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Jesus, the Prince of Peace, has more for your life than stress and strain. Left unchecked, stress has a domino effect on our health, including trouble sleeping, muscle tension, headaches, joint pain, digestive issues, a lowered immune system, high blood pressure, diabetes, depression, and anxiety. We don’t have control over everything in the world, our lives, and the lives of our loved ones, but in Him, we have all we need to release stress and exchange it for his powerful peace.
9 Best Tips to Reduce Stress God’s Way
God, in His love, creation, and Word, gives us natural ways to reduce stress and increase our peace and joy. In this blog post, I’ll share nine ways to reduce stress. If you have a favorite stress buster not on this list, leave a comment below and share your favorite natural stress-reducing tip!
What did Jesus say about worry and stress?
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33
Christ teaches us a lot about handling stress. When life presses in on all sides, it can be challenging to grasp that our perfect and Holy God can comprehend our daily struggles. But He does! In John 16:33, He acknowledges and knows there will be troubles. He hears you, He sees you.
In the New Testament, Jesus often encourages His followers to let go of their worries and anxieties.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
John 14:27
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30
Why do I feel stressed and anxious?
Often, our stress revolves around not knowing what to do or the fact that we cannot control what is happening to or around us. At times, stress results from chronic inflammation inside your body. And sometimes it’s both! In both situations, the answer is the same. First, surrender and give it to God. From there, the Holy Spirit will guide you. Combating acute and chronic stress takes both an inside and outward approach that puts the power of Christ at the center and lets the Holy Spirit guide you with practical steps to reduce stress.
If you need help reducing stress in your everyday life, here are nine ways to exchange your stress for a life of peace and joy that God wants you to have!
9 Best Tips to Reduce Stress and Enhance Peace and Joy
Reduce Stress Tip 1: Talk to God
Jesus felt stress during His time on Earth. In the garden of Gethsemane, He held the weight of the world on His shoulders while looking forward to His impending crucifixion.
“Then He (Jesus) said to them, ‘My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.“
Matthew 26:38
In this time of great stress for Jesus and His followers, He reminds them that even when your spirit is willing to be strong and connected to God, your flesh is weak. Even Jesus, who is one with God, knew to conquer His immense stress and move forward in a difficult situation, He needed to pray and connect with the Father. No one is immune to stress, but Jesus shows us that in the midst of a stressful circumstance, God gives us grace, power, and peace to endure it for His glory.
Reduce Stress Tip 2: Go outside
God gave us a beautiful planet to enjoy. As our lives become increasingly indoors and online, science is catching up to understanding how God’s creation is made to be a blessing to our well-being. Research shows that being outdoors for only two hours a week has many health benefits, including stress reduction (2). That’s less than 20 minutes a day!
Easy ways to increase your time outside:
- Eat your meals outside
- Take your work or school breaks outside
- Swap a gym workout for an outdoor workout once a week
- Take your kids to the playground
- Go on a picnic
- If you work from home or homeschool, take it outside
- Start and/ or end your day with a 20 minute walk
Reduce Stress Tip 3: Breathe
In Genesis, God imparted His breath into Adam, showing us the transfer of His power and presence into His creation. When stress rises up try this:
- Find a quiet place and close your eyes
- Picture the stress inside your body
- Inhale, and imagine you’re breathing in God’s peace and wisdom for your situation
- Exhale, blow out the stress within
- Repeat as long as you need until you feel at peace
Reduce Stress Tip 4: Heal your gut
Ever feel sick to your stomach when you hear bad news? Maybe you have a gut reaction to a situation. These sayings are more than just that. Increasing research over the past decade is revealing how much our brain and gut are related and how the two are intertwined in a chicken and egg cycle. Chronic stress affects our lifestyle choices, which affects our gut health. Our gut microbiome then affects our hormones, energy, mood, and emotions, triggering our lifestyle choices again (5).
Ten years ago, I found myself in an inflamed gut/ brain cycle. A superstorm of post-natal depression, anti-biotics that wiped out my healthy microbiome, lack of sleep, and chronic stress of living in a major city took its toll. For a few years, I was stuck on a wheel of strange symptoms, skin reactions, insomnia, fruitless doctor appointments, and misdiagnosis. And that’s just added to my stress!
In time, God led me to practical wisdom on healing my gut. Over many years, I’ve changed my diet, nearly cut out all alcohol and coffee, and found relief with targeted vitamins and supplements. Magnesium helps control the neurotransmitters in the brain, calming it and aiding in regular digestion (4). The right combination of pre and probiotics is essential in helping create a healthy, balanced microbiome. The best combination I’ve found myself is the Triplex system. It feeds my gut the good stuff while weeding out the bad stuff.
