Tag Archives: stress

Scriptures and Encouragement For When You’re Feeling Crushed

Scriptures and encouragement for when you're feeling crushed title image

Scriptures and Encouragement For When You’re Feeling Crushed

A few weeks ago, I posted about some analogies of the pressing of olive oil and the pressing of Jesus. If you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, I encourage you to take some time to visit that post and read over some of the parallels and symbolism of the three phases of pressings. I think it can definitely give us encouragement and hope to remember that Jesus was crushed and pressed on our behalf, especially during times when we are feeling crushed ourselves.

Today, I’d like to share some scriptures that might offer some comfort and encouragement for when we are feeling crushed. Many offer reminders that we are not alone in these feelings, since others have experienced feeling crushed as well throughout scripture (Jesus included). Some of the verses remind us of God’s character, comfort, and rescue during times of feeling crushed. Other times we are reminded to rely on and surrender to God during these times and even to offer comfort to others who may be feeling crushed.

Scriptures for feeling crushed

“God, you are my righteousness, my Champion Defender. Answer me when I cry for help! Whenever I was in distress, you enlarged me. I’m being squeezed again—I need your kindness right away! Grant me your grace, hear my prayer, and set me free!” Psalms 4:1 (TPT)

“Many people are suffering— crushed by the weight of their troubles. But the Lord is a refuge for them, a safe place they can run to.” Psalms 9:9 (ERV)

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.” Psalms 34:18 (NLT)

“I am exhausted and completely crushed. My groans come from an anguished heart. …Do not abandon me, O Lord. Do not stand at a distance, my God. Come quickly to help me, O Lord my savior.” Psalms 38:8, 21-22 (NLT)

“Their insults have broken my heart, and I am in despair. If only one person would show some pity; if only one would turn and comfort me.” Psalm 69:20 (NLT) 

“Lord, sustain me as you promised, that I may live! Do not let my hope be crushed.” Psalms 119:116 (NLT)

“The LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are weighed down. The LORD loves the godly.” Psalm 146:8 (NLT)

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3 (ESV)

“The human spirit can endure a sick body, but who can bear a crushed spirit?” Proverbs 18:14 (NLT)

My heart is crushed, and I am trembling. Because of the LORD, because of his holy words, I am like a man who is drunk, someone who has had too much wine.” Jeremiah 23:9 (GNT)

“I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong, and feed them in judgment.” Ezekiel 34:16 (NKJV)

“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 (NLT)

“We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead.” 2 Corinthians 1:8-9 (NLT)

“For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. …For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” 2 Corinthians 4:6-9, 17-18 (NLT)

“For when we arrived in Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were pressed from every directionconflicts on the outside, fears withinBut God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the arrival of Titus, and not only by his arrival, but also by the comfort he had received from you. He told us about your longing, your mourning, and your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced all the more.” 2 Corinthians 7:5-7 (BSB)

“And to you who are troubled rest with us…” 2 Thessalonians 1:7a (KJV)

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4 (ESV)

“Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you; He will never allow the [consistently] righteous to be moved (made to slip, fall, or fail).” Psalm 55:22 (AMPC)

“Casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].” 1 Peter 5:7 (AMP)

“I am burdened and broken by this pain. When your miracle rescue comes to me, it will lift me to the highest place.” Psalms 69:29 (TPT)

“Oh, Lord God, answer my prayers! I need to see your tender kindness, your grace, your compassion, and your constant love. Just let me see your face, and turn your heart toward me. Come running quickly to your servant. In this deep distress, come and answer my prayer.” Psalms 69:16-17 (TPT)

“You will not be subject to terror, for it will not terrify you. Nor will the disrespectful be able to push you aside, because God is your confidence in times of crisis, keeping your heart at rest in every situation.” Proverbs 3:25-26 (TPT)

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;” Isaiah 61:1-2 (ESV) *See also Luke 4:18

“Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 (NLT)

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” Revelation 21:4 (NLT)

Jesus was crushed too Continue reading

Having Trouble Getting to Sleep?

Having trouble getting to sleep? Try using these bible verses to help...Having Trouble Getting to Sleep?

