Month: April 2024

By Rick Warren – Source: nhulieuthanhkinh.com

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”  Mark 1:35 (NIV)

The key to resisting stress is the very thing that many Christians do the least: spend time alone with God. And yet this spiritual practice is absolutely essential to building a resilient spirit and managing chronic stress.

Prayer is a great stress reliever. It’s a decompression chamber, where you can release the stress of keeping up appearances and living up to others’ expectations. It’s how you unload your burdens and admit you can’t carry them on your own. It’s where you are reminded that God is ready and willing to help you with every stressful thing you experience in life. It’s cathartic.

How do you develop a habit of spending time alone with God? Habits are developed through practice and repetition. It’s not a habit unless you do it over and over again, until it happens regularly and consistently.

Jesus developed spiritual habits. The Bible says in Luke 22:39 that it was Jesus’ habit to leave Jerusalem and go across the valley to the Mount of Olives to pray. And Mark 1:35 says, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed” (NIV).

Jesus was convinced that, no matter how busy he was, he needed time alone with God to pray. Do you have any time like that in your life? Do you ever slow down and get quiet before God so you can reflect and be renewed? If you want to be a resilient person, then you have to develop the habit of spending time with God.

While word spread about Jesus and huge crowds of people were coming to hear him speak, Jesus made time alone with God a habit. The Bible says, “Jesus often slipped away to be alone so he could pray” (Luke 5:15-16 NCV). If Jesus felt the need to frequently leave the crowd and get alone with God, then think about how much more we must need that.

Because noise often causes stress, you need to start your morning with God instead of with your phone, TV, radio, or social media feeds. Be still, be quiet, and be open to the work God wants to do in you make a habit of meditating on his Word and being in his presence.

By Rick Warren – Source: nhulieuthanhkinh.com

“Then he chose twelve of them to be his apostles, so they could be with him.”  Mark 3:14 (CEV)

If I were to ask you to complete this sentence, “If you want a job done right . . .” you would probably finish it with this: “. . . do it yourself.”

But that’s the motto of a perfectionist headed for burnout—because you can’t do every job by yourself.

Jesus was human, just like us. And just like us, he was never meant to handle the stress of daily life by himself.

Do you know the first thing Jesus did when he started his ministry? He formed a small group. Mark 3:14 says, “Then he chose twelve of them to be his apostles, so they could be with him” (CEV). That was his small group! Jesus gathered a small group before starting his ministry, because he knew God wanted him to do ministry and walk through his hardest days with his friends by his side.

If anybody had a right to say, “If you want a job done right, do it yourself,” it was Jesus. He had the power to do anything, yet even he knew the power of having a small group for support.

When he went to the Garden of Gethsemane, just before the cross, Jesus said to his disciples in Matthew 26:38, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me” (NIV). Even Jesus needed people to pray with him. Even Jesus needed the support of a small group when he was in a crisis.

So much of our stress is self-imposed. We get uptight when we think it all depends on us—but it doesn’t. God hasn’t called you to be the general manager of the universe, let alone expect you to be able to manage your own life by yourself. You need his direction and strength, and you need the support of a small group.

We often don’t accept help from other people because of our insecurity and pride, and so we stay stressed out. But there are people of faith who are willing to help and support you—and people who need your help and support.

Humble yourself and admit that you can’t do it on your own. And you don’t have to! God made the church to help you in stressful times. And he will lead you to the people you need if you’ll just let your guard down and trust him to provide.

By Rick Warren – Source: nhulieuthanhkinh.com

“Anyone who lets him be distracted from the work I plan for him is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”  Luke 9:62 (TLB)

The older I get, the more I realize how important it is to be selective. There will always be a lot of options and opportunities. But the key to effectiveness is being selective.

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 10:23, “Someone may say, ‘I’m allowed to do anything,’ but not everything is helpful. I’m allowed to do anything, but not everything encourages growth” (GW).

In other words, some things aren’t necessarily wrong—they’re just not necessary. Once you figure this out, you’re going to be able to better withstand the hard times in life. You’re going to be resilient!

When you know where you’re headed and you focus in that direction, then you’re less likely to be distracted by less important things. You’ll set priorities that have an eternal focus. You’ll realize what matters most in life, and you’ll choose not just good things but the most important things.

Jesus was a master of concentration. He lived a selective life, and it allowed him to give his life for God’s kingdom and do what pleased his Father.

Luke 9:51 says, “As the time drew near for his return to heaven, [Jesus] moved steadily onward toward Jerusalem with an iron will” (TLB).

He modeled an iron will and fulfilled his purpose—even though even though he knew it would lead to his death. His focus helped him endure the pain and stress and persecution. Paul was the same way. He said, “This one thing I do,” not “these 40 things I dabble in.” He did one thing with his life—the most important thing.

