TOO BLESSED FOR THIS MESS!

"Stress" seems to be a common household name in these times we're living in. Webster's Dictionary defines it as strain, pressure, mental tension. How many of us are strained, under pressure or experiencing mental tension? I'm sure we all can relate in various ways. There's a cliche' that circulated the church at large back in the early 90's that said, "I'm Too Blessed To Be Stressed." People were wearing the t-shirts, rocking the bumper stickers, and using it as a daily part of dialog when confronted with stressful situations. This statement became a big sensation. I thought about that and modified the statement for this decade: "I'M TOO BLESSED FOR THIS MESS!" Maybe I should invest into some t-shirts and bumper stickers. LOL!

How many of us are facing messy situations in our lives that tend to weary us? Most of us can raise our hands on that. But we must always keep in mind that God, the Creator, is with us. The Word of God says that He will never leave us nor forsake us. How awesome! Thank you Jesus! We just have to continue to trust in the Lord with all of our hearts and lean not to our own understanding. Why stress it when God has already planned a way of escape? He's already made a way out for you. When was the last time stress fixed the situation? So why waste valuable mental and physical energy on worrying about things you can't change? This is my theory...don't worry about things you can't change, worrying won't change them, and the things you can change, go ahead and change, no need to worry about them. The Bible tells us to cast our cares upon the Lord for He cares for us. God is doing the caring so why do I need to care?

Think about this, these temples (bodies) of ours were not created to house stress. This is why stress sends people's blood pressure way up or way down, causes strokes, heart attacks, seizures, migraines, ulcers, eating disorders...the list goes on and on. This is why it's even more important for us to not care about things, for our health's sake. Even our mental faculties get challenged due to stress. Why put yourself through that? Stress will have you looking straight up crazy. That's not a picture of "blessed".

I encourage everyone to take "De-stressing" breaks as often as necessary. What is that? A time of not caring and relaxation from mental and physical stress. A time when the things that matter, don't matter. A time when you just laugh instead of crying or being frustrated. A time of pure lethargy! Yes! Lethargy!

More importantly, take time to rest in the Presence of God. You can't go wrong there. In His Presence is FULLNESS! So the best place you can "De-stress" is in His Presence. Stop allowing cares of life to damper your enjoyment of life. God wants you to live in peace and joy. He wants you to live life to the full until it overflows. Within those confounds there is no room for stress.

So kick back and enjoy this journey of life. You are the BLESSED of the Lord. In that blessing there is no stress. The Word of God says that the blessings of the Lord makes us rich and adds no sorrow. So make a bold confession and declare adamantly, "I'M TOO BLESSED FOR THIS MESS!" Now move forward.

Pastor Renee