IS IT STRESS OR DISTRESS?

IS IT STRESS OR DISTRESS?

Neh 2:1-4

2 And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence.

2 Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid,

3 And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?

4 Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.

          Nehemiah was Jewish captive in the service of King Artaxerxes. He was the king’s butler and had to control his emotions when performing his duties. Nehemiah had heard of the woeful condition of his homeland and the stress of knowing caused him to be distressed.

          Our homeland has also fallen upon hard times. The stated approval rating of our current president is hovering in the range of forty percent while the approval of the congress has risen sharply from the teens to about twenty-five percent. The reasons are numerous! Like Nehemiah, some of our cities lieth waste. Our national debt is now more than seventeen trillion dollars. One high ranking admiral now thinks that global warming is now our most urgent threat! Our dollar is becoming worthless through inflation and mismanagement.

According to an article on WebMD, the human body is designed to experience stress and react to it. Stress can be positive, keeping us alert and ready to avoid danger. Stress becomes negative when a person faces continuous challenges without relief or relaxation between challenges. As a result, the person becomes overworked and stress-related tension builds.

Stress that continues without relief can lead to a condition called distress -- a negative stress reaction. Distress can lead to physical symptoms including headaches, upset stomach, elevated blood pressure, chest pain, and problems sleeping. Research suggests that stress also can bring on or worsen certain symptoms or diseases.

We have all listened as Jesus chided Martha in Luke 10:41 when He points out that she is “careful and trouble.” The word careful both here and elsewhere means to be anxious and distraught. I fear that many of us, myself included, often fall into this kind of carefulness. Fortunately the Bible explains what we must do.

Jer 17:7-8

7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord  is.

8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful [shall not be in distress] in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

Dear Lord, help me to understand that to be in distress is really caused by a lack of faith. Help me to trust you today. AMEN