Trust God More and Stress Less
What Does the Bible Say About Stress?
The Bible does not explicitly define the term "stress," but it addresses emotions closely related to it—such as worry, anxiety, and trouble—which are often symptoms of stress. Scripture acknowledges that life brings trials and pressures, as seen in Job 5:7, which reminds that “man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.” Despite these challenges, believers are encouraged to place their trust in God and seek His wisdom and guidance during difficult times.
Stress can breed a sense of disillusionment that undermines purpose, direction, and meaning in life. It can distract from God’s promises and hinder spiritual growth. When stress dominates, it becomes difficult to hear God’s voice or follow His will.
Common Symptoms of Stress.
How do you know whether you are experiencing stress or not. Maybe you are and you are not even aware of it. You may think that what you are experiencing is the normal function of life. Stress can breed a host of destructive symptoms which affect us mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.
Stress often produces a sense of anxiety, irritability, frustration, restlessness, and depression. It creates a feeling of hopelessness and disillusionment which undermines a person's sense of purpose, direction, and meaning in life. Stress can keep you from fulfilling God's purpose for your life
Trusting God in Times of Stress
To trust God more and stress less is to surrender control and rest in His faithfulness. This trust is built through prayer, meditation on Scripture, and consistent fellowship with God. By casting every care upon Him, believers find peace that surpasses understanding and strength to endure life’s challenges.
Faith does not eliminate life’s pressures, but it transforms how they are handled. Trusting God replaces fear with confidence, anxiety with peace, and despair with hope. Through faith, every trial becomes an opportunity to grow closer to God and experience His sustaining grace.
How to Manage Stress in a Godly Way
We all face stress in this life, and sometimes it's helpful to see examples of those who walked before us, navigating their stress with spiritual strength. When you think of those who managed their stress in God-honouring ways, there are many examples of men and women who trusted in the faithfulness of God.
Let's look at Hannah’s story in scripture in the hope that her life will inspire you to face your own stress with spiritual strength to overcome it.
Every door has a key or codes that unlocks it. Hannah’s life gave us biblical keys to handling stress:
Hannah, Who Longed for a Baby (1 Samuel 1:1-20)
Hannah is a woman who knows grief. She longs for a baby, but her womb is painfully empty. She is continually mocked and taunted by her husband’s second wife, who has children, and weeps to the point where she can’t eat.
Hannah was one of the two wives of Elkanah, a man from the tribe of Ephraim. Elkanah's other wife, Peninnah, had children of her own and taunted Hannah for being barren. Scripture tells us that Elkanah "would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. But to Hannah, he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb. And her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. So, it went on year by year. As often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her." (1 Samuel 1: 4-7)
Responding to Ridicule
How did Hannah respond to this ridicule? Scripture says, "Hannah wept and would not eat." (v 7) This tells us that Hannah was not only heartbroken over not having children, but that she felt deep distress, to the point of depression. After everyone else had eaten, Elkanah, her husband, said to her, "Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?" (1Samuel 1: 8)
Hannah's Prayer
Hannah could have responded to this distress in many ways. She could have responded as Sarai did in Genesis 16 and arranged for her husband to sleep with her maidservant to have a child. But that's not what Hannah did.
Hannah took her distress and weeping to the Lord.
"O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head." (1 Samuel 1:11)
Hannah’s prayer was so intense that Eli, a priest in the temple, thought Hannah was drunk! Hannah assured Eli she was not intoxicated but a woman in distress pouring out her soul before the Lord. In Hannah was, "speaking out of great anxiety and vexation." (1 Samuel 1:16)
God Answered Hannah’s Prayer
Soon after, we are told that the Lord remembered Hannah and opened her womb. Hannah conceived a son, named him Samuel, and in keeping her word, took him to the temple after he was weaned and gave him to the service of the Lord.
Trust God more
The major key that helped Hannah to experience breakthrough during the time of travail is her ability to trust God against all odds.
Trusting God more means shifting focus from personal control to divine assurance. It involves believing that God’s plan is greater than any temporary difficulty and that His strength is sufficient to sustain through every challenge.
Proverbs 3:5–8 teaches the importance of trusting in the Lord with all one’s heart and not relying solely on personal understanding. This passage emphasizes that acknowledging God in every aspect of life leads to peace, direction, and healing. While the Bible may not use the modern term “stress,” its principles of faith, surrender, and reliance on God provide a powerful foundation for managing life’s pressures.
Lessons from Hannah’s Story
1. Turn to Prayer: In moments of deep distress, turning to prayer and pouring out your soul to God can bring peace and clarity.
2. Remain Faithful: Despite her anguish, Hannah remained faithful to God, trusting His timing and plan.
3. Fulfil Your Promises: Hannah kept her promise to God by dedicating Samuel to His service, demonstrating integrity and commitment.
4. Seek Support: Hannah found solace and understanding in Eli, showing the importance of seeking guidance and support from spiritual leaders or community.
5. Trust in God's Plan: Hannah’s story reminds us that God's plans are often beyond our understanding but always purposeful and filled with grace.
Hannah’s story is a powerful reminder of the strength found in faith and the peace that comes from trusting God with our deepest desires and fears.
Bible verses on Stress:
Proverbs 12:25 - Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.
Matthew 11:28-30 - Come to me, all who labour 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.”
Matthew 6:34 - “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble”
Matthew 6:27 - And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
1 Peter 5:7 - Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
Luke 10:41-42 - But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
Philippians 4:6-7 - 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. (also verse on – Stress)
John 14:1 - “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.
Bible verses on Trust:
Philippians 4:6 - “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
Isaiah 26:3 - You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
Psalm 56:3 - When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
Psalm 118:8 - It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.
Psalm 56:4 - In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?
Psalm 20:7 - Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
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.
Psalm 91:1-2 – He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
Proverbs 3:5-6 - Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Conclusion
I will end this message with the prayer of the 20th century Dutch priest and author Henri Nouwen (1932–1996):
O Lord… You know me more deeply and fully than I know myself. You love me with a greater love than I can love myself. You even offer me more than I can desire… Take my tired body, my confused mind, and my restless soul into your arms and give me rest, simple quiet rest. AMEN
Love from Dr Liz Omole