[Q] What was Esther’s first reaction to Mordecai’s request that she go into the king’s presence and beg for mercy for her people? How did Mordecai hold her accountable?
[Q] Holly Miller suggests that when we are under stress, we should find someone who will be strong enough to hold us accountable. How can having someone to whom you are accountable help you complete a task? How can it spiritually help you in difficult times?
[Q] How does prayer help us accept God’s sovereign will in our lives? Why is it important to ask others to pray for us? How has prayer helped you during stressful times?
[Q] How did Esther exhibit her trust in God’s sovereignty? What must she have known about God? Romans <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 />8:28 says that God promises to work all things for the good of those who love him. How does this help us trust God? How does it help us endure difficult times?
[Q] How did Esther harness her stress to accomplish God’s will in her life?
Teaching point three: Finding time to be alone with God is essential to our spiritual health and is rejuvenating to our mind in times of stress.Read Matthew 14:3–23. John the Baptist had been beheaded. When Jesus heard thenews he “withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place” (Matt. 14:13 ). When his boat arrived at the shore, the crowds were already there ahead of him. With great compassion for the people, Jesus set aside his own grief and proceeded to heal the sick and feed the multitude. At the end of the day, however, Jesus sent away the crowd and the disciples so he could go up to the mountainside by himself to pray.
Time alone with God spiritually renews our strength. Solitude gives us a chance to immerse ourselves in God’s Word, pray, and find healing in his presence. We come to our Abba Father, Daddy God, and lay all of our worries at his feet. He reminds us of his great love for us and reassures us that we are his own. He renews our strength so that we can soar above the problems of the world, like an eagle soars above the earth. We worship him in spirit and in truth and are brought back to the place where our heart trusts in him completely, casting aside the cares of the world. We seek his wisdom, and he gives it as he promises. We are then equipped to meet life’s challenges and struggles.
[Q] Upon hearing about John the Baptist’s death, why was the immediate response of Jesus to withdraw to a solitary place? Why do you think Jesus chose to pray alone, instead of with the crowd or with the disciples? Why is spending time alone with God essential? How does it help you in times of stress? How does time alone with God differ from corporate worship? Why are both important?
[Q] Once we have spent time alone with God, we need to allow ourselves diversions from the stress. Our physical bodies need time to rest, and our minds need time to recover and relax. Even God rested when he created the world; certainly we do not need less. What happens when we do not take time to rest? What do you do to relax during stressful times?
[Q] In her stress management seminars, Charlotte Sutton suggests prioritizing activities into categories of critical, important, and unimportant to help with time management. How could prioritizing help us find time for solitude and rest? What would be on your critical list? What do you consider unimportant? What would you say are the priorities of Jesus? What should our priorities be?
Teaching point four: When we have a heart attitude of thankfulness and trust in God, we will have joy, even in the most difficult situations, and we will bring glory to God.Read 2 Corinthians 11:22–12:10 and Philippians 4:4–9. Nothing seemed to keep Paul down. His purpose in life was to glorify God, and he did this in the face of great persecution. In Philippians Paul told us to rejoice always, regardless of our circumstances. Paul was even thankful for insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties, because he knew they made him rely on God’s strength instead of his own.
Having a heart of joy in stressful times can seem like an insurmountable expectation, and it would be impossible in our own strength. By God’s grace and power, however, we are able to have joy regardless of our situation. When we pray instead of worry; let our minds dwell on what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy; and have a heart of thanksgiving, we will have deep joy.
Joy is not happiness. Happiness is dependent upon circumstance, but joy is not. Joy is that deep understanding of God’s love for us and complete trust that he knows what he is doing, even when we do not understand. It is recognizing God’s all-surpassing power to help us through any circumstance and knowing that God will never abandon us.
[Q] How can you explain Paul’s attitude in the midst of so much persecution? Why was he thankful for difficult circumstances?What can you be thankful for in difficult circumstances?
[Q] Philippians 4 tells us not to worry. How is stress different from worry? How do we keep ourselves from worry? How can stress be good for us spiritually? In order for stress to benefit us, what must our heart attitude be?
[Q] When have you experienced joy in difficult circumstances? Upon what was your joy based? How is joy different from happiness?
[Q] According to Philippians 4, what brings us the peace of God? How can peace transcend all understanding? How do you think peace guards our hearts and minds? Share a time when you experienced God’s peace in a stressful situation.
PART 3
Though we often cannot control our circumstances, we can control our responses to them. If we harness stress through God’s power, he will use stress to make us more like Christ. Stress then becomes an agent to accomplish God’s will in our lives. In the process, God is glorified.
[Q] How can our response to stress glorify God? How can it be dishonoring?
[Q] How can stress benefit us practically?
[Q] How can we keep stress from affecting us in negative ways?
Optional Activities:<?xml:namespace prefix = o />
1. Using your calendar as a reference point, prioritize your activities. Based on the principle of tithing, does at least a tenth of your time belong to God?
2. Set goals to help you manage your time effectively. Be sure to include time for solitude with God. Find a person to hold you accountable.
3. Make a list of 50 things for which you are thankful, then pray through it.
—Study prepared by Julie Kloster, speaker and freelance writer
& Can Stress Heal? Kenneth H. Cooper, M.D. (Thomas Nelson/W, 1997; ISBN 0785283153)
& Handling Stress, D. Warrick, Dd Warrick (Nav Press, 1991; ISBN 0891095284)
& Keep It Simple for Busy Women: Inspiring Ideas to Reduce Stress and Enjoy Life More, Emilie Barnes (Harvest House Publishers, 2002; ISBN 0736905537)
& Straight Talk on Stress, Joyce Meyer (Time Warner Book Group, 2003; ISBN0446691488)
& Stress: Peace Amid Pressure, David Powlison (P & R Publishing, 2004; ISBN 0875526608)
& Women and Stress: A Practical Approach to Managing Tension, Jean Lush (Baker, 1999; ISBN 0800756177)
Article
Positively STRESSED
Stress can either serve as our enemy or our ally.
By Holly G. Miller, for the study “Harnessing Stress”
For years we’ve heard about the dangers of stress. The warning goes something like this: Allow tension to sneak into your life and don’t be surprised when indigestion turns into ulcers, fatigue results in burnout, and innocent nail-biting leads to serious binge-eating. But wait a minute. Some experts now are claiming that stress has another side. They say that when carefully harnessed, it can serve as a positive—not negative—force in your life. It can boost your productivity, keep you interested in what you do, and make you more interesting to the people around you.
“Stress can create an adrenalin charge,” says Charlotte Sutton, an associate professor of management at Auburn University who frequently teaches stress management seminars. “We move faster, are more effective, and have more energy. A lot of people tell me that without stress, they don’t get very much done.”
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