USA Today reported on the physical consequences related to the stress people are under, especially over this last week. An article on September 19th - today as I write this - titled “Money Woes, Other Stresses Bring Unwanted Physical Response” says “As the market melts down, hurricanes wreak havoc, war grinds on and feelings of helplessness set in, stress goes up.” ComPsych, an employee assistance and wellness provider, has seen a 10% to 15% spike in calls since the weekend according to their vice president of health and wellness.
“The connection between mind/body is seamless,” says Linda Rosenberg, CEO of the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare. “There isn’t a separate brain and a separate body. What you’re thinking about has an effect on your physical well-being. General good health means good mental health.”
So what’s a Christian to do during times like this? We take care of ourselves in a variety of ways: Get plenty of sleep, eat well, engage in regular physical activity, review our investment portfolios, manage our time effectively and we care for our heart in a spiritual way. We do the very best we can to give our cares and worries to Jesus. We pray for ourself and our leaders. We put our trust in Him. (Proverbs 3:5-6, Isaiah 26: 3-4)) We spend more time with Him. We ask God for wisdom. (James 1:5-6) We remember that it’s in our trials that our faith has an opportunity to grow… we get opportunities to exercise our faith muscles at times like this.
And we invite Jesus to be our personal trainer.
See a listing of scriptures for faith in times of stress on my website.
“Healthy people don’t need a doctor, sick people do.”
Over the last four months more people have landed on my website and blog looking for Scriptures related to stress than for any other reason. In that light I thought it would be helpful to make another entry on this topic.
Reuters Health released an article on September 1, 2008, “
From a spiritual perspective, our heart is the deepest part of our being. It perhaps includes our soul and our spirit. It’s clear by what we read in scripture that God advises, in fact he commands us, to take care of matters of the heart. Certainly Johnny Cash knew that, and God wants us to know that too.
Last week I prayed in a way that I had never prayed before.
As important as regular exercise like walking is for us, our spiritual walk is even more important as 1st Timothy 4:8 tells us “Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is much more important for it promises a reward in both this life and the next.” 


