Scriptural Principles to Help Reduce Stress

"Do not become righteous overmuch, nor show yourself excessively wise. Why should you cause desolation to yourself?"

 - Ecclesiastes 7:16

Application: Don't expect perfection of yourself and others.

photo by Charlene N.K.

"That YOU may make sure of the more important things, so that YOU may be flawless and not be stumbling others up to the day of Christ,  and may be filled with righteous fruit, which is through Jesus Christ, to God’s glory and praise."

 - Philippians 1:10,11

Application: Set appropriate priorities.

photo by Charlene N.K.

"For bodily training is beneficial for a little; but godly devotion is beneficial for all things, as it holds promise of the life now and that which is to come."

 - 1 Timothy 4:8

Application: Get regular exercise.

photo by Charlene N.K.

"For you have made me rejoice, O Jehovah, 

because of your activity;

Because of the works of your hands I cry out joyfully.

How great your works are, O Jehovah!

Very deep your thoughts are." 

- Psalm 92:3,5

Application: Enjoy God's creation.

photo by Charlene N.K.

"Eventually, having sent the crowds away, he went up into the mountain by himself to pray. Though it became late, he was there alone." 

- Matthew 14:23

Application: Make some quiet time regularly.

photo by Charlene N.K.

"Better is a handful of rest than a double handful of hard work and striving after the wind."

 - Ecclesiastes 4:6

Application: Get sufficient relaxation and sleep.

photo by Charlene N.K.

Source: Awake magazine, June 2010

Meditations

Meditating on these verses can uplift our spirits and empower us to keep on living in righteousness amid this troubled world.

Food for the Heart

Here's another promise upon which we can set our heart. The world's wasteland and desert plains will flourish with delightful and life-giving vegetation. It will certainly be fulfilled because our Creator promised us about this in countless different ways and hundreds of times.

"The wilderness and the waterless region will exult, and the desert plain will be joyful and blossom as the saffron. Without fail it will blossom, and it will really be joyful with joyousness and with glad crying out." - Isaiah 35:1,2

All mankind will also exult and cry out with joy throughout eternity!

The Most Valuable Friendship in the World

We are blessed if we have friends who can stand by us no matter what happens.  Each time we need them, they are always there, ready to support us. They make us feel secure and well-cared for. They are happy when they see us happy. They feel for us and comfort us when we are in difficult situation. They bring sunshine to our lives by their unfading thoughtfulness and loving-kindness. 

Is there someone whom we can call a perfect friend? There is, and He's genuinely interested in our personal welfare. He welcomes us to be a guest in His tent. But we must meet certain qualifications in order to deserve that most precious friendship of all. In the following quote, a famous king outlined these requirements.

A Melody of King David :

"O Jehovah, who will be a guest in your tent?
Who will reside in your holy mountain?

He who is walking faultlessly and practicing righteousness
And speaking the truth in his heart.

He has not slandered with his tongue.
To his companion he has done nothing bad,
And no reproach has he taken up against his intimate acquaintance.

In his eyes anyone contemptible is certainly rejected,
But those fearing Jehovah he honors.
He has sworn to what is bad for himself, and yet he does not alter.

His money he has not given out on interest,
And a bribe against the innocent one he has not taken.
He that is doing these things will never be made to totter."

-Psalms 15

Yes, friendship with the Most High keeps us strong and secure, and it will also give us eternal benefits, which He promised to those who remain loyal to their friendship with Him.
 

He Will Fulfill His Promises

Mankind's Creator has promised many things to his human creations. Since the beginning of human history, he has personally dealt with some nations and individual people, promising them of future blessings. One instance is that of his promises to the nation of Israel, which used to be His special nation during the time of Moses and Joshua and the "Kings". Here is Joshua's acknowledgment regarding God's ability to fulfill His promises. He addressed these words to the nation of Israel that time: “YOU well know with all YOUR hearts and with all YOUR souls that not one word out of all the good words that Jehovah YOUR God has spoken to YOU has failed. They have all come true for YOU. Not one word of them has failed." (Joshua 23:14)

Many more of His promises at a later time have been fulfilled. Not one word has failed.

