How Should Christians Cope With Stress?

Well, happy Sabbath, everybody! We should be very excited and wonderful entering this new year that we are in. Hopefully you didn't stay up and see it out last night. I could care less, frankly, than it's January 1st. Long, long time ago, there was a man by the name of Bob Dylan. He was an American songwriter and singer. Probably some of you do not know who he is, if you've not been around since the 60s. Anyway, he had been on the music scene probably about five decades, so he's been around for a long time and still making music today. During the 1960s, he wrote a song that was entitled, The Times Are a-Changin'.

Here's what it says in the first stanza, the lyrics of this particular song. It says, "'Come, gather round, people, wherever you roam, and admit that the waters around you have grown, and accept that it soon that you will be drenched to the bone.'" It goes on to say, "'If your time to you is worth saving, then you better start swimming, or you'll sink like a stone, for the times they are a-changin'." The times they are a-changin'.

And of course, this last verse is mentioned at the end of every stanza of this particular song. You know how he's kind of got a twangy kind of a sound to his voice. But those lyrics express the story of mankind, you know, for the last 6,000 years. You know, it's like I was told many, many times when I was growing up, and even when I entered the ministry, sink or swim. In fact, the very first pastor that I was ever given in Huntsville, Alabama, in Florence, Alabama, back in the 70s, I was told, sink or swim. And thankfully, I've been swimming now for about 37 years. But, you know, we do have to, in this life, either sink or swim, if we don't keep up with the floodwaters of chains that occur in this world.

In each generation, the lives of people become more and more complex, like the water that's rising around us. And if we don't keep up with the times, then we will drown. We'll sink like a stone, like Bob Dylan said. You know, we have to, as God's people, in fact, learn and grow in our lives. You know, it used to be, and I must say, sometimes I look back at these days as the days that I cherish.

It used to be to Americans, Americans would sit on the front porch. I remember in one of the neighborhoods I used to visit, they had these big houses with the nice front porches. And people would be sitting on those front porches, watching the cars go by, or the people walking up and down. They would be outside listening to the birds that would be singing. They would be looking around the neighborhood as to what was going on. There was a time when there was no television, there were no cell phones, there were no computers, and not everyone even in fact had a car at that particular time.

Most didn't travel much. If you talked to people where they had been, they probably would tell you that they were over on the other side of the county and thought they made a big trip, you know, during that time.

You know, it's kind of interesting also that school was very simple at that time. It was reading, writing, and arithmetic. And that was basically what it was all about. And people didn't think much about, you know, people that had a problem adjusting to that. Most families did not have mothers working outside the home either. Think about this. When kids came home from school, mom was there, you know, making that peanut butter and jelly sandwich for you, and helping you to adjust to being home.

And there were no latch-key kids, or at least there weren't very many at that particular time. And another thing that I liked during those days was the fact that communication was slower. If something happened on the other side of the world, you might find out about it a week later. You know, it wouldn't be something that also, if you heard about it, you probably wouldn't get too much thought about it. Because I remember in those days, we didn't think about what was happening in other countries all that much.

At least I didn't. You know, maybe I was out of touch at that time, but that was the way it was. And there are many, many things. If you have a chance to talk to someone who went through the 50s and the 60s, let's say the first half of the 60s, you could talk to people that, again, lived in a slower time than we are living in now. And increasingly, we live in a complex world, and we're bombarded with rapid change, not just change, rapid change. And sometimes we feel like jugglers, at least that's the way I liken it.

You know how the juggler tries to keep those balls in the air all the time? We in our lives have to do that, too. We have to keep those balls in the air. But every once in a while, the world throws you another ball. And so then you've got four that you're trying to keep going. And eventually, you've got so many, it seems like we have so many today, it's hard to juggle them all.

And life has become simply too fast-paced in this topsy-purvy world that we live in. And all of us, as a result of all that, brethren, are under immense stress all the time. You know, we are under immense stress, and it is a real problem, I would say, for everyone today. You know, no matter who you are, you're under stress, and it is impacting you probably in more ways than you imagine, in terms of your health, in terms of other things in your life.

