Joyce Meyer - Stress Management (08/23/2019)
Tonight's message highlights how every problem we face has its answer in God's Word, emphasizing that stress is not God's will and can be overcome through partnership with Him. By listening to God, taking responsibility for changes, sowing peace, and guarding our hearts, we can exchange a life of stress for lasting peace, rooted in the Prince of Peace within us.
Prayer and the Reality of Stress
Father, we thank you for the word. It's amazing to me, Lord, that every problem that we deal with, the answer is in your word. Every single one of them. And obviously, if we live the way you lead us to live, we're not going to have stress. So we need you to speak to us this weekend and help us to understand the changes that we can make by your grace to help us live in peace. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen.
While stress is the disease of the century, it is a multi-billion dollar business. The management of stress, the cure for stress, whether it comes through paying a counselor or different medicines or books or stress management classes or seminars or whatever. I mean, well, you saw the way you reacted. And when I told the worship team what I was going to teach them, they were all like, oh, we are really going to listen this weekend.
Stress Is Not God's Will
And so, I mean, I think surely we all understand that it's not God's will for us to live under pressure and stress all the time. How many of us understand that that is not God's will, okay? And so, it is a disease of our culture. But just because we live in a culture, that doesn't mean that we have to adopt that culture. Now, listen to what I'm saying. Otherwise, we just end up making excuses for everything. It's like, well, that's just the way the world is today. But that does not have to be the way your world is. Amen?
Matter of fact, I'm going to say that again. You know, just because that's the way the world is today doesn't mean that has to be the way your world is or the way my world is. And I can tell you, if anything is going to change in your life or my life, then we're going to have to take responsibility to change it. Now, I don't mean that we change anything without God. The first thing we always do in every situation is go to God.
Prayer: Talking and Listening to God
But I think we get mixed up between what God will do and what he will enable us to do. You see, we are participators with God. We're partners with God. And I really think that a lot of times people think that prayer is just getting God to fix all this. While I just don't do anything, or I even just keep doing the same silly things I'm already doing. But now I'm expecting God to somehow get rid of the harvest that I'm sowing in my own life. Am I making sense?
And so, when you pray, you have to have your ears open to see what God will say to you. About what the root cause of your problem might be. Now, sometimes there's not anything we can do. And if that's the case, then God comes in and does it all. But a lot of times the root of our problem is, to be honest, we're just living with a lack of knowledge. We're living in what the Bible calls ignorance.
Back to the Word of God
We don't... We're not walking in wisdom. We're doing things. Maybe even because that's just the culture we live in. And that's what everybody does. And so, we do that. But we have to go back to the Word of God all the time. Back to the Word of God. And boy, it's Proverbs full of wisdom. Back to the Word of God. And make a commitment that we're not going to live according to what's going on around us. But we're going to make decisions based on the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
How many of you believe with me that if we will all be led by the Spirit, we're going to have pretty peaceful lives? Okay. So, I'm just going to tell you that I don't have any magic trick to just wave a wand over you this weekend and make all your stress go away. And neither does anybody else who want to know the truth.
No Magic Formulas – Real Change Required
I honestly think sometimes when people go to stress management classes or counseling or whatever, I don't think a lot of times they go with this mindset, I'm ready to make a change. I think it's just, well, I want somebody to solve my problem. And we have to camp here for a minute or this whole thing is going to be useless.
I cannot solve your problem and neither can God if you won't do what God shows you to do or not do what God shows you not to do. I want you to get this because this has just been coming to me really strong that prayer is not just, now God's going to fix all this. I mean, obviously there are many times when that is what happens because maybe you're already doing what God's asking you to do and now God needs to do His part.
Prayer Involves Obedience
Prayer is not just talking to God. It's also listening to God. And God does talk back. He may not talk exactly the way we do, but God will communicate with you in a variety of ways. God will speak to you tonight through my mouth. If you'll listen, He speaks through the Word of God. He'll speak through a little kid. God will speak through a circumstance. I mean, He speaks in all kinds of ways and we need to pray and obey.
