TargetPoint Volume 16 of 32
Todays Verse/Thought: Oh, I'm So Stressed Out!
Proverbs 16:3 Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established.
Life Implication:
Americans work more, sleep less, was a recent headline in our local paper. The article went on to say, A workaholic lifestyle with too little time for sleep is turning America into a nodding-off nation, with 40% of surveyed adults saying they have trouble staying awake on the job. Sound at all familiar?
I like the way a U.S. author put it: When you suffer an attack of nerves you're being attacked by the nervous system. What chance has a man got against a system? Well, my friend, a system is exactly what we have! It's A SYSTEM WHICH PROMOTES FEAR and tells us we can never have enough . . . do enough . . . achieve enough . . . be rich enough . . . be hard-bodied enough . . . be gorgeous enough . . . and on and on.
This kind of system becomes MENTALLY AND EMOTIONALLY DISRUPTIVE, it's very food, our fear. It can affect our physical health resulting in increased heart rate, rise in blood pressure, muscular tension, irritability, and depression. This system leads us down the road to complete burn-out, burning a hole deep in our soul that can never be filled by what our system tells us we need to achieve or have.
Jesus gave us SEVERAL ANTI-STRESS GUIDES: He said, Commit your way to Him . . .Ps. 37; We make our plans, but the Lord directs our steps, Proverbs 16; Work six days, and rest one, Ex. 20. Jesus, Himself, was a perfect example of complete balance in living and working.
Life Application:
My challenge to you today is to PRESENT THE SCHEDULE OF YOUR DAY EACH DAY TO THE LORD. ASK HIM TO WEED OUT THE UNIMPORTANT and guide you in those things that are truly needed. When I go my own way and forget to do this, stress becomes the normal fall-out in my day. Nothing is too insignificant to bring to Him. He wants to use your gifts in your work and in your relationships. He knows what spins our wheels as opposed to what is actually needed to get the job done. If you use a Day-Timer, a simple calendar, or a smart phone/tablet, bring it to your prayer time, review it with Him, and SPECIFICALLY ASK HIS DIRECTION FOR YOUR DAY. You will be amazed at how your stress level begins to diminish.
Tomorrow In TargetPoint:
The Rejection Factor