August has been a very stressful month for me. I felt like the trials would never end. As I was trying to complete a ton of paperwork and other requirements for my two subjects in graduate school, I fought a month-long battle against chronic cough and allergic rhinitis. I had to juggle this with my daily responsibilities as a full-time preschool teacher, while performing my daily duties as a wife and as a mother. To top it all off, the bills were piling up and there were debts to pay. There was financial turmoil, it was chaotic. I felt tired and overwhelmed. Physically, it was draining; spiritually, it was life-changing.
The effects of stress on me were quite evident: prayerlessness, hopelessness, faithlessness and emotional eating. It really is no surprise, for I am a Christian who’s simply trying to fight the good fight of faith. If you are really a Christian, you would know when the enemy is attacking you! His main goal is to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). Physically, he couldn’t kill me unless God would allow him to, but killing my faith would be even more disastrous.
Here’s how I overcame these trials in three stages:
Stage 1: Recognize your anxiety and identify what makes you anxious. Then, by all means, hold on to God’s promises.
Charles Spurgeon said, “Our anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strengths.” Most of our fears are unrealistic because we aren’t even sure they would happen. Only God knows our future. It’s best to pray for strength and wisdom instead of allowing fear to paralyze us.
When I realized I was anxious about our finances, I held on to God’s specific promise for that kind of problem: And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). I meditated on it, prayed for it and 100% trusted that God would keep His promise. As expected, He did provide for our immediate needs. What an awesome God!
Stage 2: Learn about grit, and keep going!
I had almost dropped out of graduate school because of so many requirements in the first term which I could not find the time to finish. For instance, I had to make six multimedia presentations from scratch when I had zero knowledge about making videos and animations. Next, I had to submit four annotated researches with five related literature with citations per title. Finally, I had to work with two groups to finish three chapters of two research proposals. The amount of work was really not the hindrance; it was my attitude that was defective.
“Defined as perseverance and passion for long-term goals, grit accounted for an average of 4% of the variance in success outcomes, including educational attainment among 2 samples of adults, grade point average among Ivy League undergraduates, retention in 2 classes of United States Military Academy, West Point, cadets, and ranking in the National Spelling Bee,” wrote Angela Duckworth, PhD in her groundbreaking research about the significance of grit as one of the best predictors of success.
Similarly, the Bible describes grit in this manner:
Stage 3: Cast your burdens to God.
You may have heard it before. There is even a song composed with the same lyrics. “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)
To cast means to throw something in a specific direction. So this clearly means, “Throw all your fears to God.” Do not carry your burdens. God will take care of them for you. He is in control. You have nothing more to worry about.
(To be continued…)
The effects of stress on me were quite evident: prayerlessness, hopelessness, faithlessness and emotional eating. It really is no surprise, for I am a Christian who’s simply trying to fight the good fight of faith. If you are really a Christian, you would know when the enemy is attacking you! His main goal is to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). Physically, he couldn’t kill me unless God would allow him to, but killing my faith would be even more disastrous.
But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:57)
Here’s how I overcame these trials in three stages:
Stage 1: Recognize your anxiety and identify what makes you anxious. Then, by all means, hold on to God’s promises.
Charles Spurgeon said, “Our anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strengths.” Most of our fears are unrealistic because we aren’t even sure they would happen. Only God knows our future. It’s best to pray for strength and wisdom instead of allowing fear to paralyze us.
When I realized I was anxious about our finances, I held on to God’s specific promise for that kind of problem: And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). I meditated on it, prayed for it and 100% trusted that God would keep His promise. As expected, He did provide for our immediate needs. What an awesome God!
Stage 2: Learn about grit, and keep going!
I had almost dropped out of graduate school because of so many requirements in the first term which I could not find the time to finish. For instance, I had to make six multimedia presentations from scratch when I had zero knowledge about making videos and animations. Next, I had to submit four annotated researches with five related literature with citations per title. Finally, I had to work with two groups to finish three chapters of two research proposals. The amount of work was really not the hindrance; it was my attitude that was defective.
“Defined as perseverance and passion for long-term goals, grit accounted for an average of 4% of the variance in success outcomes, including educational attainment among 2 samples of adults, grade point average among Ivy League undergraduates, retention in 2 classes of United States Military Academy, West Point, cadets, and ranking in the National Spelling Bee,” wrote Angela Duckworth, PhD in her groundbreaking research about the significance of grit as one of the best predictors of success.
Similarly, the Bible describes grit in this manner:
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2–4)The keywords related to grit are perseverance and steadfastness. Just keep going and be confident that you can finish what you have started. God will see you through, because if God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31)
Stage 3: Cast your burdens to God.
You may have heard it before. There is even a song composed with the same lyrics. “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)
To cast means to throw something in a specific direction. So this clearly means, “Throw all your fears to God.” Do not carry your burdens. God will take care of them for you. He is in control. You have nothing more to worry about.
(To be continued…)
