I recently had to say goodbye to the car I have been driving for many years. I loved that car. But then larger items started to break, and my mechanic told me it would cost me close to $8,000 to get the car running properly.
I asked, “What would you do if you were me?”
“I would get rid of the car,” he replied.
Without thinking, I blurted out, “But it’s paid for!”
To which he replied, “It’s just not worth it.”
After recovering from the shock, I began a car search. If you haven’t done that in a while, let me tell you, it’s stressful. Used cars these days are expensive!
I recognize my car search is a first-world stress, but it was stressful, nonetheless. Life is full of stress. We can feel stressed out at work, in our marriages, over our kids, and with our finances, not to mention the difficult people who seem to be most needy during our most stressful days.
If we don’t watch it, we can get stressed out and fall deep into unhealthy and destructive coping mechanisms. Instead of seeking God for comfort and peace, we try to find comfort in other things.
During the first few days of my car search, I fell into my “go-to” coping mechanisms of overeating, obsessively overthinking, and not sleeping.
God tells us we don’t have to live in this stress-out mindset. In Psalm 46:10 He tells us to, “Be still and know that I am God.”
Being still is a choice, and for the first few days of my search, I chose my coping mechanisms over being still and gazing at God. I was feeling tired and overwhelmed. Plus, my pants were beginning to feel tight.
I didn’t like what was happening to me. So, after a few days, I chose to do what I have preached over the years: gaze at God and glance at the problem. I gave my car search to Him, began to pray over the decision, and asked for wisdom.
Proverbs 16:9 says, “The mind of man plans his ways, but the Lord directs his steps.”
Instead of freaking out over having a car payment, I spent some time going over our budget to make sure what we could afford. Then Tonya and I looked for cars that fit in that price range. We calmly planned and stuck to it. I ate and slept better. Go figure!
The Bible is full of wise counsel on how to deal with our unhealthy coping mechanisms and stressed-out mindset in healthy ways. In our new series, “STRESSED OUT” we will look at the causes of stress and the unhealthy coping mechanisms accompanying it. We don’t have to live a stressed-out life as we gaze at God and glance at those things that stress us out.
#stressedout #stressed #stress #God #odessafl #bible #comfort #thegazeglanceprinciple #timfd #mindset #mindfulness #scripture #tampabay #copingmechanismsDavid Towner is the pastor of The Harbor Church in Odessa, Florida. He is the author of the book “Today Is My Favorite Day”. He is married to Tonya and has three daughters (one is in heaven), four grandsons, and one granddaughter.