Reduce Stress Tip 5: Replace your thoughts with Gods thoughts
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Phil. 4:8 (ESV)
Paul writes in 2 Corinthians that we should “take every thought captive.” A lot of stress is made worse by our thoughts. How we think about something can either reduce or add to the stress of the situation. Often, these thoughts are second nature, and we may not even be aware of how destructive our thoughts are! Invite the Holy Spirit to show you the thoughts that don’t align with God’s thoughts because He has thoughts about your stressful situation that bring hope, wisdom, and redemption. Aligning our thoughts with God’s thoughts won’t alone change a challenging situation, but it will bring us peace to think, speak, and act with wisdom and clarity.
Read: What does the Bible say about Stress? + 17 Bible Scriptures about Stress
Reduce Stress Tip 6: Move your Body
God made your body to move! Exercise has numerous benefits, and stress management is a big one.
Read: The Essential Guide to Faith and Fitness
God knew this when He designed the human brain. Exercise has been proven to reduce the amount of stress receptors in the brain (3). This minimizes the effect of stress hormones on the brain, lessening the overall impact of a stressful situation. Imagine exercise as a pillow on the ground, helping to cushion the blow of a fall that could have felt a lot worse.
Reduce Stress Tip 7: Write what you’re thankful for
An attitude of gratitude isn’t just a catchy saying; it’s God’s heart for all His children. When life is hard, it’s easy to focus on all that’s going wrong. Our God-given desire for justice wants to find a wrong and point it out, justifying our pain and stress with complaints. But pointing out solely what’s wrong and how we’re struggling is a misuse of the justice-seeking part of our heart.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.“
Phil. 4:6
God wants to hear our prayers, requests, and struggles…with thanksgiving. You can share all your stress with God; it’s never too much for Him to take. But a thankful heart is like a key that unlocks your heart out of a box of frustration, pain, and worry.
Read: 9 Bible Verses for a Thankful Heart
Reduce Stress Tip 8: Seek Counsel
Without consultation, plans are frustrated, But with many counselors they succeed.
Proverbs 15:22 (NASB)
Trying to deal with stress alone makes it more complicated. Isolation isn’t how God intended us to live. God created mankind to have a relationship with Him and others. A wise word, a listening ear, and a good friend go far when we’re wrestling with the difficult things of life. Yet, who and when you share your burdens is vital to walking in wisdom. Pray, speak with a mature believer rooted in the Word of God, and pray some more.
Fools are headstrong and do what they like; wise people take advice. Fools have short fuses and explode all too quickly; the prudent quietly shrug off insults. Truthful witness by a good person clears the air, but liars lay down a smoke screen of deceit. Rash language cuts and maims, but there is healing in the words of the wise.
Proverbs 12:15-19 (MSG)
Reduce Stress Tip 9: Laugh
Who doesn’t feel better after a good laugh? Not only is it fun, but it’s healthy!
A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.
Proverbs 17:22 (NLT)
God desires that we have a cheerful heart, not one that is stressed and weighed down. Bring more humor into your life through what you see and read. Does your social media feed trigger stress? Do you follow people who bring joy and laughter to your day? When you sit down to watch TV, take a break from the news and watch a funny movie instead.
Conclusion
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33
God understands our stress, worries, and anxieties. You aren’t meant to carry your stress alone. In Christ, God gives us all we need and more to live with grace, wisdom and joy; including these 7 free thing God gives us to reduce stress and enhance peace and joy. They are:
- Reduce Stress Tip 1: Talk to God
- Reduce Stress Tip 2: Go outside
- Reduce Stress Tip 3: Breathe
- Reduce Stress Tip 4: Heal your gut
- Reduce Stress Tip 5: Replace your thoughts with Gods thoughts
- Reduce Stress Tip 6: Move your Body
- Reduce Stress Tip 7: Write what you’re thankful for
- Reduce Stress Tip 8: Seek Counsel
- Reduce Stress Tip 9: Laugh
Reference:
- American Psychological Association: Stress, a major health problem in the U.S., warns APA
- American Heart Association: Spend Time in Nature to Reduce Stress and Anxiety
- Brigham Young University: How exercise affects the brain
- Health Direct: can magnesium help reduce anxiety?
- National Institute of Health: Stress, depression, diet, and the gut microbiota: human–bacteria interactions at the core of psychoneuroimmunology and nutrition
