Stress is like kryptonite (Superman’s nemesis), and it’s out to knock off your cape and diminish you to a heap of trembling, useless mush. What should you do? 1) Immerse your exhaustion. Try a bubble bath. Even simply standing in the shower can assist in washing away fatigue and reviving your breathless body tissues and brain cells. Feel the moment and focus on the water’s invigorating sensory contribution to your skin; allow it to spread resilience to your spirit. You say, ‘That doesn’t sound very spiritual.’ Job’s friend Zophar would disagree with you – he said to Job, who had more troubles than you will ever see: ‘You will forget your misery; it will be like water flowing away’ (Job 11:16 NLT). 2) Request help! Allocate responsibilities and chores. When everyone does their portion, no one is left depleted. ‘Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble’ (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 NLT). 3) Release perfectionism. Nobody is perfect but Jesus, and you’re not Him. Let some things go. Tomorrow, give up a few more. Over time, those chores will stop nagging at you, and you will truly feel the stress in the pit of your stomach disintegrate. You will never be totally free from stress, but you can learn to cope with it and conquer it. Jesus said, ‘I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world’ (John 16:33 NLT).

© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.