Get a Grip: How to live in emotional freedom
Part 1 – Living In Healthy Stress(Isaiah 40:28-31)
February 11, 2018
Dr. Mark S. Hartman, Lead Pastor SCBC
Isaiah 40:28-31 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youth grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31 but those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
1. TO EFFECTIVELY DEAL WITH STRESS WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS.
A. Stress is any stimulus, real or imagined, that causes our bodies to change.
B. Negative stress is the gap between the demands placed on us and the strength we have in meeting those demands.
2. TAKE SERIOUSLY GOD’S PROMISE OF STRENGTH. (Isaiah 40:31)
A. Isaiah 40:31 But, those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
1. The Christian life is not only a changed life but also an exchanged life.
2. God takes my weakness and exchanges it with His strength.
Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
2 Corinthians 12:9 But God said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
Isaiah 40:28-29 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
B. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
1. To wait on the Lord means to be still. It means to stop fighting, stop running, stop panicking, stop struggling.
Psalm 46:10 Be still and know that I am God.
2. To wait upon the Lord means that I shift my focus from the source of my stress to my dependence upon God.
Matthew 6:31-33 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the unbelievers run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
3. To wait upon the Lord means that I hear what He says and I do it.
3. IF WE DO WHAT GOD HAS TOLD US TO DO, WE WILL EXPERIENCE POWER OVER STRESS. (Isaiah 40:31)
A. Isaiah 40:31 But those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
The eagle does not escape the storm; it simply uses the storm to lift it higher. It rides on the winds that bring the storm.
B. Psalm 91:1,4 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 4 He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings shall you trust; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
Action Steps I will take this week …
- I will find times to be “still before God” instead of panicking during stressful moments.
- Shift my focus to dependence upon God when worry tempts me.
- Practice hearing God in His Word and obeying what He tells me to do.