Today, only a few of His promises written in the Bible are awaiting fulfillment. It may seem like they would never come at all, but God never lies and He always keeps His words. So we can rely on these words penned by apostle Peter: "Jehovah is not slow respecting his promise, as some people consider slowness, but he is patient with YOU because he does not desire any to be destroyed but desires all to attain to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9)

He wants all of His human creations to be saved from this world that's full of wickedness and sufferings, and to attain that wonderful life that's in store for them in the future. He doesn't want anyone to be destroyed. 

To many, this future is not real, that it's only an illusion. But to some, this is a hope that spurs them to endure in this present world while waiting for that promised future. It may seem to be slow in coming but it will surely come. It's like the SPRING in this part of the world. It didn't come on time, but it did COME, bringing with it all the natural beauties that brought pleasure to the hearts of those who have been waiting for it.

On Owning Houses With Gardens

Simple houses with lush gardens around them always attract me. I love their grass carpets and their colorful flowers. This photo here is just one of the  many nice houses that I spotted here. Such houses remind me of a prophecy concerning the future of righteous humans. Someday, everyone will have his/her own house with beautiful surroundings. And I believe in the promise quoted below.

"And they will certainly build houses and have occupancy; and they will certainly plant vineyards and eat [their] fruitage. They will not build and someone else have occupancy; they will not plant and someone else do the eating. For like the days of a tree will the days of my people be; and the work of their own hands my chosen ones will use to the full.  They will not toil for nothing, nor will they bring to birth for disturbance; because they are the offspring made up of the blessed ones of Jehovah, and their descendants with them." 

- Isaiah 65:21-23

The Truly Happy People

In this world filled with troubles, people often find themselves unhappy. Some who may be happy eventually realize that their happiness is shallow and short-lived. 

However, there are people who feel deep and lasting happiness despite all the adversities that they are subjected to. They are happy because they know that all sufferings and problems on earth will vanish. They have confidence their Father's promise to put an end to all these bad things that are taking place in the world.  To them, this world and everything in it will soon pass away, and real life will be in that wonderful future that God has prepared for them. 

Hence, they are a happy people. Their Father has chosen a marvelous inheritance for them: eternal life in Paradise...soon!

"Happy is the nation whose God is Jehovah,
The people whom he has chosen as his inheritance."
-Psalm 33:12

When the Whole Earth is a Garden

I never expected that I would come across this tulip garden in the picture. It's like a dream come true for me to be with my dream flowers. In the past, I just looked at them in the pictures, magazines and movies. Now, I'm face to face with them. I can touch them, smell them and drink in their fresh and exquisite beauty. Walking in such a garden transports me to paradise.

This is truly a gift from above. "Every good gift and every perfect present is from above, for it comes down from the Father of the [celestial] lights, and with him there is not a variation of the turning of the shadow." - James 1:17

What if the whole earth will be a garden full of colorful lovely flowers? Not a remote possibility. The Giver of such gifts is so generous and He will give us the desires of our hearts. In fact, he is now very close to the point of fulfilling His promise that this whole earth will be turned to Paradise. Soon, righteous mankind who put faith in our Creator's promise will walk forever in a much lovelier garden.

Clothed in Beauty

"Also on the matter of clothing, why are you anxious? Take a lesson from the lilies of the field, how they are growing; they do not toil, nor do they spin; but I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these. If now God thus clothes the vegetation of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much rather clothe you....?" - Matthew 6:28-30

This is one of the series of lessons that the Greatest Teacher taught his disciples when he delivered his Sermon on the Mount. He directed his listeners' attention to simple natural creations and showed them what lessons they could learn from them.

In these particular passages, he emphasizes on people's anxieties about what to put on. He stressed that God knows all that we need, including our clothings, and so we should not worry too much about such things because He willl provide for us much more than He provides for His inanimate creations. All we have to do is to  seek  the Kingdom first, and then He will give us whatever we need in due time. And we must also have strong faith in His promise to provide for our necessities. It is also important to keep a "simple eye", not desiring or asking for more than what we essentially need in order to survive.