There is not one person in this room or watching by television who cannot exchange a life of stress for a life of peace. If you're willing to not just have a magic formula but really start getting to the root of some of the issues of why you have the stress and being willing then to make the changes that need to be made with God's help. But I'll say it over and over, apart from Him, we can do nothing. But I think it's also fair to say, apart from us, He doesn't do much. Huh? Well, I don't know. Are you sure that's scriptural? Yeah, pretty sure it is. May not say it exactly like that, but God tells us to cast our care, not our responsibility.
Stress Is Everywhere – Our Options
He uses us. He works through people. So I pray to find out what God wants me to do or if there's absolutely nothing that He tells me to do, then I expect Him to do it. But we have to understand that real prayer is not just sitting back, expecting God to do everything while we change absolutely nothing.
Stress is all around us, and it's not very likely to decrease. So what is our options? You see, I went for a long period of time trying to change everything around me. And that may be where you're at right now. Well, if you'll stop doing that, I'll have peace. And if you stop doing that, I'll have peace. And if you start doing this, then I'll have peace. And if I had more money, I'd have peace. And if I had a better boss, I'd have peace. And it was always something out here.
Stop Blaming Circumstances
Come on now. It was always something out here that was the reason why I didn't have peace. And really, that takes us all the way back to the Garden of Eden. Blame. Well, the woman you gave me. She gave it to me. Excuse me? I thought men wanted to be the head of the house. What about being the head of the garden? I mean, it's got to get started right. Don't worry. I'm not going to stay there.
But unless we get rid of that notion that, well, I, you know, I just want some peace. And you're stealing my peace. If my circumstances would change, I'd have more peace. Your circumstances... Okay, I don't want to be discouraging. You know, your circumstances may change, but you'll get other ones. Amen. I mean, you will. You know? The ones you've got will go away. Something else will come along.
In the World but Not of It
We just have to learn how to be in the world, but not act like it. So stress is all around us. It's not likely to decrease. So what are our options? Well, we only have two as far as I figure. Continue to be stressed out until we fall apart. Or, that's an option. And sadly, I know that some of you will take that option. Or you could learn to not be affected by it by not letting it get into you. What's around us doesn't have to get in us. Amen?
Peace has been defined as a quiet heart. And boy, do I love that. A quiet heart. Jesus was surrounded by stressful situations. Rejected by family and friends. Some of you are going through that right now. You're letting it stress you out. Accused of being evil. Accused of doing something. Or having some kind of a wicked motive that's just not true of you at all. False accusations can stress us out. Boy, we want to convince everybody that we're good. Has anybody ever noticed that Jesus never tried to do that?
Jesus' Stressful Surroundings
His disciples needed a lot of correction. He was mentoring them for the job of carrying the gospel to the world and only had a very short time to do it. Sometimes all the people around us that don't do what they ought to be doing can really stress us out. I have to always tell you what to do every time, constantly. And then when I tell you, you can't do it. Huge crowds followed Him everywhere. And they all wanted miracles, healings, and help of some kind.
You know, I've even said, everybody that comes near me wants something. Some of you moms, you feel that way. The husband wants something. All the kids want something. Then your parents call you up and they want something. Then your mother-in-law wants something. And it's just, everybody wants a piece of me and I don't have any pieces left. How many of you ever feel like that?
Jesus' Peace in John 14:27
But see, Jesus, although He was there for people, He had boundaries. And we're going to talk about boundaries more tomorrow night. You know, if you don't want the neighbor's dog pooing in your yard, then you better put up a fence. Amen. And that means that we need to put some fences up around our lives and say, you can go this far, but you can't go any farther.
One of His disciples betrayed Him for 30 pieces of silver. Peter denied even knowing Him at a crucial time in His life. And Peter was one of His good, close friends. He was mentally and emotionally dealing continually with knowing and being aware of the suffering that He was going to have to endure on the cross. Wow. Talk about a stressful day. And yet in the midst of all of it, He gives us John 14, 27.