Sleep is vital for life.  In fact, I happen to think that sleep is a necessity to help us be happy, healthy, and prosperous!  Obviously, sleep can help us to be happy.  You can actually see the effects more in reverse—when you don’t get sleep you get unhappy!  A sleep deficit can have a definite negative impact on our emotions.

We also need sleep to keep us healthy.  Our bodies restore and repair at night as we’re sleeping.  A lack of sleep can weaken our immune system and increase our chances of getting sick.  Lastly, a lack of sleep can hurt our finances too.  Our prosperity can be influenced by the state of our emotional well-being and our health.  If our happiness and our health are suffering, it can lead to a loss of prosperity.  If we’re not happy and healthy, we’re less creative, miss work, have poor decision-making abilities, and thus make less money.  In fact, it can actually cost us money and time if we have health and/or emotional problems.

Sleepy momma

When my daughter was a baby she refused to go to sleep.  She fought sleep like crazy.  This actually lasted until she was a toddler.  At one point we even had to put duct tape on her light switches so she would quit getting up in the middle of the night to turn the light on and play!  This didn’t work either…she then just got up and played in the dark. 🙁 So her refusal to sleep on top of a bit of colic as a baby made us made pretty sleep deprived.  I was one worn out momma!  Saying I was sleep-deprived was an understatement.  That’s when I decided to try to find a scripture to pray and confess over her (and me) to help us go to sleep and get a good night’s rest.

I’ve since found these verses and others I’ve discovered to be extremely useful even after my daughter’s sleep boycott years.  Sometimes getting enough sleep and/or going to sleep is an ongoing battle for me, and boy does it show!  I’m super cranky when I’m tired.

I’ve had to lean on and confess these verses over myself on a number of occasions…

  • Nights where I didn’t feel well
  • Times when I was anxious about something coming up the next day
  • Nights when I was dealing with conflict with someone that was eating me up (I can sit awake for hours at night having imaginary conversations and clenching my jaw so much that it hurts the next morning! I think there’s a reason the bible says don’t go to bed angry–Ephesians 4:26.)
  • Nights when I couldn’t quiet my mind from all the busyness and to-do lists
  • Sometimes nights when I brought sleep difficulty on myself due to drinking coffee after 5pm (I’ve gotta stick to decaf or herbal tea at night!)
  • Nights when I woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep

Here are some of the bible verses I’ve found and used to help me with sleep: Continue reading

This Will Change How You View Stress

Read this post to change how you view stress...

This Will Change How You View Stress 

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 (ESV) 

To complement last week’s post about being stressed out, I thought we’d revisit a previous post on a different way of looking at stress…

This past week in my college classes we were discussing stress…including its symptoms, causes, advantages, disadvantages, and how to manage it.  Since we are all about being Happy, Healthy and Prosperous at this website, I thought it fitting to discuss stress here too since it can have an impact on all three areas…our happiness, our prosperity and definitely our health.

The dictionary defines stress as physical, mental or emotional strain or tension.  Things that happen in our life can contribute to strong feelings of worry or anxiety.  We can also feel stress when a variety of demands on us increase or when we feel threatened by a situation.  There are many things that can factor in or add to stress, and most commonly stress has a negative connotation.  Stress can, however, be leveraged for good if balanced properly.

In class I showed a TED Talk video about how to make stress your friend.  This video greatly changed the way I have always perceived stress.  After viewing it myself, I immediately wanted to share it with my friends and family.  I would also like to share it here.  The video is about 14 minutes long, but it’s well worth the watch when you have the time.  Who knows…It may even prolong and enhance your life!  If you don’t have time to watch it now, I highly encourage you to bookmark the video link page and watch it later.  You can watch/bookmark the video on the TED website by clicking here or by clicking on the YouTube site link here (both sites have a “Watch Later” option).

Our perception affects stress’s impact

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Stressed Out?

Stressed Out title image

Stressed Out?

I don’t typically think of myself as a person who gets stressed out easily, and I don’t often get too overwhelmed. I’m a fairly good multitasker–not necessarily good at doing several things at once but being able to prioritize several things. Since all of the COVID-19 mess and shelter-in-place orders though, everything seems equally urgent and important. Additionally, so many things lately are completely out of my control, which I DON’T like.

