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It’s been a tough four weeks. The General Election got called on 22nd May and, as I’m a political Campaign Organiser, this has had a very big impact on my life. I’ve been doing up to 15 hour days and 71 hour weeks. 

Plus, amongst all of this, I went to Bulgaria for 9 days to clean out my Mum’s house. She passed away last July and this trip was organised before the General Election was called. 

When the days are so long, and there’s so much to do, managing stress can feel like a difficult task. 

Responding to stress

I think it’s probably rather obvious now where the source of my peace comes from. I’ve spoken a little bit on here about the turbulence of these last couple of years, and through it all I’ve clung on to Jesus and the peace that He offers: 

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)

By holding on to this, I am helpfully reminded of who Jesus is, and how He calls me to live in response to this. When in the midst of trials, Jesus doesn’t want my heart to be troubled, He wants me to bear His fruit, and not my own. 

What does this look like, you may ask? 

Well Galatians 5 sheds a bit of light on this: 

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance [patience], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Verses 22-23) 

This is compared to a few verses earlier that describes our fruit, or “the acts of the flesh”:

“…sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.” (Verses 19-21)

And as I write this, it’s so wonderful to reflect (as I usually do when I read this section of the Bible) on how far Jesus has brought me. Before becoming a Christian, my go-to for stress relief would be to smoke weed, go out drinking with friends, or selfishly/angrily moan to other people – all of which actually brought a bit of an empty feeling rather than stress relief.

Now, I’m far from perfect in how I respond to stress, but I’ve come a long way. However, becoming a Christian doesn’t magically fix things, and make everything easy. 

When things go wrong at work, I naturally want to respond with anger. 

When people let me down, I naturally want to gossip and moan about them.

When stress gets on top of me, I naturally want to turn to worldly pleasures. 

In order to bear His fruit rather than my own, I need to be spending time with God regularly. The more time I spend with Him, the more He reveals Himself to me.

How do I spend time with God?

There are three main ways I spend time with God: reading the Bible, praying, and through worship. 

By reading the Bible, I am installing God’s words of wisdom, hope and peace into my heart. 

Through prayer, I am expressing the intimate relationship that I have with the Creator of this entire world, and taking my joys, sorrows and burdens to Him. 

And in worship I am recognising how big God is, compared to how small I am. This can be done at church, where I hear teaching from the Bible and get to sing with my church family; or this can be done alone, by listening and singing along to songs written about God’s goodness and character. 

I’ve noticed the difference when I stray away from these things. It’s so much harder to practise peace and self-control when I feel my temper rising. Having patience with that difficult person at work feels like much more of a challenge. And speaking to the people I love with gentleness often becomes short and snappy instead. 

Furthermore, when life is stressful and there are way more triggers than usual, it’s especially important to spend time with God and think about the ‘fruit’ I’m bearing. 

But when I’m working 15 hour days and it’s hard enough to find a moment to eat, let alone spend time with God – what do I do? 

3 ways I bring God into my everyday: 

𝟭. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗛𝗶m

Beginning the day by spending time with God gives me a head start. At the moment especially, before I have even begun reading my Bible, I start with a prayer thanking Him for the day – this reminds me that this day is His and whatever it throws at me, He is in control. 

My Bible reading then reveals different attributes of God to me, and tells me tales of different people in history that have dealt with a lot more than I’m dealing with and how God has brought them through it all. 

I then spend some time praying through the anxieties I have about the day, and reflecting on where I struggled to show His fruit the day before.

𝟮. 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆

I drive a lot in my job. When I first started working, I found this very frustrating. When stuck in a small moving box, not able to get through my huge to-do list, my stress levels would often rise. 

However, I now see my long car journeys as an opportunity to listen to some worship music, sing along, and pray around different things. I now get to my destination feeling refreshed and renewed, rather than stressed and distracted. 

𝟯. 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹

When I’m doing the mundane jobs at work, God is with me. When I’m facing a stressful work crisis, God is with me. When I’m having conversations with difficult people, God is with me. It’s such a comfort to remember this when everyday stresses occur, and it keeps me joyful during the more boring parts of the day.

It’s been a helpful reminder to think through this, and I’m grateful for all the wisdom I’m able to find in the Bible when dealing with the day-to-day of life.

How do you deal with stress? Do you have any tips for incorporating God into your day? Please do share your thoughts below, send me a message on Instagram, or email me on poppyreesevans@gmail.com.

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:4-7)