It’s one thing to talk about trusting in God when we’re going through something stressful in our lives. That’s  … great in theory. But how do you actually do that? How do you lay hold of God’s peace, during those stressful times?

You see that's the question, how many times have you or I heard some preacher preach some great sermon that says trust in God, trust in God and trust in God? Brilliant sentiment, possibly it was a great sermon and it's certainly good theology, theologians even call it a doctrine, you've heard this Scripture perhaps, Hebrews chapter 11, verse 6:

Without faith it's impossible to please him for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

The problem I have with that is that when you're going through some stressful situation that particular Scripture verse almost seems to condemn you. It's like, hang on here I am, I'm worrying, I'm stressing, I'm struggling, that means I'm not pleasing God and that makes the whole thing a bunch worse.

Well fortunately Jesus didn't come to condemn us, He came to set us free, He came to save us, He came to set us free from the burden of sin and free from this slavery to a life of stress. Of course you and I can react from time to time in a stressful situation. The man who goes to work only to discover that he and a whole bunch of his work mates have just been retrenched. He has a wife, two kids, one on the way, a mortgage, now what? How am I going to make ends meet? How am I going to tell my wife that I've just been retrenched?

Is he going to experience stress in that moment? Of course he is. Are he and his wife going to experience stress in the coming days and weeks as they figure out what to do and wonder if they're going to lose their family home that they've worked so hard to get? Pretty certain they are.

You and I are going to find ourselves in stressful situations from time to time, we just are, that's normal, that's par for the course. In a very real sense that's what’s meant to happen and for anyone in a stressful situation right now my prayer is that that gives some comfort. We all end up there from time to time, the question is, what do we do about it? How are you going to respond in that moment of crisis?

Well if you're anything like me you've been taught that the right thing to do is put your faith in God. Hey that's exactly what we've been chatting about on the program so far this week, Proverbs chapter 3, verses 5 and 6:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your path.

Lamentations 3, verses 22 to 24:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end, they're new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion says my soul, therefore I will hope in him.

Joshua chapter 1, verses 5 to 7:

As I was with Moses so I will be with you. I will not fail you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous for you shall put this people in possession of the land that I swore to their ancestors to give them. Be strong and very courageous.

Those are the Scriptures we've been looking at on the program this week and they're all about pointing us in absolutely the right direction without a doubt. But anybody who has been in a deeply stressful situation, particularly anyone who is right now in that deeply stressful situation, is sitting there thinking 'Well that's fantastic Berni, I know those Scriptures too but how do I do that? How do I put my trust in God? How do I be strong and courageous when I feel so weak and so helpless?'

And unless you get answers to those questions then the Scriptures we just read and plenty more of them to boot are just going to make you feel more and more condemned and more and more like you're failing God, am I right? So today we're going to get answers to those questions and not from me but from God because as always God has the answers, God knows how you and I can lay hold of that courage and confidence in Him and because He loves us He tells us very clearly, very plainly how we can do that.

To be honest in my walk with the Lord over these past almost twenty years this has probably been the most important 'how to' that I've ever learned. Are you ready? Here we go, stress buster number three, it comes from Philippians chapter 4, verses 6 and 7:

Don't worry about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God which passes all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus

Now this is a very plain piece of Scripture, not a lot of hidden meaning here but you'd be amazed, I mean AMAZED how easily we skate over the surface of it and completely miss the point. I think I've told this story once before on the program a few years ago so if you've heard it just get over it, just kidding.

I was sitting in a Bible study group with a bunch of people who'd been Christians for years, much longer than me. These were Bible believing Christians. We were studying this particular passage and it was interesting. People hedged around it, this and that but you know we all worry, the discussion went on for ten or fifteen minutes and at the end of it the Bible study group leader summarised it along these lines.

"Well you know, God wants us to have peace but still we're all going to worry" and the crazy thing was that everybody seemed to nod in agreement with him and we're about to move on. Well I was only the new kid on the block in this Bible study group but I couldn't help myself.

I kind of let out this loud agitated NO. I don't think anybody has done that before because there was stunned silence and all the eyes turned and were looking at me. My wife wanted the ground to open up and swallow us up. So I let them have it with both barrels.

I said 'Look at what it says, this is a promise from God through Paul who by the way was probably on death row when he wrote this. God’s saying this, instead of worrying, pray. The time that you would have spent in worrying and stressing out is the time that you should pray instead.’

Thank God, let Him know your problems and needs and requests right there in the middle of your stressful situation and when you do that, here's the promise bit, the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, this peace that in this situation and this circumstance simply doesn't make any worldly sense, will not just fill your heart it will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus.

So when worry hits you, when the stress attack hits you, God’s peace in Christ will be standing as a sentinel to the door of your heart and your mind. God’s peace in Christ will guard your very heart. The worry and the stress won't be able to get in because God’s peace will keep it out. People that's the promise here.

So do you believe God’s Word or not? Do you believe that this is God’s promise to you or not? Friend it's either one or the other. I don't know if they got it but I'm praying that you get it. The way that we appropriate the peace of God, the way that we lay hold of it, the way that we grab it with both hands and hang on to it and own it is by praying with a thankful heart and pouring it all out to God.

Let me tell you something, if you're in a stressful situation and you take just this one promise and start living it out by making it a habit, to get away alone with God and pray I guarantee that the peace of God which passes all understanding will become the heart and mind sentinel of your life.

So there's your stress buster, there's your peace and remember it's a peace that given your circumstances you really shouldn't have. It’s a peace that in the face of the stressful situation that you're facing simply doesn't make sense to you or to anybody else. Fortunately it doesn't have to because peace is peace, God’s peace is God’s peace and I'll take that in place of the world's stress any day. How about you?