Isaiah 40:28-31
Sidelining Stress
https://www.lwf.org/sermon-outlines/posts/how-to-handle-stress
Stress is the difference between the demands of life and our ability
to meet them.
There is the potential for stress in everyone’s life.
1. We all have limits. Time, ability, money,
2. We all have demands. Some placed on us by others and some by
self.
Yet God insists that His children NOT be stressed.
1. He insists that we not worry.
Phil 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every
thing by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known
unto God.
a. Worry is a big word and it covers a lot of actions.
b. It can be anything from being too preoccupied with a
concern all the way to having that concern keep you
awake, fill you fear and anxiety, and cause you physical
pain.
c. God says, "Don’t do either one."
d. Easier said than done though, right?
e. To make it easier, God has given us prayer. \\#Matt 7:7\\
\\#Matt 6:27\\
(1) If you are to lay awake all night doing something,
let it be praying.
(2) If we would learn to pray instead of worry, we might
would also learn of the peace that passeth all
understanding.
2. He insists that we not attempt to carry the load.
Mt 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and
are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
1Pe 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he
careth for you.
a. Someone asks, "Doesn’t God want us to be self reliant?"
b. We are dependent upon God. We cannot be self reliance.
c. To think that we are is to be arrogant and rebellious.
3. He insists that we not spend our time second guessing the
possibilities.
Ro 8:28 And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them
who are the called according to his purpose.
Isa 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace,
whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth
in thee.
a. God does not want us to be reckless, but neither does
God want us to go through life doubting every decision
we have ever made.
b. Seek God’s will, make the best decision you can, and
forget it.
c. Two things have helped me:
(1) If God wants you to revisit a decision, He can get
your attention.
(2) It is no more trouble for God to fix what I do wrong
than it is for God to fix what I did right.
None of that means that God wants you to give up on the things that
need to be done.
1. Some will do nothing and say, "It’s up to God." That is
laziness not spirituality.
2. God insists you put the load on Him but He also insists
you do your part.
a. Moses did not sit watch at the Red Sea but lifted up his
staff.
b. Gideon’s army did not win the battle against the
Midianites but they showed up with a pitcher, trumpet,
and flame.
c. Elijah did not sit on the sidelines at the Jordan River
but smote it with his mantle.
d. The blind man did not sit and wait on his healing but went
to wash in the Pool of Siloam. John 9:7
e. Peter did not win souls on the day of Pentecost but he
came with a message.
3. Almost all of God’s works, both the physical and the
spiritual, have been joint operations since the day God
created Adam and put him in the Garden. (Jonah, Mary’s
pregnancy, Jesus’ resurrection)
4. The point being, You will participate but God will do the
work.
Lessons and Helps:
1. Life is God’s classroom. God is the Teacher and problems are
God’s assignments.
a. ALL things DO work together for our good and His glory.
God is using the problems of life to teach us character
and godliness.
b. However, as surely as a good teacher will not lose control
of his classroom, so God will never lose control over
His.
c. Worry, stress, and, anxiety are all indicators that we
need to learn more about God’s strength, ability, power,
and might.
d. Important lesson - The problems don’t have to go away for
the stress to do so.
(1) Some think the point of the problems is to teach us
that God can make them go away. Not necessarily.
(2) The point of the problems is to teach us that even in
problems the stress can go away!
(3) This is what trust and faith are all about. Not
living the carefree life but living knowing that no
matter what the situation, God is control.
2. We may be causing some stress by not being where we are
supposed to be and doing what we are suppose to be doing.
a. If we are out of God’s will, then it is certain that we
are going to feel the results of God being against us
and not for us.
b. Don’t expect to run up a sin tab and God not to bill you
for it. God will use the sins you are committing to
turn you from it.
c. Sin can be as obvious as committing adultery, stealing,
and killing.
d. However, sin can be as innocent as taking on
responsibilities that God does not want you to have.
(1) Human beings can only do so much in a finite body.
(2) Moms, if you are feeling stressed about working a
full-time job, rearing your children, taking care of
the home and the hubby, there may be a reason.
(3) Super Girl is a myth! You cannot obligate yourself to
26 hours in a day and get it all done.
e. Lessons:
(1) People have to make wise, godly CHOICES.
(a) Humans have to make choices. It is part of being
finite.
(b) The key is to make wise decisions, and that
includes making spiritual decisions.