Well, brethren, how should Christians cope with this problem of stress in this fast-paced world that we are living in? What can we do to relieve it in our lives? You know, what is this problem of stress anyway? Well, brethren, it is a pressure. It's like if you ever had somebody that hopped up on your shoulders and, you know, they maybe were fairly big, the weight was quite a lot, and they maybe pressed down on your shoulders. It's a pressure that sort of holds you down, but in the sense of our emotions, it impacts us, it pressures us.

In the sense of our lives, that pressure impacts us. And that pressure basically involves uncertainties in the future. If we don't know what the future is going to be, that puts pressure on us. You know, we have to know what is going to happen so that we have certainties in our future. You know, we can get mentally agitated or uneasy, and if we let it, it can be we can become distressed and panicky in our lives.

Because I've met people in the church that have gone through this kind of thing that they've had so many things that have happened to them over their lives, maybe a loss of mate, a loss of a mate to death, perhaps parents, perhaps even children.

Maybe being estranged from their children and those sorts of things. And we can feel, again, under the such pressure that we become panicky. Stress is being overwhelmed by functions that are necessary in this world that is so prone to change. You know, there are certain things you have to do in this world, whether you like it or not. Whether you like it or not, you've got to get up every morning and go to work, don't you?

And nobody's going to call and say, well, if you're under pressure today, stay home, we'll pay anyway. This doesn't happen, does it? And if you're under that stress, oftentimes people don't even know that you're under that stress. You know, we can feel vulnerable and inadequately protected against changes, and it creates, again, that pressure on our lives. We can feel threatened in some way. Maybe we feel threatened socially with our peers.

We can feel threatened when it comes to professional in terms of our job. We can be threatened even academically. You know, what does a student go through? Very often they seem to be threatened sometimes by the need to achieve, to always be doing better and better. We can feel threatened sometimes, in fact, by the performance of just being a human being. Just think about that a little bit. Are you a good human being? Are you a decent person? Sometimes people look at you and they say, no, you're not a decent person. And, of course, that puts stress on people.

And again, I'm not saying that there should be no rules for those kinds of things. I'm just saying it's a part of being a human being. Whether you're performing, whether you're a good mother or a good father or a good daughter or a good son. You know, there are stresses, again, that are everywhere it seems, from every area of life, including stress from the church.

Of course, we don't have any stress due right now in the church at all. Of course, we all realize that the church is in a time of trial and we can't help but be affected by it. Stress affects us in three fundamental ways. And let's talk about this. The three fundamental ways in which we are affected by stress. Number one, insecurity. So, when we have stress, it's because we feel insecure. Something bad is going to happen. Sometimes we think in our minds, even when everything is going well.

In fact, sometimes we can have these stresses of things have been going so well, something's bound to happen. So, insecurity is a fundamental trait that we need to look at if we are under stress. Number two, helplessness. In other words, there is nothing that you can do whatsoever.

With your problem. You feel helpless with it. I'll tell you what, when you maybe have a child that's four or five years of age and you see them having serious health problems and the doctors say to you, there's nothing that we can do. That's stress. That's stress.

And number three, isolation. We all have, brethren, a feeling that sometimes when we are in a situation where it's highly stressful that no one can help us or no one will help us. Well, we can think that way. So, those three things are the fundamentals of what effect does when it comes to stress and the effects of it.

Well, brethren, how can we cope in the midst of the problems of life? And how can we cope with stress? Well, there are things that we need to remember, brethren, when we're under stress.

I want to bring out some points on that through the remainder of the sermon. But, first of all, I think it's important for us to realize, brethren, that Christians must trust in God.

Christians must trust in God. You know, when we think that we are helpless, that nobody is going to intervene and help us or will be back of us at our trials and our problems, you know, I think it really shows very clearly that we were created for a need of having God in our lives. And so, Christians must trust in God. We need to come to a knowledge, brethren, God's greatness to do that.

I talked about in a sermon I gave recently about that, about how big is God to you?

How big is He to you? You know, is God a hip-pocket God that you pull out and ask Him to do something for you every once in a while? Or is God this big God that is over the entire universe? You know, how big is God to you? In order to cope with stress, we need, brethren, to treat the cause also and not the effect. And the effect that we see, of course, is stress in our lives.