Peace I leave with you. My own peace I now give and bequeath unto you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed, and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.
We Already Have Peace – Use It
Now, this kind of proves the point that I was trying to make to begin with. God always wants us to come to Him in prayer, and He's always ready to help us, and He's always ready to do what we cannot do. He's a miracle-working God. But we see right here that, honestly, basically, if I'm going to believe this, I don't ever really need to pray for peace, because I've already got peace. I'm just not using it.
You know what He said? My peace, I leave with you. If we're born again, we have the Prince of Peace living on the inside of us. So, way down deep inside, if you think about a body of water, and a storm comes over that water, you're going to see rippling and waves and a disturbance on the surface. But down deep, it's just as quiet as quiet can be.
A Quiet Heart – Unreasonable Peace
That's why peace is described as a quiet heart. All kinds of things can be going on around us, but if we stay in communication with God, and we continue to lean on Him and rely on Him, we can still have His peace. That doesn't mean we have to love the circumstance. That doesn't even mean that it doesn't hurt. But it does mean that we can have this special kind of peace.
The peace that the world offers is a peace that only works when circumstances suit us. But Jesus has given us something that's far superior to that. He's giving us a peace that really, the best way I know how to say it, is a peace that just doesn't make any sense. It's an unreasonable peace. In other words, I don't know how I can have peace, you almost feel embarrassed to tell anybody you've got peace. Because they are going to think you are just being hyper-religious or something.
Deeper Relationship with God
But you honestly can have peace in the most difficult circumstance if you really have a depth of relationship with God. And I'll tell you, I think we need more of what I will lovingly call deeper teaching. Amen? I was thinking about that some this week as I was just pondering a lot of different things and how years ago there actually were conferences called the Deeper Life Conferences. And I think we need some more of those.
In Luke chapter 5, Jesus said, come on out into the deep and get ready for a hall. So we need to learn how to live out of our hearts and live out of our spirits and not just keep reacting according to everything that's going on around us. Well, I don't know how to do that. Keep preaching, sister.
Value Peace Highly
Okay, well, what value do you place on peace? You're not going to get much out of this if you don't really make your mind up that peace is probably one of the top most valuable things that you have. The love of God is way up there at the top. The grace of God is awesome. But I tell you, this peace, man, that is so important.
Let me ask you a question. What's the point of even getting out of bed if you've got to get out of bed and be upset all day? And that's why some people that get depressed just don't bother to get out of bed. They just stay in bed because they don't want to face another day. But that's not the answer. I mean, the answer is not to hide from life. It's not to avoid our issues. It's to learn how to deal with things the way Jesus dealt with things.
My Journey with Stress
Let me share my journey of stress with you a little bit so you know that I know what I'm talking about. First of all, I was sexually abused by my father. For many years, married the first guy that came along because I thought nobody would ever want me. And he was a con artist and a petty crook and ended up going to jail for stealing. And that was a five-year nightmare on top of an 18-year nightmare. So now I'm in my 20s. I'm 23. And I'm just messed up. You know, just... It's amazing how many people look good on the outside, but boy, they are messed up. Amen?
And I think I... They created the word dysfunction for me. You know, I just... See, that's why I am just so radical about the Word of God because this is what has changed me. And not just reading it, but receiving it, loving it, obeying it. And it's been a 40-year journey, but let me tell you what. The Word of God will work in your life if you will do what it tells you to do.
Soul Salvation – Renewing the Mind
And don't give me that I can't because anything that God tells us to do, He will give us the ability to do it if we're willing. So I was... I worried. I was full of fear. I was angry. I was insecure. I tried to find value. I didn't feel good about myself, so I tried to find value in my work and in accomplishment. So I just about worked myself to death. Anybody been there and done that? You know?
I had physical problems from all the stress. I created problems in all my personal relationships because I was on overload all the time. Do you know if you're stressed out all the time, you are not easy to get along with? Period. End of the conversation. I was even a Christian and in full-time ministry and I still had all of these problems.
