<continued from yesterday's post... [link] >

Let's face it - We are incapable of running our own lives. Of all of the things that i've learned in the past year, whenever I do what I want, it doesn't turn out so hot! But when I do what God wants for me, life could not be better! That is because Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to lead & direct us.

Reflect throughout your life - How many times have we been "tired" and the Holy Spirit prompted you to relax. (This doesn't have to be just "physically tired" but mentally, emotionally, ...) But we didn't listen, and our "tired" turns into "exhausted"... making matters worse, making us even more "unapproachable" or impatient. We took a slightly difficult moment, and made it worse because we simply failed to be obedient to the Holy Spirit. Obedience is exalting Jesus above our own natural, selfish desires. "Are you exhausted ...or is Jesus exalted?"

Another important lesson is flexibility:

The Bible says that we need to adjust ourselves to people\situation\things and, if possible, live at peace with everyone. Before I dedicated my life to God, I had to have my way. (Let's be honest here...this had stopped being my mantra up until the past year or so...) I did not live a life where I could adapt. It was led to where people had to adapt to me. And to no surprise, this led to more stress. It's funny - It took so long for me to begin to realize that it's not always easy to give in & do things differently than I had planned... but it's definitely easier than being upset & miserable.

In the end, stress comes from a disconnect in pace - Is the pace we're on our own, or is it God's pace? Even begging for a "break" from the stress may be against God's Plan - We may need the "applied heat" to burn off whatever it is that He doesn't want on us anymore... Remember, it took all of my stress to get to the point where I need to lean upon Him more than I ever have in my entire life... to where I pray to Him often just for the strength to smile when I wanted to cry...

We need to allow God's Spirit to lead us to a life of peace & joy. How often do we waste God's gift of life by spoiling it with stress? He wants us to use it to live & enjoy life.

God's Word has to be a part of our lives - period! (This is a no-brainer but...) Psalm 46:10 says "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." The Maker of the heavens & the earth wants a word with you... but how can He really talk to you is you're always on the go?!? Throttle back & listen...

Another thing that we need to do is prepare our hearts towards God - We need to be able to hear Him on a regular & consistent basis.

Guys, our struggles are hear to draw us closer to Him, and yet it is our nature to solve this ourselves (by drawing away from Him). He is teaching us something that we need to learn, and yes, it won't be easy. But He wants us to understand and get through this, and He wants us to closer to Him than prior to when this stress started.

Or maybe He just wants you to talk to Him - The problem is, you only truly talk to Him when you're struggling.