But we have to ask the question, why do we have stress? We have stress because we're not thinking correctly. You know, how is it that some people are able to deal with stress and other people are not? You know, why does some people end up maybe having to seek psychiatric care and other people do not? You know, it's the way people think. And, of course, in some cases, perhaps a child has not been taught how to think, how to realize that there's something bigger than they are. Well, brethren, if we can change the way that we think, we can lessen the impact of stress upon us. Let's realize that, brethren, that the pressures of this world will always be there in some way.

You know, we can't get up and wave a magic wand and dismiss the stress that's going to be in society around us. And, frankly, some stress in our lives is necessary for our growth. You know, if we never ever were challenged on anything, then we wouldn't be growing. And so there's necessity for some stress in our lives to cause us to grow. However, how we respond to these stresses and these pressures, and what we think will change the impact of it on us, and we'll be able to handle it. How should a Christian think with regards to these three parts of what causes stress? And that is insecurity, helplessness, and isolation. And so let's talk about that.

What should Christians be thinking with regard to these things?

A Christian, brethren, should feel absolutely secure. A Christian should feel absolutely secure in their life. I know sometimes, you know, you look at situations in society and some people live in communities where gunfire is a regular part of their life. You know, I've known people that have moved into areas where they heard gunfire every night. You know, how secure would you feel sending your children out to play in a neighborhood like that? That causes a lot of stress. Obviously, we may need to make some physical changes in our lives to get to the level where we can feel safe on the physical level. But let's go to Proverbs again, Chapter 3, in verse 21 over here. And notice what God says to us, brethren. If we believe He's a big God, if we believe, brethren, that He is all-powerful and all-knowing, let's notice it says in Proverbs 3, verse 21, My son, let them not depart from your eyes. That is the laws of God that causes us to have wisdom, He's talking about. And it says, keep sound wisdom and discretion. You know, have discretion, He's talking about. So that they will be life to your soul and grace to your neck.

You know, sometimes we don't have enough discretion as God's people as well, and we need to grow in that. And learn to discern. Learn to discern what is good and what is evil. But it says, and then you will walk safely in your way. You get that, brethren? God says, if you really embrace my law that leads to wisdom, and in wisdom, He says, cries out in the street, then you will walk safely in your way and your foot will not stumble. So God says, you're not going to be, you know, always about to tumble down to your face, but you won't stumble. And when you lie down, you will not be afraid. You're not going to be afraid. Yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet.

Do not be afraid of sudden terror. It says, nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes.

For the eternal will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.

So that's the promise, brethren, that God makes to us. So Christians, again, should feel secure.

He's told us that if we seek Him in the right way, that we will be secure. And, you know, God says in Hebrews 4 and verse 16, where He inspired Paul to write this, you don't need to turn to it, but it says, "...let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of need." And so we can go to God and He will help us in a time of need. So we don't have to become distressed. We don't have to feel, again, that stress to the point where we get panicky in our lives. You know, one of the things I think we have a fear of in God's church, some of the members have expressed this, is some people, somehow, they think that, you know, if things are going good, that somehow the rug is going to be yanked out under their feet and they're going to fall to their faces. They have that fear. But, brethren, beware of the fact that God didn't call you to do that. He didn't bring us all this way spiritually to yank the rug out from under our feet. You know, He called us, in fact, as we know, He's reproducing Himself and us to be a part of His family, to be a part of the kingdom that is coming. And so a Christian should feel secure. Next, brethren, a Christian is never helpless, never helpless. So, let's notice again what the Bible says about that. In Romans, over in the book of Romans, just basic scriptures over here, there's nothing, again, extraordinary in terms of what our understanding should be. But, well, we need to be reminded, again, about the promises that God has made.

Here it talks about how God has called us, and in the verse previous to this, and He's justified us, and He's glorified us in one sense because we've received the Holy Spirit and will glorify us even more in the kingdom of God. And it says, what then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? I remember when I was a kid, I was in the third grade, and how many, who is in the third grade here? Okay, third, no, third grade now.

Right now, you're, by the way, you're in the first class. But I don't see anybody that's in the third grade, but I remember when I was in the third grade, I had this fellow that kept picking on me.