(c) Some people do not make the decisions of their
life. They let time, demand, and necessity
make it for them.
(d) Even not making a decision is a decision. It is
a decision to neglect the spiritual and the
important for the sake of the loud and the
immediate.
(2) People have to be able to say NO.
(a) Most people have no problem saying no. Their
problem is that they say it to the wrong things.
(b) Christians, we must say no to the world and allow
Jesus to control our lives or we will be
stressed!
(3) People have to refuse to compare.
(a) One of the things that seems to especially stress
young moms is other moms.
(b) Comparing yourself is never good.
2Co 10:12 For we dare not make ourselves of the
number, or compare ourselves with some that
commend themselves: but they measuring
themselves by themselves, and comparing
themselves among themselves, are not wise.
(c) The only best God is concerned with is you being
the best you that you can be!
(d) Some do not need as much sleep, some have better
husbands, some kids behave better, some have
more multitask abilities.
(e) You need to be the best you can be and you need
to learn to say No to the things God wants you
to say No to.
(f) Moms and Dads, people can get by without cell
phones, two cars, annual vacations, boats, cable
TV, weekly beauty parlor visits, a closet full
of clothes and shoes, lavish birthday presents,
and more.
3. Once we get our lives and priorities right, the rest is up to
us to trust God for.
a. In these verses, God gives us three things:
(1) Knowledge - Is 40:28 - God is on the job You can
trust Him. He does not sleep His or slumber.
(2) Aid - Is 40:29
(a) God gives power for the job.
i. This is external.
ii. Whatever obstacles and debris need to be
removed to complete the task, God will
give it.
(b) God gives us strength for the job.
i. Strength is for us.
ii. It is internal power of all kinds to do
what He has called us to do.
iii. You can have God’s strength or you can have
stress, but you can’t have both.
iv. Mental, physical, and spiritual.
(aa) Stress is of the mind. It is the
unrealized habit of us thinking we
have to do it all. When we were
lost, we did have to do it all; but
now that they are saved, we must
re-train the way we think.
(bb) Physical - Stress can cause physical
problems - fear, anxiety, sickness,
insomnia, physical pain. Many of
the problems we call panics are
caused not because our bodies have a
weakness but because we allow our
minds to become absorbed with our
worries. As God strengthens you
mind, He will strengthen your body.
(cc) Spiritual - Most of our minds and
bodies are stronger than our
spirits. We were lost and dead
spiritually. Now, we must exercise
and strengthen our spirit. God
desires we make our spirit the
strongest part of being so that our
first inclination to problems is not
to worry but to pray.
v. The last is the most important! You have
probably seen a Christian who is godly and
you have marvelled. You may think they
are a different kind of human being, but
all they have done is to grow their
spirit to be the strongest aspect of their
being.
(3) Instruction \\#Is 40:31\\
(a) "Wait" - We are to bind with Him.
i. The word means both to look for, to linger for,
but also to join with, bind with.
ii. To wait on the Lord, we need to:
(aa) Be saved.
Ps 62:1 Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from
him cometh my salvation.
(bb) Be watching for Him.
Pr 8:34 Blessed is the man that heareth me,
watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts
of my doors.
(cc) Be relying on Him.
Ps 104:27 These wait all upon thee; that thou
mayest give them their meat in due season.
(dd) Be living for Him.
Pr 27:18 Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat
the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his
master shall be honoured.
(b) "Renew"
i. The word means to restore, to bring a
thing back to its previous condition.
ii. For the Christian, renewal is going back
to our greatest spiritual love and fever
for Him.
iii. If you are worrying, you probably are not
at the strongest period in your life.
The fact that you are worrying and are
stressed indicates there are spiritual
problems.
iv. You need to go back to a time when you
were stronger spiritual and restore
yourself to that place.
Ga 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless
I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and
the life which I now live in the flesh I live by
the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and
gave himself for me.
Eph 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the
Lord, and in the power of his might.
v. What would it take to get you back the
place of complete surrender to Jesus?
vi. Only you can answer that, but I imagine
it would be putting your life back in
order. setting Jesus back on the throne.
(aa) Perhaps exchanging your wants for
His.
(bb) Perhaps exchanging your priorities
for His.
(cc) Perhaps exchanging your ways for
His.
b. Christian, these are the things we do to keep the stress
off of us.
(1) We keep God in charge.
(2) Life never stresses God! He has no lack of
abilities.
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