Dr Linda Helps - “I’m stressed out.” I’ve heard this from teens to seniors; a couple breaks up, a marriage is in trouble, illness hits, a company considers downsizing, classes are too hard. And the holidays provide us with additional stress like overeating and family tension. If you feel overwhelmed with life. You are not alone.

Stress is a byproduct of our postmodern life. We feel we have too little time, too few resources and a lack of control over most things in our lives. Stress can be generated by an event such as divorce, death, illness, watching the news, etc. Some events, like the birth of a baby, are predictable. Others, as in the case of disaster, are not.

Stressful events can be ongoing or resolved quickly. They can be related to life transitions, the environment, development, or our perceptions of things. They may be avoided or unavoidable, and rated mild to severe.

Stress can also be a response to events. Things happen and we become fearful, anxious and depressed. We carry stress in our bodies, in our minds and worry about the lack of control we feel over certain things. Stress, if not managed properly, disrupts our sense of well being. Unmanaged stress can lead to the development of anxiety disorders and physical symptoms.

In 1967, two researchers names Holmes and Rahe developed a stress test that ranked 43 stress-producing events on a scale from 0-100 (100 was the most stressed). The top five stressful events are death of a spouse, divorce, marital separation, detention in jail or other institution and death of a close family member.  If you are a person who experiences many of the noted stresses, you could be at risk for health and mental health problems.

Because stress is inevitable, you need to know what to do when stress hits. Your ability to cope with stress is related to the resources you have. Resources can be things like money, education, intelligence, power, self-confidence and other internal and external qualities. The most important resource you possess as a Christian is your standing with Christ. Here’s why.

Resources can be depleted over time. When stress is chronic and seems unending, your resources are taxed. For example, maybe you started out with enough money to handle unemployment but over time, the money runs out. Or maybe you were very confident raising children but that last child wore down your self-esteem.  The point is resources are usually limited. But God is an unlimited resource that can be continuously accessed. His promises never run out.

Because we are joint heirs with Christ, we have all He has. Best of all, we have Him. So in the time of stress, remember you have an unlimited resource in God. He is the God of more than enough, El Shaddai.  He is your present help in times of trouble. There is much you can learn about handling stress but don’t forget to access your best resource-God. (For more articles on stress, click on the Coping With Life channel).