I know some of you have had that probably happen to you, but anyway, the way I solved the problem, I actually made good friends with a guy that was about this tall. He became my bodyguard.

And anyway, after that, I never felt unsafe again, because he was always by my side.

Well, you know, think about it this way, brother, and if we become afraid, we think we're helpless, we've got a bigger God that is way up here beyond what we can even imagine.

But it goes on in verse 32, showing us that even more, what a tremendous promise that God has made to us, He who did not spare His Son, His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not? It says, with Him also freely give us all things.

Do we get that, what he just said there, in that one verse right there? He says, look, if I sent my Son and I gave my only Son on your behalf, how could you think that I would ever desert you? How could you ever possibly think that? You know, I think we need again to see how great God is in that way. And in verse 32, it says, who can bring a charge against God's elect?

It is God who justifies. It is God who justifies. And so we got our big God, who is our bodyguard, and He watches over His brethren. And the Father gave us the life of His own Son, and He will not deny any of us help. That's the truth, brother. He simply will not do that.

You know, it's interesting what David wrote in Psalm 27 verse 5.

David, of course, looked at God as a protector, and it says, In other words, God, as it were, took David and put him high up when there was trouble that was there. Like Barnes' notes of the Bible says this about that phrase, a place where I shall be secure, a place inaccessible to my enemies.

And so He has set me high upon a rock. So when there's danger around our God, our great God, which is up on a rock, a high rock, nobody can reach us. And so, brethren, we're never helpless.

We have God. Also, brethren, next, a Christian is never alone. A Christian is never alone or isolated. You know, David saw God as the Good Shepherd that makes the sheep feel secure.

He makes the sheep of God secure. I think it's important to us to know what a Good Shepherd strives to do with His flock. In Psalm 23, let's go over to Psalm 23.

I'm sure that all of us have read this Psalm over and over again because it does give us peace. And many times when stress is very high in our life, you know, if you lose a family member or a brother or someone like that, to remember these verses is very important for us. But notice what David says here in verse 4 in Psalm 23.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.

For you are with me, your staff, and your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Eternal forever.

Do we think that way? Do we think that way about our lives? You know, do we get, woe is me, I'm alone, I'm helpless, I feel like I'm threatened and I'm insecure.

I got nobody. Do we think the way he just expresses it right here? Think about what he's saying here.

And God says this, brethren, to us so that we will know what a good shepherd is.

Let's go over to Jeremiah 23, Jeremiah 23, verse 1-4.

Because there is a serious warning, brethren, that is given to shepherds, to be careful with God's flock.

And you'll notice I said, God's flock.

Not my flock, not your flock, not anybody else's flock, but to be careful with God's flock.

But it says, woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture, says the Eternal.

Therefore, thus says the Lord God of Israel, against the shepherds who feed my people.

You have scattered my flock, driven them away, and not attended to them.

Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your doing, says the Eternal.

But I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds, and they shall be fruitful and increase.

See, that's what the church is about, to become fruitful and increase.

The church should be multiplying. The church should be growing.

And notice in verse 4 it says, I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking, says the Eternal.

And so we have to realize, brethren, what a good shepherd is, and what a bad shepherd is, and how God wants us to be taken care of. We see here that God taking care of Israel.

And we know this ultimately applies to Israel, but the principles apply to the church, because we are God's Israel, the Israel of God, as the Bible says.

And God will not leave his flock unprotected. You know, He's not going to let that happen in the millennium, and He is not letting that happen today. You know, God provided in 1995, and He is providing now in the church, because there are many elders, brethren, who have remained in the United Church of God to serve the flock. Let's go to Hebrews chapter 13.

I know it's always discouraging when we see someone resign from the ministry, but the church does have around 400 elders, and the majority of them have not left. Hebrews 13 in verse 5, it says, Let your conduct be without covelessness, and be content with such things you have. For He Himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.

And it says, So we must boldly say, The Lord is my Helper. I will not fear. What can man do to me?

And so our Helper is God who's watching over us. We're not alone, brethren. God is with us.

Sometimes we feel stressed out, and we need to remind ourselves that God has promised us to relieve the stress. We need to place our full confidence and trust in God's ability to do whatever needs to be done. And He will be there, brethren, for us. Let's go over to Isaiah 40.

