, But a good word makes it glad. Proverbs 12:25
The verse has the idea of weighing the heart down with burdens. If you’ve experienced that kind of stress, you can identify with the heaviness that comes with it. But this verse also hints at the solution.
Balancing and Managing Stress
If you are feeling stress, take some time to figure out if it’s eustress or distress. If it’s the good kind you can agree with Paul
I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service,” 1 Timothy 1:12
The good stress is there because God counted you faithful. He’s guiding you into a deeper relationship with Him. Keep your eyes on Him and embrace the challenge.
But if it’s bad stress, we can lean on some other words from Paul. Philippians 4:6 instructs us to rely on prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving. Prayer includes any and all communication with God. Supplications are the requests we make and petitions we submit. Thanksgiving underscores the attitude we bring. It is an attitude of humility and dependence, recognizing the need for God to intervene.
This is key advice because we have a natural tendency to withdraw when threatened. We need the opposite. We need to keep the communication lines open with God. Further, 1 Peter 5:7 reminds us that God cares about us and about the concerns we have. One of my favorite Scriptures in times of distress is Isaiah 41:10
Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ Isaiah 41:10
Don’t be afraid.
God is with you, not watching from a distance.
Don’t be dismayed. There is hope.
God says, “I am your God.” That is amazing. Think about that one for a minute.
He will strengthen you.
He will help you.
He will uphold you. That means He will give you the support and strength to stand.
His righteous right hand means He will bring His moral authority into the situation.
Stress is real. It is hard, but as believers, we don’t have to face it alone. Good stress, eustress helps us grow. Bad stress drives us to God. The key is not to let stress drive us to despair.