Stress is an inescapable fact of life. An estimated 75-90% of all doctor visits are related to stress. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has also declared that stress is a workplace hazard. The American Institute of Stress claims that stress costs American Industry “over $300 billion annually.” All over the world, people are suffering from complications of high levels of stress from fear and worry, which cause anxiety and depression. Therefore it is imperative to assess and evaluate the root cause of this pervasive problem. Engrossed in our busy professional lives, we can easily become distracted and even dehumanized, ignoring the emotional and spiritual needs of our patients, friends, neighbors and co-residents on this planet. Despite all our advanced technology, our lives remain vulnerable to constant tragedies, mass public and school shootings, the 24/7 news cycle that accentuates conflict and high levels of stress. For this reason, more and more health care providers are discussing how to incorporate spiritual care into their medical practice. Let us not allow society to abandon spirituality, which is our best enduring hope for health.
American astronomer Carl Sagan once said, “We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology.” Because of this, in our postmodern era we cannot afford to ignore our spirituality. With more and more people living in fear, or buried in worry, anxiety and depression, acute and chronic diseases continue to destroy people’s overall well-being.
Scientists, experts and specialists in health care systems realize that medicine cannot rely only on randomized trials. We make everyday decisions based on our emotions and feelings as reactions to everyday circumstances. Common sense is necessary when practicing medicine, and that means physicians must address spiritual needs. We are born with an innate need to seek the truth and to call upon God and His eternal presence in our lives. The book of Ecclesiastes explains, “He has also set eternity in the human heart” (Eccl. 3:11b).
Despite health care professionals’ constant efforts to educate, entice, advise, convince, indoctrinate and persuade patients with smooth talk, bribes, guilt and manipulation to make people understand and follow medical advice, the results are often minimal. People continue to suffer from various diseases and chronic conditions. Many still die prematurely from high levels of stress caused by fear, worry, anxiety and depression.
Even with people having so much knowledge, the gaps in the way people manage stressors in their daily lives need to be addressed. The insights you will find in my book, Find Your Peace, will transform your way of thinking and give you the tools to change your life and even your eternity. You in turn will change the world around you. When people are transformed, they can better cope with stress and then help transform others. The world can be transformed one person at a time.
After my own experiences with stress and observing other stressed-out people, I asked myself the question, “Who will change the world? Who will fix these problems?” God has supernatural prescriptions to prevent the physical and spiritual diseases caused by worry, war, anxiety and depression. Scientists have suggested that chronic stress may lead to long-term changes in brain structure and function that persists long after the stressor ends. So for stress as with many other health issues, an ounce of prevention may be worth a pound of cure—managing and reducing chronic stress may be an effective approach for preventing stress induced changes to brain structure that may be very difficult to treat after they have emerged.
The good news is that God had His supernatural prescriptions that bringing healing and a healthy lifestyle. His Word can reprogram your brain and give you the tools you need to transform your life into one of peace and blessing.
Prayer Power for the Week of March 1, 2020
This week as we face the stress of our daily lives, allow God’s peace to inhabit you and receive the Lord’s gift of peace by casting all your care on Him. Continue to pray for worldwide revival and especially for our own nation as we look toward upcoming elections and other national challenges. Pray that our leaders would receive supernatural wisdom to make the decisions needed to guide the nation in days ahead. Pray for health care providers as they seek to bring healing to those affected by the coronavirus and other diseases. Read: 2 Chronicles 7:14, Psalm 34:4-5, Proverbs 4:20-22.
James Lasher 
Abby Trivett 
