We all battle stress. Stress can debilitate us and crush our spirits.  Learning to manage stress is one of the most important challenges that we face on the path to emotional health. But I want to suggest a different perspective on stress. Stress is the mechanism for growth. When we lift weights, we are stressing muscles. If we choose not to stress our muscles, then inevitably we become soft. No question that some stresses in our lives are destructive and to be avoided, but life generally does not give us the option of stress-free lives. So, how might we think differently about the stress that we face? I suggest two strategies. 

First, reframe the stress in our lives. As people of faith, we do not live in a vacuum. God goes before us, walks beside us, and is our rear guard. He does not sleep or slumber. With God, nothing is accidental, nothing is incidental, no experience wasted. This means that God is in the situations that cause stress in our lives. Not only that, but God is seeking to use the stress, the sufferings of our lives, to grow us more into the people He designed us to be. As we choose to reframe our stress, we can ask, “what is God trying to teach me through this situation?” “How is God trying to grow me in this situation?” To be clear, this will not likely take the stress away. Our situations and the stresses they create are likely real. But when we see a purpose in the stress, the stress is defanged. It loses its power to destroy us.       
     
The second strategy is to seek stress. One of the main ways growth happens is when we choose to move out of our comfort zones and challenge ourselves in new ways. For many, this year of participating in the Mentoring ministry has been a clear step outside of your comfort zone. As we look back on our lives, most of us will see that when we stretched ourselves, we grew, particularly when we stretched ourselves in the areas of our giftedness. Our comfort zones make life easier, but not better, not more fulfilling. When we stretch, we realize we are part of a bigger, grander story. Living for something, for Someone, bigger than ourselves fills our very souls.            

Keep your eyes open and your ears tuned in. What is God trying to teach you in the stresses of your life right now? Is there a place God is whispering for you to stretch yourself, to get out of your comfort zone and be a part of the grand story that He is creating all around us.

•  How might we reframe the primary stresses that we are going through right now?
• Where might God be calling us to stretch outside of our comfort zones?