You have incredible potential to be used by God, but the barrier is often that you haven’t settled what’s most important. If you think you don’t have time to serve God, then you’re not focused. If you spend more time on social media than you do getting to know God, then you’re not focused. If you have to do something else before you follow Jesus, then you are not focused.

The Bible is clear: “Anyone who lets himself be distracted from the work I plan for him is not fit for the Kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62 TLB).

One day you’re going to stand before God. How will you answer him when he asks what you did with what you were given?

By Rick Warren – Source: nhulieuthanhkinh.com

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” 1 John 3:1 (NIV)

We are living in stressful times. More than ever, we need to learn resilience so that we can do what God has called us to do. That’s why the first step to being resilient is to remember how much God loves you. That’s the antidote to stress!

Part of fulfilling our purpose is becoming more like Jesus. And Jesus had no doubt in his mind that God the Father loved him. He talked about it over and over in verses like John 10:17, which says, “The Father loves me” (NLT).

Knowing and remembering that God has unconditional, extravagant, continuous, and never-ending love for you, just like he did for Jesus, is the foundation of a resilient life. As Paul says, “I am convinced that neither death nor life . . . nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39 NIV). We can be resilient, knowing that we can never be separated from God’s love.

You may be thinking, “Well, of course God loves Jesus. That’s his Son.” But did you know that Jesus says the same thing about his love for you as God’s daughter or son? In John 15:9-10, Jesus says, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love” (NIV).

Understanding how much God loves you is the basis of your personal security. If you are not convinced that God loves you at all times—unconditionally and completely—then you’re going to be easy prey for the disapproval of other people. You’re going to be a people pleaser.

But when you are secure in who you are as God’s child—when you understand and accept how God feels about you—then you can face difficult times with confidence and less stress.

When you need to be reminded of how much God loves you, just look to his Word.

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1 NIV).

By Rick Warren – Source: nhulieuthanhkinh.com

“I am not trying to do what I want, but only what he who sent me wants.” John 5:30 (GNT)

What motivates you to get up in the morning? To go to work? To study hard? To serve and give and love others? To keep going when life gets stressful?

If you don’t want to be fighting stress all the time, you need to know your deepest motivation.

Why is that? Because mixed motivations will leave you feeling like you’re being pulled in different directions. Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters” (Luke 16:13 NLT).

Even God can’t please everybody. When somebody’s praying for it to rain, someone else is praying for it to be sunny. As a pastor for 42 years, I knew that I was always disappointing somebody, because people often have different expectations. I can’t please everyone, and neither can you.

The Bible says the fear of man is a trap. It will capture your heart and mind and cause you to stumble. That’s why Jesus said in John 5:30, “I am not trying to do what I want, but only what he who sent me wants” (GNT). Jesus knew who he was trying to please.

If you’re not trying to please God, then in all likelihood, you’re trying to please a bunch of people. It’s a lot easier and less stressful to decide you’re going to please God—because whatever you do that pleases God will always be the right thing. This is why Jesus was so stress resistant. He was only trying to please one person.

Whose approval are you depending on for your happiness? Who are you still trying to please? For some, it’s a parent who never showed approval or encouragement. For others, it may be a boss who’s impossible to please, no matter how hard you try.

But you are not a victim. You are as free as you choose to be. Nobody can pressure you into meeting their expectations without your permission.

When you live for an audience of one, you won’t be controlled by the fear of rejection. Instead, you’ll be motivated by love and free to be the person God made you to be.

By Rick Warren – Source: nhulieuthanhkinh.com

“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.”  Matthew 5:14 (NLT)

If you’re not sure who you really are, then you can be manipulated and molded by the pressures, problems, and people around you—and that leads to stress!

Our culture is constantly trying to fit you into its mold. When you have a confused and unclear identity, when you don’t really know who you are, it makes you more vulnerable to the culture’s influence. Until you settle in your mind that God loves you unconditionally and that you’re a child of God, you’re going to be prone to stress.

Jesus never had any doubts about his identity. In fact, 18 times in Scripture he publicly declared who he was. These are called his “I am” statements, like, I am the Light of the World. I am the Son of God. I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. I am the Bread of Life. Jesus made it clear that he knew exactly who he was.

In John 8:18, Jesus said, “I testify on my own behalf” (GNT). He didn’t need other people to tell him who he was. He didn’t look to others for validation.

When you depend on other people’s opinions for validation, you can’t be resilient to stress. Because if you don’t know who you are, then other people will decide it for you. They’ll force you into a mold, and you’ll get stressed trying to be someone you’re not. You’ll end up pretending and wearing a mask. It will wear you out!

Jesus knew he was the Light of the World. But he also said the same thing about you: “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14 NLT). Do you realize how special you are? Not because of what other people say but because of what God says. There’s nobody in the world exactly like you.

You must accept the truth about you—your strengths and your limitations and weaknesses. God made you with all of those things, and he has given you everything you need to do his will.

When you accept that, you’ll be secure in your identity and a lot less stressed.