Isaiah 40. Oh, Isaiah chapter 40.

In verse 28.

Here it says, and I think certainly the answer to this particular question is that most have not known, but it says, Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Eternal, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. And so God is never going to fall out Himself. He's not going to faint. And it says His understanding is unsearchable.

And He gives power to the weak, to those who have no might. He increases strength.

And so He's with us, brethren, and He gives strength. And it says, Even the youth shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall. But those who wait on the Eternal shall renew their strength, and they shall mount up with the wings of the eagles. And they will run, and not be weary, and they shall walk, and not faint. And so, brethren, if we have God with us, we're never alone. He can help us. He can cause us to again be strengthened in a time of need.

Again, God actually is ultimately the one that allows us to be in the Kingdom.

You know, it's not because of our ability, it's not because of our own personal strength, it's because of what God does in us. And frankly, what we do, although it's very important because God can only bless an effort, without God's help, none of us would be in the Kingdom of God.

Not one of us would achieve God's Kingdom. You know, Joshua was to go into the Promised Land with Israel after Moses died. And let's notice over here in Deuteronomy chapter 31.

Deuteronomy chapter 31, in verses 7 and 8, it says, Then Moses called Joshua, and said to him, in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the Eternal has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall cause them to inherit it.

And the Lord, or the Eternal, he is the one who goes before you. And it says, He will be with you, He will not leave you or forsake you, and it says, Do not fear, nor be dismayed, don't be afraid. And so, brethren, we as God's people are never alone, God went into Israel with them, with Joshua, but He did say to them, Look, don't be afraid. Don't be dismayed, as the Bible says here. God is going to be with you.

And you remember what Paul himself realized? He said this, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I can do all things.

And so, again, remember that, brethren, when we're going through trials and difficulties, you know, do we doubt, brethren, God has infinite power and that He loves us? Do we doubt that?

You know, we will, in fact, brethren, if we consider the work of His hands, the very fact that we live and exist as human beings, if we look up into the heavens and see the great power of God that is shown to us and displayed every night, and we see how vast this universe is, if we see, in fact, where His very hands have been in our lives, changing us, helping us to overcome. You know, think about where you've come from and where you are now and what you're doing. You know, God has been with you all this way, and He is not going to leave you or forsake you. And, brethren, He always hears us when we pray. He always hears us when we pray.

You know, sometimes I think we thank God is hard of hearing. Somehow, we can't communicate with God because He doesn't have ears to hear. I remember one time at Ambassador College many years ago, and I didn't do this, by the way, but there was one particular person that went into the prayer closet in the dormitories, and his prayers were so loud that you could hear them all over the dormitory. And several of the students wrote a note, and when he was praying, got above the ceiling and somehow managed to drop a note from the ceiling that said, I am not deaf.

But I think sometimes we thank God, you know, can't hear.

Some ministers, by the way, are pretty honoree. But let's go to 1 John, Chapter 5.

1 John, Chapter 5, and verse 14 over here.

Notice what the Apostle John said, and boy, he had to go through a lot of things in his life.

Remember, in the 90s A.D., with the problems, the great problems that occurred within the Church.

But here in 1 John 5 and down in verse 14 and 15, it says, now, this is the confidence that we have in him that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. He hears us. Remember when Christ was there to resurrect Lazarus?

He looked up in the heaven and prayed a short prayer, and he said, Lazarus, come forth, and he came out of the tomb. Jesus Christ said, Father, I know you always hear me.

You always hear me. And so let's remember what it says here, brethren. If we ask anything according to the will of God, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of him. We have it from God, brethren. Now, again, there's perhaps more we can explain about that, what the will of God is.

Don't expect God's intervention, brethren, if we're living contrary to his will, though. If we're living our lives in sin, don't expect him to intervene for us unless you're asking for God's help and coming to a repentance. You'll hear that. It's been my belief that if I commit a sin, that the first thing I want to do when I pray is to confess it to God.

