Dear Person Struggling with Stress,

I am right there with you. It is getting to that point in the semester where classes are winding down, finals are coming up, and those efforts to bring grades up to where you want them to be are making things very stressful for all of us.

Stress, however, is not healthy. Stress can cause all sorts of health problems, such as heart disease, headaches, accelerated aging, and even premature death, according to WebMD. That is scary enough to make me not want to stress anymore!

While we shouldn't stress, it is a part of our lives all the time. Work stresses a lot of people out. Even the circumstances we find ourselves in can make us stress to the point of wanting to pull our hair out.

In our times of stress, how often do we fail to look to God for answers? I will definitely be the first to admit that sometimes, my first instinct isn't always to look to God and take my stress to Him. We sometimes hold our stress in, bottling it up until someone does that one little thing that frustrates us so bad we unleash all that built up stress and frustration out on them.

It is important that in the midst of our stress, we take it to God. The whole premise of this "Struggling with Something..." series, 1 Peter 5:6-7 tells us, "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your cares on Him, because He cares about you (CSB)." This very passage tells us that when we are stressed out, we should take that to God.

Just like in our times of brokenness, loneliness, doubt, finding ourselves, whatever we are facing, taking it to God, the God who created each of us, is the first and important step. Verse 6 of the above passage tells us that He will exalt us at the proper time. This means that, when we look back on the situation, we will realize that we were placed in the situation for a purpose. That purpose could be to make us stronger, or in some cases, help someone who may need to hear what the Lord has to say through you and your situation.

Another crucial passage when dealing with stress is Philippians 4:6-7, which says, "Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (CSB)."

Even this passage tells us not to worry or stress about anything. Take it to God. God will bring us through that situation. Pray about it.

If you're struggling with stress from classes, pray about it! Ask God to bring you peace and guide you through the stress, and ask Him to have His way in the situation.

God Bless!