Peace Stealers and Boundaries
Being saved doesn't guarantee that you won't have these problems. Not only do we need to be... does our spirit need to be redeemed, which is what happens at the new birth, but our soul needs to be saved. And that's your mind, your will, and your emotions. It's how you think about things, how you react to things, the decisions that we all make.
And that's why I love James 1, 21 I believe, that says, receive the word of God with meekness, for it contains the power to save your souls. I want to tell you, tonight while I'm sharing the word with you, your mind is being renewed. That means your mind is changing as you sit in here tonight. You're going to change the way that you think about some things.
Decision for Peace – No Matter What
And if you change the way you think about some things, it's going to change the way you talk. And when you change the way you think and the way you talk, it begins to change your attitude. And then that begins to change your behavior. And then all of a sudden, everything out here can't control you anymore.
After many years of torment, I finally decided that I was going to have peace no matter what. And I want to stop here for a moment and say that Dave was a great example to me. And if you are one of those rare, very peaceful people and you're thinking that you don't really need this tonight because you don't have a problem with stress. You really do need it because even if you don't have a problem with stress, you deal with all kinds of people that do.
Follow Peace – Pursue It Eagerly
And you probably don't get them either. You're just like, you're like, what is your problem? Why would you be upset over that? Why would you be concerned about that? Well, they just are. But see, Dave was a great example to me. that I could have peace because I came from a background where I didn't even know what that was.
How many of you grew up in a angry, violent, outrageous home and atmosphere and really you didn't even know what peace felt like? I didn't know what it was. When I first started getting peace, I was bored. I mean, how stupid is that? I mean, I was bored. It was like, well... Honestly, if I wasn't upset and I didn't have anything to worry about and I wasn't mad about anything, I didn't know what to do with myself.
Sowing Peace to Reap Power
And I am not kidding. I can remember sitting in a recliner thinking, this is boring. So if you're really going to go with this message, you may have to go through a little culture shock. I decided, if Dave could have it, I could have it. If anybody could have it, I could have it. And so I made a decision.
And if I don't do anything tonight but bring you to the point of making a decision, I want you to make a decision that whatever it takes... Come on. Whatever it takes, I want you to... I want this to drop inside of you like a rock. Whatever it takes, I am going to have peace. Yeah!
Boy, some of the messes that people have in their lives right now, you would not have it all if you would have followed peace. Just follow your heart. 1 Peter 3. 11 Let him turn away from wickedness and shun it and let him do right. Let him search for peace, harmony, undisturbedness from fears, agitating passions, and moral conflicts, and let him seek it eagerly.
Peace Stealers – Identify Them
Now watch this. Do not merely desire peaceful relationships with God, with your fellow man, and with yourself, but pursue and go after them. Now, that scripture helped me a lot because I finally saw that I wasn't going to get peace by just saying, Oh God, give me peace. Oh God, give me peace. God, please give me peace. Give me peace.
Well, I'm praying for peace, but I just don't feel peaceful. Will you pray for me for peace? Well, I'll pray for you that your eyes will be opened and you'll realize that you have all the peace living in your heart that you'll ever need if you'll let him rise up. Amen.
And it took a lot of years, a lot of years for me to begin to get this understanding. I think sometimes we pray wrong. We're praying for stuff we've already gotten, just not making use of. So, it kind of goes like this. Dave and I are having a conversation that's getting loud. How many of you know what it means when the conversation starts getting loud? Okay.
Sowing Peace – Practical Example
So now see, that's like a warning sign. Here you go. Been there, done that. And so, something's coming at me from this way. But something is rising up in me. And you know, sometimes for me, it's just this little like... It didn't take a four part series. I knew God was saying, shut up. But I don't want to shut up. And you are... I am not about to let you think that you're right when I know you're wrong.