And then, you know, you go the rest of the prayer. Because I want God's attention, you know, when I pray to him. And, of course, I'll ask for that forgiveness, you know, oftentimes later as well, but a lot of times I try to do it at the beginning, get the slate clean, let God know that I'm repentant and I want to obey him and walk in his way. And I don't know about you and my prayers, but I ask God, don't give up on me.

I think that we all probably have to do that, don't we? Because I think we all realize that we've got a lot of changing to do. But let's go to Philippians chapter 4. Philippians chapter 4, again, we're talking about how to overcome the stress that is in our lives and how to deal with that, those problems that we have, thinking sometimes we're alone or that we're not secure or that we have no help. But in Philippians 4 and verse 6 and 7, it says, But be anxious for nothing.

Don't be anxious for anything, he says. I suppose we could say, don't get stressed out about anything here. But in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. In other words, this is where, brethren, peace of mind comes from. That we, brethren, as God's people, are praying to God. We believe our God, that God is going to answer our prayers. And you know, the Bible says, Great Peace have those who love your law, and nothing causes them to stumble. Nothing causes them to stumble. And so, keep that in mind, brethren. You know, are we doing these key things, brethren, as God's people? You know, are we doing these particular key things that I want to also talk about with regard to stress and just give a brief explanation of each one? Number one, are you studying God's Word to grow in the grace and knowledge of God? Or are you studying God's Word? You know, how can we come to know how big God is, unless we are studying and learning more about God and learning more about His grace?

I'm not going to go to this verse, but it says in Romans 15.4, for whatsoever things are written before we're written for our learning, that we, through the patience and comfort of the scriptures, might have hope. So, we ought to be poring over the scriptures and looking at the scriptures, so that in them we have hope. Frankly, in them we see how great God is and how forgiving God is.

And we realize that we have His help at all times that is there. So, studying the scriptures helps us to understand how big God is. Helps us to understand what He is wanting us to do. He wants, of course, wants us to be encouraged by the scriptures as well. Number two, are you being realistic in your life as well? Your peace of mind shouldn't depend on solving all problems, either your problems or other people's problems. You know, Rome was not built in a day. And you and I, whatever we are, in terms of our life and our existence, you know, what I am happened over six decades. Some here are working some progress, you know, and started early. Some, maybe later. So, Rome was not built in a day, and God reproducing Himself is not going to be done in a day. Started with when we were born, basically, and baptized afterwards. So, are we realistic? Are we being realistic? You know, I've known people that, in fact, did not want to be baptized until they were perfect, basically. I want to make sure I'm doing everything right before I get baptized. Well, you know, they're not realistic about it.

There are certain things that we should be doing right before we're baptized, but we're not going to go down in that pool and then instantly be resurrected, you know, to be a part of God's kingdom. It's going to take some time to build character. Now, let's notice over in 2 Corinthians chapter 12. I think everybody has something that they're trying to overcome in their life. I think you would have to agree with me on that. I remember Mr. Armstrong saying about himself.

I think he was 93 years of age. He was talking about himself. He said, you know, I'm still trying to overcome things in my life. And when I heard that, I was relieved.

Because I'm a long way from that. I knew that. But, in other words, I thought at the time, and, you know, wow, he's still working on some things. I guess it's not so bad to be working on some things and trying to overcome things. But let's notice over here in 2 Corinthians chapter 12, down in verse 7, it says, he said, unless I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of revelations, Paul says, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. And concerning this thing, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, most gladly, I will rather boast in my infirmities than the power of Christ may rest upon me, or that the power of Christ might be resting upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. You see, we have sometimes the weaknesses in our lives, and God doesn't take it away. Now, some have suggested that Paul had serious eye problems. I don't really know that we know that that's absolutely true. There's evidence to that.

We know he wrote in big letters, as the Bible tells us, over in Thessalonians. But he did suffer needs, other needs as well. And he had to live with those needs. You know, he had to live with maybe doing without sometimes. And he was realistic to that fact about human life.

You know, William James, by the way, said this. He said, the art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook. You know, there's some things that we must overlook to be realistic in our lives.

I think we sometimes realize that within the church. Sometimes people within the church have problems that we have to overlook. We pray for them, but we know it's going to take a long time for them to change that. And I'm not talking about somebody that is, you know, breaking God's law, you know, in the sense of blatantly doing so. I'm talking about people that have problems.