There were multiple things to do, all with a sense of urgency. I was wearing many hats and had lots of things on my plate. So many things were time consuming, and it never seemed like there was enough time to get it all done. I love a good to-do list because they tend to help me feel less stressed. Though one day I made a to-do list with about 8-10 items on it…I only finished 2 of them that day, which made me feel even worse.

On top of that, several people were making demands of me, and it felt like everybody wanted (insert demand) RIGHT NOW. I hate letting people down, and I always want to lend a helping hand where I’m able. However, I found myself getting irritated about not getting my stuff done because of people asking and expecting me to do things.

Thus, I would definitely have labeled myself as very stressed recently. I have found a few things that have proven extremely helpful during this season, so I thought I would pass them along in case others might be a little stressed too.

Helpful advice from others when I’m stressed

It’s always a good idea to have a good support system and to reach out and take heed to the counsel of trusted people in your life. Fortunately I surround myself with an excellent support system that can talk some sense into me when I don’t always think clearly. My husband, Eric, reminded me that sometimes it’s okay to let some things go. He pointed out where I might be putting unrealistic expectations on myself.

My boss at the college where I teach reiterated to me that we are in “good enough” mode, not “best practices” mode. I think she knows how we like to do our jobs with excellence, but she reassured us that the college would be understanding in times of crisis where we sometimes just need to do what it takes to get by.

I had some great counsel from a couple of friends who already homeschool their kids and work from home. They were able to guide me to be flexible with a routine, not rigid (not my structured-self tends to be) and to remember that each child is different and would work at different paces and have different needs.

I received counsel and a few other friends and family members reminded me that I need to set boundaries, say “no”, ask for help, and delegate what I can.

All of the advice and reminders really helped to lift a weight I felt. In addition to these things, I spent some extra time reading devotions about managing stress and spending some extra time in prayer and reading my Bible, where I was able to get even more wise counsel on being stressed. Specifically, I was able to pull out a few strategies from reading Philippians 4. Check them out…

Take Some Practical Steps When You Are Stressed Out:

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Is God Enlarging Your Capacity?

Is God Enlarging Your Capacity image

Is God Enlarging Your Capacity?

I mentioned recently that I’ve been coming across a lot of opposition in a variety of areas. At times it’s seemed a bit overwhelming, and it started getting me to question why I was getting hit with so much. My boss at the college where I teach even joked with me not long ago saying, “Why are you always the one getting all of these weird, off-the-wall situations?” To which I responded, “You know, I’d really like to know the answer to that!” Well…I think I got it.

One morning after teaching one of my classes at Glory House, I was visiting with Ms. Susie, the Executive Director, about all the junk that I had been dealing with lately. During our conversation I said, “Why am I ALWAYS the one getting this stuff and having to deal with this stuff?” Ms. Susie answered quite frankly, “God is enlarging your capacity.”

Then I was like, “Oh no! I’ve been praying exactly that–for God to enlarge my capacity!” (insert face slap) I had prayed those exact words “enlarge my capacity”. These things were happening as an answer to my own prayer…an indirect answer of course! God didn’t just enlarge my capacity. He allowed me to encounter challenges that would stretch me and force my capacity to increase, to make my normal capacity boundary lines larger. I guess this is kind of like when people warn you not to pray for patience! Because you don’t just automatically get patience, you get opportunities for your patience to grow.

Our capacity must increase

About a month prior to this conversation, I had done a Bible reading plan about growing leadership capacity. In the plan, it said that in order “to see our dreams fulfilled and to continue having influence in God’s Kingdom, our capacity must increase.”[1] It talked about facing challenges, pressure, and stress to adjust our ability to manage those things (because we need to reach our potential). We don’t get rid of these things by running from them.

