Counseling Through Your Bible Handbook (68 page)

I could be getting an ulcer.

I have trouble sleeping at night.

I grind my teeth at night.

I am more susceptible than usual to colds and viruses.

I have allergies or asthma.

I eat and snack excessively.

I have lost a lot of weight.

I often have cold hands or sweaty palms.

I have shortness of breath.

I have a rapid pulse.

I generally feel nervous and unsettled.

No one will experience all these symptoms, but if you checked four or more, you may need to evaluate how you are responding to the pressures in your life. Are you releasing your heavy load to the Lord and allowing His peace to permeate your heart?

“A heart at peace gives life to the body”

(P
ROVERBS
14:30).

Adopting healthy stress management skills will enable you to slow down, stop, yield, and resume speed at appropriate intervals on the path of life—thus regulating your pace and lifting you out of the ditch of overload and burnout. Soon you’ll begin walking the Road to Transformation in peaceful assurance that God will never call you to do more than He gives you time and ability to do (1 Thessalonians 5:24).

Slow

Slow down
and make the necessary changes for good physical health.

— Do you eat a balanced and healthy diet?

— Do you exercise at least three times a week?

— Do you take at least one day of rest each week?

— Do you get adequate restful sleep most nights?

“In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—for he grants sleep to those he loves”

(P
SALM
127:2).

Slow down
and evaluate your priorities.

— Make a list of everything you do.

— Consider other priorities that should be on the list.

— Number the items on your list in order of importance.

— Choose your commitments carefully.

— Eliminate unnecessary stressful obligations.

— Don’t accept impossible deadlines.

— Don’t give in to the pressure of urgency.

— Tackle only one problem at a time.