Sometimes they fall and you've got to try to help them. You get back up again and get going. You want to salvage people, you know, not throw them aside because they have a defect of something.

Otherwise, brethren, you and I wouldn't even be in the church. None of us would be.

Psalm or Proverbs 19 verse 11, you might just write it down. I'm not going to turn to it.

But the discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, and his glory is to overlook a transgression.

And so that is what we as God's people need to be aware of if we're going to be realistic.

You know, if we're realistic about what we can and can't do, it causes us, you know what, to wait on God. Wait on God. You know, I've pastored quite a number of churches, and I wish I could tell you that all of them were perfect people, you know, that all of the churches were perfect, you know. I have to tell you, brethren, sometimes that there have been people that have had problems and difficulties that I've had to kneel down and say to God, I have done all I know to do.

And I, of course, I pray when I was counseling and trying to help them, but eventually you have to come to the point and say, God, I can't do any more. And you hate to do it, but you leave a problem for the next man that's going to come along. You know, a man who delivers his church or congregations to another pastor who says that their perfect group of people is naive. Very naive. So, brethren, we have to wait on God. We have to have faith in God. And if we have faith in God, we won't be fools rushing in where angels fear to tread. We will be patient to let God resolve what we cannot resolve.

A third thing that we need to do, brethren, is be flexible. Be flexible.

In fact, it's unrealistic not to be flexible. The fact is that stress is a natural part of life because of change. And we must adapt and adjust. That's what we do. We adapt and adjust, obviously, within the laws of God. Paul was able to be content, we're told, with whatever state he was in.

You know, he had been up, he had been down. He was able to, again, be content. It's like the freelance beatitude someone thought up. I don't know who it was. Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape. That's the way we need to be, brethren. There are some changes, also, that we ought to resist without compromise. For instance, if people are changing doctrine, as was happened in 1995, we could not compromise on that. And wisdom can tell us when to change and when to hold our ground. Hopefully, brethren, we will see that through spiritual eyes. And if we are in doubt, hopefully we'll seek counsel about it. Number four, number four, brethren, is keep your priority straight. Keep your priorities straight in your life. We tend to focus on the things that aren't, in reality, a priority. You know, what did Jesus Christ say about priorities?

I know sometimes we can be dismayed. We can be fearful of job loss, which certainly, these times that we're living in, quite a number have experienced this, even in the church. But, frankly, not as many, I think, that I would have expected in this time that have suffered the loss of jobs.

I've been very pleased, in fact, in the Bay Area, how everybody seems to have been able to keep jobs. They may have had to take lesser jobs, but they've been able to work. But in Matthew 6 and verse 24, Matthew 6 and verse 24 and 25, it says, No man can serve two masters. He says, For either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money or mammon, as it says here. Now, you wouldn't think somebody would be considered as serving mammon if they were fearful of losing their job, food, clothing, and shelter, and all that sort of thing. But in the very same context of this, but let's notice what Jesus said in verse 25. Therefore, I say to you, do not worry about your life. Don't worry about your life. What you will eat or what you will drink or about your body or what you will put on is not life more than food and the body more than clothing.

See, I would have thought that, you know, these things were necessities.

Christ said, not so. Not so. These aren't the necessity things of our life. And obviously, it doesn't mean that we should not work and take care of ourselves and support our families. That's not what Jesus Christ is saying. But let's go on down here in verse 30. It says, Now, if God so closed the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, you of little faith? You of little faith. You know, if you turn that around here, brethren, and to see what Jesus Christ is saying, if you just had a little faith, God would clothe you. If you had a little faith, God would feed you. If you had a little faith, He would take care of you. On verse 31, Therefore, do not worry, saying, What shall we eat? Or what shall we drink? Or what shall we wear? For after all these things the Gentiles seek, for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things, but seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. So this is our priority, brethren.

We need to keep our priorities straight. Seeking God's kingdom is our priority. And if we seek God's kingdom, again, we need to be balanced about that. You know, we can't study the word of God 24 hours a day. We can't, again, devote our entire life at it and expect that God is going to drop manna from heaven to us. So we have to be realistic about those types of things. But if we seek God's kingdom, God will take care of us with those things. Number five, brethren, and this is one that I always try to remember when I feel like I'm overwhelmed. Take life a day at a time.