“The key to increasing your capacity is to decide you will allow God to work in your life, to stretch you beyond your comfort zone and enlarge your capacity to overcome challenges.”[2]

Easier is not always better. This reminded me of a butterfly emerging from its cocoon. It HAS to go through the struggle and the challenge of fighting its way out of that cocoon. Those stresses and pressures against it are what enable it to become stronger. Without that process, the butterfly would be too weak to do what it was intended to do, and the same is true for us at times. Sometimes we need the struggle to make us stronger and to enlarge our capacity and ability to accomplish the things that God has called us to do.

Making room for growth by enlarging capacity

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Anxiety and Stress in Younger Generations

Anxiety and Stress in Younger Generations

Anxiety and Stress in Younger Generations

Last week I shared about how I’m having to learn a balance of helping but not coddling my kids in order to help them build necessary life skills. Fortunately I’ve had some good teaching in this area from my pastors in addition to other helpful resources that I have either sought out or “stumbled upon” (i.e. led by the Holy Spirit). I often actively seek out resources in guiding and leading younger generations due to being a parent, educator, and church youth leader. I recognize my own limitations. Subsequently, I realize that my own perspective is definitely not unbiased and not shared by today’s younger generations and culture.

Some of the issues I have dealt with as an educator over the past 10+ years have also prompted me to seek out further counsel and guidance. One issue in particular is the rise of anxiety and stress levels in younger generations. Today, I’ll share some examples with you from what I’ve seen in my own classroom. Additionally, I’ll give you some resources to help in this area, along with other resources that I find extremely helpful when dealing with younger generations.

The rise of anxiety and stress

I’ve been pretty disheartened with the state of many of my college students lately. Although there are some AMAZING and desirable qualities in these younger generations, so many of them are so inadequately prepared for college and for life. I could get on a colossal soapbox about the sense of entitlement, apathy, poor work ethic, and lack of respect for authority that is so rampant among younger generations, but I’ll spare you that rant. My discouragement today centers around the rise of anxiety and stress (and really even poor mental health) among today’s youth and young adults.

Unfortunately, many parents, educators, and/or other influencers of youth and young adults have been a large part of the problem. I will include myself because I have personally been convicted about some of my previous parenting and teaching strategies that have enabled and even exacerbated this problem.

Recent examples of students crippled by anxiety

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Light a Candle in Darkness

Light a Candle in Darkness

Light a Candle in Darkness

I was talking with a friend the other day. She’s been struggling with some things in her life and is having a bit of a hard time. Darkness might be a good word to describe what she’s feeling or what she’s going through. I thought I’d write this week about an analogy that I shared with her about lighting a candle in darkness.

The smallest light

In dark situations, we need to find the light. Sometimes all it takes in order to brighten the dark is just the smallest light…like lighting a candle in a dark room. Candlelight is a very tiny light. Nevertheless, eventually that candle will light the room, and we can see other things. Our eyes will adjust, and the room will get brighter even though previously it was all darkness. Then that light will open our eyes to see that things maybe really aren’t as dark as they seem, and there is hope.

Things also become clearer in the light. In the light we can have a more realistic or different perspective. The light might grant us ability to quit seeing things from a negative point of view in order to see things for what they truly are. In a sense we are not “blinded” anymore.

Light in darkness…

Light dispels, disperses and scatters the darkness. Evil is exposed in the light.

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.” John 1:5 (NLT)

“No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.” Matthew 5:15 (NLT)

“For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them, for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”” Ephesians 5:8-14 (NLT)

“All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed.” John 3:20 (NLT) 

 

In darkness we are deceived.

Think haunted house. Things are worse than they seem in the dark. Continue reading

Scriptures for When You’re Feeling Overwhelmed

Scriptures for When You’re Feeling Overwhelmed

Last week’s post: Feeling Overwhelmed?

I received a lot of positive response to last week’s post about feeling overwhelmed. This week I thought I’d share some scriptures and a few songs that I like for when these emotions strike. It’s always helpful for me to have a list of go-to scriptures that are printed out or have an image of them to refer to in moments of need. I also like having some go-to songs to get me through certain emotions.

Hopefully you will find these helpful too. These are merely a few relevant scriptures and songs—there are many, many more! Feel free to leave a comment below with your own suggestions!

Scriptures for When You’re Feeling Overwhelmed 

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