So, here we go. But see, here's the thing. Even though this might be irritating me, if I let this peace that's in me rise up, then I can remain pretty cool in this situation. So, when I decided that I just wasn't going to live without peace, the first thing I did, and this will be your first assignment, I started paying attention to what my peace stealers were. And I started making changes.
If I said to you right now, I could bring almost any one of you up here and say, what is it that steals your peace? And boy, you could rattle off a list. So, you need to make a list. You need to make a list of what are the things that steal your peace. And you need to realize that the devil knows what every one of them are.
No Peace Means No Power
And, one of my favorite sayings, he sets you up to get you upset. Because no peace means no power. You with me? No peace means no power. Now, I'm going to tell you a little story. I told it in one of my conferences last weekend, but it's fresh and it makes sense, so I'm going to tell it again.
I did a little teaching, one of these little studio teachings that I do on television sometime with a smaller audience a couple weeks ago on sowing and reaping. But not just about... I wasn't even particularly talking about financial sowing and reaping, I was just talking about sowing and reaping in every area of our life. And I get really excited about that sowing and reaping thing because I feel like it's... it gives me a measure of control over my life.
Sowing Peace for More Power
In other words, if I want more friends, all I got to do is be more friendly. If I want people to be nicer to me, all I need to do is start being nicer to them. So, it's really like a cool thing that God's given us. Well, we always want to wait to get what we want. Why don't you give me what I want? But God says you got to sow some first, then you'll reap some.
So, I really like that. Give mercy, you'll reap mercy. Sow judgment, you'll get judgment. So, it works in every area of life. You help people, God will provide people to help you when you need help. So, after I did the teaching, Ginger and I were talking and I just kind of made my mind up that I was just going to put this to the test.
I'm just going to pick something and I'm going to start sowing it on purpose and I'm going to see how long it takes for me to start getting it back. And she said, I'm going to do the same thing. So, she told me what she was going to do. And it was good. It was something she wanted, so she was going to start sowing it.
God Speaks: Sow Peace for Power
And I didn't really know what I wanted, so I said, I'm going to have to pray. So I started praying about, well, God, what do I really want? And here again, I don't mean this to sound like I'm trying to be real religious, but more than anything that I want at this point in my life, what I want is God's power on me in such a way when I preach the gospel that people are set free. And healed, and delivered, and saved, and filled with the Holy Ghost.
And I've already gone through wanting everything else, so it's not like, you know, not like I'm St. Joyce, because I'm not. But at this point in my life, I've gotten old enough to realize there's not much else that makes any sense. And so, if I'm going to do this, I am very much results-oriented, so I want results.
Peace Stealers in Daily Life
I want people to say, I want people to say, I had a tumor and it disappeared while the word was being preached. I believe there's healing power in the word of God, and I believe that we should experience that. And so, I'm just having my time with God, and I said, okay, this is what I want. I want more power. And God spoke to me, and He said, then sow more peace.
And immediately, I saw a situation I had just been through that day, kind of stuff we all go through all the time. I ordered some material at a place where I bought some furniture to cover some kitchen chairs, ordered eight yards. Everybody say eight. Eight. But when they delivered it, it was six and a half yards. Now, I could understand seven or nine, but somehow they entered into the computer six and a half.
Responding with Peace
And so, I started. For crying out loud. Now, I didn't say this to the people. I'm talking to my daughter. Why can't people just do what you ask them to do? Has anybody ever made that comment lately? And my daughter quickly answered back, and I knew that it was God speaking to me through her. And she just simply said so sweetly, well, because people make mistakes. Oh.
Well, yeah, I guess they do. So, if I would have had my normal, regular day with that, I would have told at least five or six people. Come on. You are not going to believe. I am so frustrated, you are not going to believe. So, this is what we do. We do it to ourself. It's like, me being aggravated about the six and a half yards wasn't going to turn it into eight.
More Peace Stealers and Boundaries
No matter what I did at that point, I had six and a half yards of material, and I needed eight. So, the only thing I could do was have them reorder it and wait. Which I did not want to do. Then they delivered my coffee table, and the people who delivered it put the box in the middle of the floor and said goodbye. Whoa. Aren't you going to put this together? Well, no, we don't normally do that. Well, if you don't do it, who does?