You know, the Russians, do they have a five-year plan, don't they? About, I guess, these are long-range plans. You know, sometimes I've seen people in the church, they have these plans about what they're going to do. Well, I'm sure glad my plans worked out. But I had my plans made out when I, you know, was in high school. I went to go to college, become a doctor, you know, to do all that stuff, and it all turned out that way. No, it didn't. It did not happen that way. But take life one day at a time. You don't know where you're going to end up. So you better not be too committed to your ideas if God has other things in mind for you. You know, you've got a rich dad. He has a lot of places to put you and a lot of places he needs you. And, you know, we need to realize that.

But in verse 24 down here, where we're reading, or verse 34, I'm sorry, it says, Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things, and sufficient for the day is its own trouble. You know, we get stressed out rather than when we look too far down the road and start adding up what it will take.

You know, I remember when I first came to the ministry, I prepared sermons. And every week, of course, you had to come up with sermons. And it was sometimes very hard because you didn't have anybody to help you to do that. And I began to be overwhelmed by having to come up with a new topic every Sabbath. And, you know, you start adding it up. If you're going to be a pastor, you get 52 weeks in a year. You have probably 26 weeks you're going to have to have a Bible study.

As we were doing two Bible studies, by the way, every week in the Alabama area.

And I started adding up, well, 30 years times 50. You know what I'm talking about.

And, you know, I said, well, this is not going to work. I'm going to break down. I'm going to have a nervous breakdown. And so I said, no, I won't because I'm going to start taking one day at a time. I'll worry about that day. And then, you know, when I finish with that day, I'll start thinking about the next day. And that is what's allowed us to keep saying, you know, and I think if I'd gone insane, my wife would have gone insane, by the way. But, you know, we and also there are so many things that you have to do. And I'm not asking for anybody to feel sorry. But if you look too far down the line, you become stressed out. Live life is what I've learned incrementally.

With occasional long-range planning, but don't worry about it. Don't stew over it. Don't chisel it in stone. But start working towards your plans in long range. But again, don't get hung up about it. It's like Winston Churchill said this, though, and the reason when we look too far down the line, we get stressed out. Winston Churchill said this, when I look back over all these worries, I remember the story of an old man who said on his deathbed that he had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which had never happened. See, we start worrying about what could happen, what might happen, and it doesn't. I think another thing I would say, brethren, if we're going to avoid being stressed out in life is keep busy so that you don't have time to get stressed out. Live one day at a time and keep busy. Do your best that day, and if you make a mistake, you move on, you do a better job the next day. And you put those days together and they turn out to be years. So, brethren, it's important for us to do this in our lives as God's people, to control that stress that builds up on us. We need some stress to grow, like I said, but if we allow stress to get out of hand in our lives and we don't control it, you know what can happen is it can lead to severe depression in your life.

And there are a lot of pastors, by the way, elders that get stressed out, they get burned out. And, you know, I think it's because, again, they haven't learned to handle the stress that comes with it, and they become very deeply depressed. You know, depression, of course, can have many causes.

Reaction to drugs can cause a toxic type of depression because of the side effects. People can get stressed out for poor eating and sleeping habits and can lead to pressure and lead to, you know, depression as a result of stress. And also you can have significant bodily changes that can cause that as well. A woman goes through menopause, you know, can be a problem. And, you know, perhaps later on we could talk about the topic of depression and what causes it and go into more detail about it. But, you know, you can become depressed if you get a new job or vice versa. And people, of course, can have depression for a number of different reasons. But we live, rather, in a complex world. And I have to tell you that it's going to get a little worse this next year. Maybe a whole lot worse than 2010. But like Bob Dylan's song, the times are a change. So, brethren, don't drown in the increasing floodwaters of change, but adapt as it comes to you.

And we must be flexible in our lives so that we do not get bent out of shape as God's people.

Christians don't have to be stressed out by these high-pressure times that we're in, because God's Word instructs us, brethren, and gives understanding of how to cope in our life. Let's be wise and learn for the next year that is ahead of us.