Hey guys, I have more questions.
How does one cope with stress?
How does one allow it to not overcome their lives when its being tossed at them in all directions?
How does one become joyful, patient, and thankful in tribulation and hard times?
All help is appreciated.
please pray for me
-a sinner
Comments
"28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
Romans 5:3-5
3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
1 Peter 5:5-11
5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for
“ God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. 11 To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
i think the most important and reassuring feeling is to know that everything happens with God's permission and that God will never give you a cross that you can not handle, and will always be there to help you carry it.
AS Christians, we believe that life here on Earth is just prepartion for us before we can join our father who art in heaven...so there really is NOTHING important enough to stress out about. Work, school, "social standing", wealth..no biggee !
Don't get me wrong, this does not mean that you shopuld by any means sit back and wait for things to just "work themselves" out...just do your part and ask for God to help with what is not in your hands.
And i'v realized that most things that i stress about are not fully in my hands so stressing and worry about things is just like a rocking chair...it gives you something to do..but gets you no where.
There;s this one verse about not worrying because if our father in heaven feeds wild animals and dresses the flowers, we are so much more important and he will care for us also, it's pretty nice..i can't exactly remember where it is at the moment...
If you find these stresses and worries taking over your life and sending you in various directions, then you must ask yourself WHY? Is this a consequence of my own decisions and actions, or is it something that I can't help? If it's something that you can't help, then the next question is "What is God trying to teach me through this experience?". And only HE knows the answer, so definitely worth asking Him :)
Practically, having a good spiritual father to talk to when it all becomes too much is absolutely essential. Simply talking about things and sharing your feelings and experiences can make you feel a lot better than you'd think. If you find that you have so many things to do in a single day, then simply organising your time can benefit you tremendously, it really depends on the source of your stress.
There's a nice series of sermons by HG Anba Angaelos here that you may find useful - http://www.orthodoxsermons.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=225&Itemid=26
Prayer and quiet meditation with God at the end or beginning of every day is a good way to slow your mind down. I'd really recommend reading Matthew 6, as everyone else as already said. Especially these verses:
6:25Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
6:26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
6:27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
6:28 So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;
6:29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
6:30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
6:31 Therefore do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?'
6:32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
[quote author=LondonCopt link=topic=7915.msg102543#msg102543 date=1241525530]
6:25Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
6:26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
6:27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
6:28 So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;
6:29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
6:30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
6:31 Therefore do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?'
6:32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
How do we strengthen our faith in order to acheive peace about matters that are out of my hands?
Please pray for me,
-a sinner
How do we strengthen our faith in order to acheive peace about matters that are out of my hands?
I would like to know the answer for this too, if anybody knows! Aswell as the question of How to be joyful and thankful in tribulation one.
Thanks in advance.
please keep my weakness in your prayers
-sister in Christ
God has plans for us. To do us good and not harm. Yet we often want to insist that God sticks to our own plans, while actually we cannot even say what will happen tomorrow.
When I lost my job just before I was priested I was not distressed, thanke be to God, because I have learned through many years of experience that God will work all things out in accordance with His will and for my own good. For many years I have had that verse in my minds,
Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will call upon the name of the Lord, our God.
And in my own circumstances I could trust in my own intelligence, in the goodwill of my (ex)-boss, in the support of colleagues, even in my family - but all of these can and will let me down at some point. As I walked behind my boss to the little office where we was going to give me the kiss of death I heard a voice in my heart saying - 'Do not be afraid, I am with you'. And I knew whose voice it was, and I knew that nothing mattered but doing His will.
If I lose my job will God care for me less, or will it give me an opportunity to trust Him more? If I work hard but fail my exams is God ignorant of my situation, will He not bring good out of such difficulties? If others cause me harm, will He not defend me? If I lose my home will He not shelter me, and all my family, in the shadow of His wings?
There is a prayer which my priest often used, 'Lord, in your will, in your way, and in your time'. God does not work according to our plans, and our timescales, but He is always working and calls us to work with Him, not apart from Him. When we realise that our life is in God's hands and He is at work in us and through us, then we can let go and let God do His work.
When things go wrong it doesn't matter, as long as it is not due to our negligence. it is God's work that we are sharing in with our lives, and He must be the one to sort out whatever situations we find ourselves in. In every difficult circumstance we can find something of value to ourselves. Even when we are abused we can humble ourselves and God will lift us up.
Our lives do not belong to us - you are not your own, you were bought with a price - therefore we should not be too concerned about how our lives turn out, apart from seeking to serve God. If my life had worked out differently I might have a bigger house, an important job, a new car and plenty of money to have several overseas holidays a year. But it is not my life to live as if it was. And in God's hands I can see that even with the consequences of my many mistakes and faults He has brought good out of even my sorry life so that I can give thanks to Him.
It will be no different for any of us.
The answer to strengthening our faith is to use it. It is like a spiritual muscle. Start by changing the way you think and speak to yourself. Read through the verses speaking about trust in God, especially in the Psalms. And speak out loud in prayer your intention to trust God. Hand over to him those things which are most important to you.
Lord, you know I dearly wish to have such and such a career, but as far as I am able with my sinful heart I hand this desire over to you and ask only that you find me some service of your will to do with my life. If it is pleasing to you that I have the career that I aspire to, or some other, then I hand all this over to you.
Lord, you know I desire to be married and to find companionship in a life partner, but I hand this human desire over to you and ask only that you teach me to find intimacy and companionship in the presence of your Holy Spirit. If it is good for me to be married, or if it is better not then I hand this all over you you.
Can we do this will all that we are, and have, and desire? If we can then we become free to enjoy what God gives us without always wishing for something else, something which is only 'better' according to our own limited and human perspective.
I have desired to be pastor of a large church full of converts to Orthodoxy. But it has not happened yet. Should I despair? I do not. Rather I believe that the ministry of the Church belongs to God, and it must grown and develop as He wills. If he chooses that I live in a time of sowing and not in reaping, then that is His will and I humbly bow before it knowing that it takes a great weight from my own shoulders to be a co-worker with God, rather than being self-employed!
I have also found that it is good to face the worst that we can imagine and offer that to God. If we are worried about our job security then imagine that we have been laid off. Does God love us less? Imagine that we cannot pay the mortgage. Does God love us less? Will He not find a way to care for us in all circumstances. Don't worry about things that have not happened - tomorrow has enough cares of its own - but also don't let what might happen become a looming shadow over today. How is God blessing us today? Let's give thanks for that.
Lord, there is nothing that I cannot face with you beside me. You brought me into existence to bless me, and you have made me your child so that I might learn to trust you as a loving Father. Whatever happens in my life give me the grace to always be aware of your presence, sustaining and keeping me. Take the burden of my own desires and plans away from me, and help me to enjoy the unexpected blessings which you give day by day.
Father Peter
Thanks alot.
really need your prayers everyone
-chief of sinners
GBU,
R