Stress is everywhere. It’s an inescapable part of life. 

It’s also used as a catch-all—an excuse for bad behavior.

I had to react the way I did. I was upset. You have no idea the stress I am under. 

(My reaction was the result of my stress. Had to happen that way.)

I shouldn’t have yelled at you but I am so stressed out. 

(I had no other choice because of stress.)

Why did you have to do that? Don’t you know how stressed out I am?

(You need to live carefully around me because of my stress level.)

I’m sorry but…

(I had to act that way because of my stress.)

Stress, stress, stress! What’s to be done?

We can’t always control the source of stress in our lives, but we can control how we choose to respond. 

Jesus can change our knee-jerk reactions into loving responses, and that’s the point of this teaching.

When we look at stress biblically, we find that it has surprising connections: connections we can change through Christ. 

This lesson traces the roots of stress and provides practical steps to combat it in our daily lives. With God’s help and through God’s means, it offers another and more excellent way to live stress-free in a stress-filled world.

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