Thank God I wasn't home, or it might not have been pretty. My daughter's taking care of this, and so she's like, no, we need you to put this together. We don't have to put this together. Long story short, all the parts weren't there. Something was dented. Something was something else, so they had to take that back. So, now we're waiting for that.
Identify and Change Peace Stealers
But that was the situation that came to my mind when I heard that, sow peace and get power. And I believe with all of my heart that the only reason why Jesus could calm the storm that everybody else was afraid of was because he had peace on the inside of him. You can't give away what you don't have. Come on. You cannot give away what you don't have.
But I want to tell you what. If you can stay peaceful, or if I can stay peaceful in any situation, Satan loses control. He absolutely loses control. And immediately, we have the upper hand because when you stay peaceful, you can hear from God, you can be led by the Spirit, you can have wisdom, you'll know what to do, but the minute we get frantic, bad goes to worse.
Decision: I Will Not Live Stressed Out
What are some of my peace stealers? You'll recognize some of them, I'm quite sure. Did you understand my little example about sowing peace and reaping power? You understand that? Saying yes to things I really don't want to do in order to keep other people happy. Boy, does that make me mad. And then you know what we do? We resent them.
Now, come on. We resent them because they're controlling our lives. Every day, this lady says. Every day, every day, every day, every day. Every day. It happens to me every day. Well, but here, listen to this. It's not it happens to me every day. It's I'm allowing it every day. Point well made. Thank you for helping me.
Make Up Your Mind for Peace
But see, that's exactly why we stay in the trap. It's like, yep, that happens to me all the time. Pastor Mike shared with me, and I just want to tell you this to build your faith. He said, when I was praying about the meetings this weekend and the teaching and the preaching, he said, I felt like God showed me something.
And that is, he reminded me of the woman who had been bent over for 18 years. And Jesus set her free. And he said, I believe there's going to be people in the conference that have been bent over with the burdens of stress for most of their life. But the word this weekend is going to set them free. And they're going to stand up straight and shake off those burdens.
Pursue Peace Aggressively
But a lot of it's going to have to come from somebody making their mind up, I'm not going to put up, I'm not going to, I'm not going to live like this anymore. Am I pushing anybody to that point yet? I'm not going to live like this anymore. I'm not going to live like this anymore. Now, remember, that doesn't mean that your circumstances are going to change. You're going to have to let God work with you and change you.
Well, I can't help it. I just got up there. I know. That's where I started. But I'm telling you what, if you will study and study, I mean, you need to dig out every scripture that you can find on peace. You need to write them out in longhand. You need to put them on your computer. You need to put them on your walls. You need to stare at them and look at them and look at them until the first time that something even starts to upset you, the first thing you think about is, stay in peace.
Change Your Thinking and Behavior
Stay in peace. Now, it won't be real easy to begin with because you're not accustomed to doing it. But boy, does it ever save you a lot of trouble. I can't live like that. I cannot live like that anymore. First of all, I'm too old to live like that anymore. Not trusting God, man, that causes a lot of stress.
Rushing. Having too many things going on at one time. Complicating things that could have been so simple. My gosh, I know you've heard my stories about turning a simple barbecue into a nightmare. It's like, you know, I don't know that I could cook a simple meal. And I have to have way more than I need. Go to my daughter's house for a barbecue and she has three things. Meat, salad, beans.
Set Boundaries and Say No
And I'm like, well, is that all she's going to have? And then sometimes she don't even have a lot of some of that. And I'm like, well, you think that's going to be enough? She said, well, when it's gone, it's gone. So then I get upset over her barbecue. And I start thinking I should bring some stuff. Does anybody in this room besides me have a false sense of responsibility?
Boy, Jesus brought me the right crowd. Let me tell you something. I am happy to help you fix your problem. I'm happy to give advice. Complicating things that could have been simple. Too much noise for too long just undoes me now. I was like, I got to have quiet. I don't get these people that want something going on around them all the time. And the music levels.
