There are a lot of things that trigger stress in our lives and it seems that with the current economic situation in our country that it happens more often. You hear the latest stock market report and you feel your stomach leap for joy or twist in knots, depending on the news. Or maybe your preferred financial institution sends you the latest update on your retirement account and you are afraid to even open the envelope. It isn’t just the economy either. Our jobs, our relationships, our families and just about everything else we are involved with seems to be in upheaval.

So how do we find peace in the middle of all this turmoil. There used to be a TV commercial for a certain bath product that would “take you away” from all the uproar of life but I don’t think it works like that. I think the Bible gives us some great practical insight into how we can hang on to peace in troubled times.

Remember that God is with you. There is a story in the Gospels about Jesus and the disciples in a boat on the Sea of Galilee. A terrible storm comes up and the disciples are sure they are about ready to die. They turn to Jesus who they find asleep in the boat. He calms the storm and chides them for their lack of faith. We often forget Jesus is in the boat when we go through the storms of life. We need to get that picture in our heads when we go through turbulent times.

Live in the present. In Matthew chapter 6 we read a story of Jesus addressing his disciples on the subject of worrying about the future. He asks them to consider the birds and the flowers and how God looks out for them. Instead of worrying about the future we should focus on today. Whenever I get stressed out it is usually because I am concerned about how the turmoil I am facing is going to affect my future. Instead I need to focus on enjoying today with God.

Interact with others. When the going gets tough we have a tendency to focus on ourselves and that often turns into a downward spiral of stress. It just feeds on itself and before long we are completely inward focused. On several occasions in the Bible the Apostle Paul finds himself in tough circumstances and yet he puts his focus on others. Today we know the book of Philippians as the book of joy as Paul repeatedly urges the Philippians to rejoice. The remarkable thing about the book is that it was written while Paul was in prison. When I find myself in tough times I need to be intentional about focusing on others.

Focus on the life God has for you. It is easy to lose sight of God’s calling on your life when things get tough. A survival instinct kicks in and we start focusing on self-preservation rather than our true purpose. It is good that we have that instinct but if we let it consume us we start developing all sorts of unhealthy patterns in our lives. The Apostle Paul uses statements like “I press on” and “This one thing I do” to describe his focus on his calling. I need to never lose sight of what God has called and gifted me to be.

This really works for me and I can usually physically feel the difference before I get past the first two points. I picture Jesus with me in the boat and enjoying today with him and I can feel the stress float away. That doesn’t mean I have don’t face a lot of unpleasant situations and even hardships. It does mean that with Jesus I can handle it.

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