Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. Ephesians 6:16 (NKJV) When you face a stressful season, some people help and others make it worse. I call the ones who make it worse the “chicken littles” of life. They’re always worried that the sky is falling and it doesn’t take much to get them in a panic. Others are like a rock in times of crisis. They’ll stand with you, pray with you and look for solutions with you. They believe you’ll come out better on the other side. Those are the kind of people you need to surround yourself with. If you listen to the “chicken littles,” fear will …

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 1 Peter 5:8 (NKJV) Ephesians 6:16 (NKJV) warns that we need to use faith to “quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.” But what are these fiery darts Satan is throwing our way? When Jesus died on the cross and rose again, He defeated Satan. The devil can no longer hurt believers; however, he still tries. Today’s verse says, Satan walks around like a roaring lion to see who he can devour. But the best he can do is try to plant little thoughts in your mind. The fiery darts spoken of in Ephesians 6:16 are the thoughts of worry and anxiety that the enemy sends …

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. 1 Peter 5:7 (NLT) According to our verse today, you have the ability to cast your cares and worries away. More accurately, you don’t just cast them away; you give them to God, and you don’t have to worry about them anymore because you can trust Him. He cares so much for you. When a father cares for his son, he looks after him and protects him. That son trusts his dad completely. You’ve probably seen dads throwing their kids high in the air. That child has no fear; he fully trusts his dad to catch him. That’s the kind of relationship God wants to have with you—one where you trust Him completely. …

Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. 1 John 4:18 (NLT) In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve walked and talked with God. Immediately after disobeying God by eating the forbidden fruit, they hid from Him because they were afraid. Fear was not mentioned until that moment. It wasn’t part of God’s plan. We were never designed to live in fear. This explains why stress can have such a negative effect on us. When you are stressed out, you are in fear. Fear brings torment because it involves the thought of being punished, which causes anxiety and worry (1 John 4:18, KJV). The truth is that Jesus took all of our punishment, so we have no reason to fear. As Christians, we should …

Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Philippians 4:8 (NLT) When a person is under a lot of unmanaged stress, it begins to break down their physical health and can lead to a number of illnesses and diseases. This ongoing stress response can also begin to break down the mind, making a person both physically and mentally unstable. Although many blame stress on circumstances or the people around them, it has more to do with our reaction to those so called stressors. Think about it: one mom can be completely stressed out handling two kids while another can have nine and be handling it just …