Final Call to Change
Talking too much will get me upset. If I talk too much, I can get myself upset. Do you ever do that? Do you talk until you don't even know what you're saying? Or why you're saying it? And you're just thinking, why don't I just shut up? But your mouth just keeps moving. And words just keep coming out. And I'll tell you what I hate more than anything. When I'm with somebody that doesn't talk. And then I've got to do all the talking. It's so stressful to be with them. But see, I really don't have to. I could just enjoy the quiet.
There's a few of these I'm still working on. Not getting enough sleep. Man. You're not going to like this one, but here it comes. Unhealthy eating. And we're in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Okay. I'm going to give you the best piece of motherly advice that I can possibly give you. Went to my hotel room today. There it was. A nice slab of white chocolate. Immediately, I looked at it and thought, I'm not eating that.
Make the Decision to Change
Look at me. I'm going to tell you something. Are you ready? You don't have to eat everything that somebody puts in front of you. You should be happier about that than what you are. You don't have to eat everything that everybody puts in front of you. There's a shoe store that I go to, and they serve cookies. I'm going for shoes, and they serve cookies. And I was there last week, and I didn't want cookies.
I said no to cookies. And the girl was following me out of the door with a bag of cookies. And, I mean, I know her. She knows me from buying shoes there. We got a little rapport, and so I said, listen, I preached about you. I came here to get shoes, not cookies. Stop trying to feed me. But you can sit and watch people. Just eat the cookies. Eat the cookies. Eat the cookies. They're there. Eat the cookies. Oh, they want me to take cookies home. I'll take the cookies home.
You Can Change – Start Today
Come on, put up some boundaries. Put up some borders around your life. Make some decisions. Decide what you're going to do, and quit letting everything outside rule you. Not getting involved in things I should have stayed out of. Boy, that's a big peace stealer for me. I just read again last week in the Bible. Mind your own business.
Well, a foolish person recognizes that he has a problem and refuses to do anything about it. Let me tell you something. You cannot wait for somebody else to remove your stress. I really appreciated the way you guys acted when I told you what I was going to preach on. That was very encouraging to me. It was like everybody went wild, like, ah, when I said how to unplug, unwind, and unleash yourself from the pressures of stress.
Unleash Yourself from Stress
But I think the part you missed was unleash yourself. See, I don't think you... We have selective hearing and selective reading. See, when I said I'm going to preach on overload, how to get rid of stress, immediately everybody's thinking, I'm going to get a miracle. I want to have no more stress. I want to have no more stress. And boy, you got excited.
Well, you know, the excitement level's been decreasing. How many of you know right now, you know that you know that you know, something, at least one thing, that you could change in your life that would give you less stress? Okay, then, do it. I mean, there's nothing left to be said. It's one thing if you don't know what to do, but it's another thing if you know what the problem is, and you just keep doing it over and over and over.
Final Challenge
You know what they say. Only a really dumb person thinks they can keep doing the same thing over and over and over, and sooner or later get a different result. You're not going to get a different result if you don't change something in your life. I will not live all stressed out. I won't do it.
Several years ago, I made the comment, as a matter of fact, it's been nine years. And I said, I am not going to live like this any longer. If something doesn't change for me in this ministry, we're going to downsize it. And make it smaller. Instead of trying to make it bigger and bigger, we're going to make it smaller.
Well, God had an answer ready for me, but I had to be prepared to make a change. And that was, we had to let our two sons... And who in the world wants your children telling you what to do? We had to let our two sons take over all the day-to-day operations of the ministry. And let me tell you something. They've made it so much better than it was when I was doing it. But they don't do it the way I did. And boy, was that hard to navigate.
God Will Guide Your Changes
When you come to the point, now listen to me. When you come to the point where you say, I'm not going to live like this anymore. I will not live like this anymore. God will start showing you things to do. But then you're the one that has to say, I'm going to do it.