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10 Scriptures to Deal With Stress
LF Newsletter #131
Hey there - it’s Don.
Happy Friday!
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🔎 Inside
10 scriptures to deal with stress
Doing this resulted in 6-7 pounds more weight loss in 12 weeks
7 consequences of sleep deficiency, 9 hormones that affect your weight and how to improve them, and more…
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💪 Deep Dive
Click here to read this on the Layman’s Fitness website
Chronic Stress & Health
In 2020 I remember having a panic attack in my backyard.
Rapid heart rate… dizziness… shortness of breath… deep feeling of numbness and apathy…
That morning I remember staring in my yard out there into nowhere, totally numb, and completely overwhelmed by everything I was feeling.
It was a low for me.
And with 5 years of hindsight, I look back on this moment and attribute it to chronic stress that I let go unaddressed for years.
The impact of chronic stress on health is well studied.
Here’s what chronic stress does to an individual:
Increases weight gain
Increased risk of heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure
Increases anxiety, depression, irritability, lack of concentration, and the likelihood for a panic attack
Increases risk of digestive issues, muscle tension, pain, and sleep problems
And more.
When you start studying how to mitigate chronic stress, here are the healthy behaviors that are recommended.
Sleep 7-9 hours
Exercise regularly
Eat a healthy foods
Walk more
Limit alcohol
Manage screen time
These physical things are helpful. And I wasn’t doing them.
The reduction of stress by physical interventions is proof to me of how tightly correlated the physical is with the spiritual.
This is how God designed us.
But if I could go back and shake my pre-2020 self, there’s one thing I’d add in and emphasize above all else.
Pray.
And not just pray generically.
Go to the Lord in prayer with His Word.
10 Scriptures for Stress
This is not an exhaustive list of scriptures that help us deal with stress, anxiety, or fear.
But this is a list of very precious promises God has given us that, in addition to all the physical interventions, I wish I went to in that season.
1) James 1:2-4
“Count it all joy 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.”
2) Philippians 4:4-7
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 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 minds in Christ Jesus.”
3) 1 Peter 5:6-11
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strength, and establish you.”
4) Psalm 127:1-2
“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for He gives to His beloved sleep.”
5) Matthew 6:25-34
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?… But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
6) Matthew 11:28-30
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
7) Psalm 121:1-5
“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand.”
8) Isaiah 26:3-4
“You keep Him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.”
9) Joshua 1:9
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
10) John 14:26-27
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
➡️ The Takeaway
Chronic stress has a myriad of health effects.
All of which can be better managed by health improvements.
I see this as one proof of how tightly interwoven the spiritual is with the physical.
But one thing I missed when dealing with my own chronic stress was going to the Lord in prayer, through His Word.
The hymn writer is spot on here.
“O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
all because we do not carry
everything to God in prayer!”
P.S. This is one of those hymns with a story behind it.
🔎 Finds
Here are some of my favorite finds/resources this week.
Top find
Doing this resulted in 6-7 pounds more weight loss in 12 weeks (more)
This study had 2 groups, both of which had the same caloric deficit targets in their diets.
But one group lost 6-7 pounds more in 12 weeks than the other group.
The difference?
The group that lost more weight drank 2 cups of water before each meal.
There’s nothing magical in the water here.
But what the water did was limit the amount the group ate by making them feel more full sooner.
Other finds
👍 Thanks for reading!
I’ll see you next week.
Be strong,
Don
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