We live in stressful times. We often operate from our sympathetic unknowingly. The Lord created our fight or flight response for when we face danger. However, there are other situations that trigger it even though we are in no danger.

Let’s look at a few. Rejection, betrayal, feeling overwhelmed, dissatisfied in relationships, and holding onto past hurts keeps us in fight or flight.

Our parasympathetic is for rest and digest. It is a state of calm. We can switch from fight or flight to rest and digest, through our thoughts, deep breathing, or prayer.

When Jesus had a busy day, He retreated to commune with His Father. Luke 5:16 says, “So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.” He knew how to reset.

We can also reset through meditation in His word. John 15:7 says, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you…” Our Good Shepherd wants us to come to Him to find rest.

Proverbs 16:23-24 says, “The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, and adds learning to his lips. Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.”

I looked up about the honeycomb. It says, “Blood vessels and bone marrow run through other parts of the bones. The holes in the honeycomb-like mesh actually make the bones stronger.”

What weakens bones? In Ezekiel 37 we find one root cause. Speaking of Israel it reveals what they said, “…Our bones are dry, our hope is lost…” Feelings of hopelessness create a stress response of fight or flight.

We are created with two nervous systems. The sympathetic is triggered when we face imminent danger. However it can also be triggered by our negative thoughts and emotions. Our brain doesn’t distinguish between the two.

Chronic stress affects every aspect of our health. Psalm 131:2 says, “Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul…” Learning to be still is a practice that keeps us in our parasympathetic state, which allows for rest and digest. 

Before you eat today, pause and be still so your food will have the inner calmness it needs to properly digest your food ~ even before you give thanks for it.

Proverbs 18:20 says, “A man’s stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth; from the produce of his lips he shall be filled.”

That verse reminds me of Psalm 103:5. It says, “Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagles.”

Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” 

Here is a note in my Bible about this verse. ‘A person’s life largely reflects the fruit of his tongue. To speak life is to speak God’s perspective on any issue of life; to speak death is to declare life’s negatives, to declare defeat, or complain constantly.’

Psalm 59 was written by David. Saul had sent men with orders to kill David. 1 Samuel 19:11-18. 

Verses 16-17 says, “But I will sing of Your power; yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning; for You have been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble. To You, O my Strength, I will sing praises; for God is my defense, my God of mercy.”

Psalm 89:1 says, “I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever; with my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations.”

I have been memorizing Psalm 119:73-80. Are you in a trial now? Verse 75 says, “I know, O Lord, that Your judgements are right, and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.” No matter how hard our trials are, the Lord uses them to confirm us to His image. See Romans 8:28-29. 

Yesterday I worked on verse 76. I am still rejoicing in these two words together ‘merciful kindness.’

It says, Let, I pray, Your merciful kindness be for my comfort, according to Your word to Your servant.”

May the Lord’s merciful kindness sustain you as He faithfully upholds you in your trials.

David wrote Psalm 28. He started it with crying out to the Lord. Verse 1 says, “To You I will cry, O Lord my Rock; do not be silent to me…”

In verse 6 he thanked the Lord for answered prayer. It says, “Blessed be the Lord, because He has heard the voice of my supplications.”

He verbalized his thanks through a new song that bubbled out of his heart.

Verse 7 says, “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him.”

The Lord loves our new songs. We can take them from Scripture. We can fill our hearts with thanksgiving and let the words of praise bubble up. They don’t need music. 

Ephesians 5:19 says, “…singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”

Psalm 33:1 says, “Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful.”

Verse 3 says, “Sing to the Lord a new song…” He is our audience of one. 

Steadfastness means to be firm, be established, be fixed, be securely determined.

David wrote Psalm 57 about when he fled from Saul and hid in the cave. 1 Samuel 22:1. Think of the stress he was under. 

Psalm 57:1 says, “…in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, until these calamities have passed by.”

In verse 7 he wrote, “My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise.” In his stress David turned to praise. 

Another example is Asaph. He was overwhelmed. This is how he turned his eyes from his circumstances to the Lord. 

Verse 6 says, “I call to remembrance my song in the night; I meditate within my heart, and my spirit makes diligent search.”

Verses 7-9 were his questions. In verse 10 he realized his thoughts created his anguish. 

In verses 10-12 he turned his thoughts to intentions of ‘I will remember, I will meditate on, and talk of God’s deliverances.’

Psalm 147:1 says, “Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful.”

The work and intention of the enemy against our faith is defeated when we intentionally turn our stress into praise.

In Psalm 86:11 David wrote, “Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name.” 

David was asking the Lord to give him singleness of heart. He wanted to praise the Lord with his whole heart. 

Our hearts can become fragmented because of unresolved issues, unforgiveness, bitterness, or resentment. 

I wrote a book “Cultivating Our Heart: repurposing fallow ground.” 

Hosea 10:12 says, “Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground…”

Fallow ground can bear no fruit for the glory of the Lord. It’s full of weeds and clods of hard packed dirt. 

God’s way is through praise. Psalm 116:17 says, “I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and I will call upon the name of the Lord.”

Hard trials, trauma, or turmoil are opportunities to live in His irrevocable gifts of peace and joy through thanksgiving. It’s His will. 1 Thessalonians 5:18. “In everything give thanks…”

Psalm 146:2 can be our purpose of heart. It says, “While I live I will praise the Lord; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.”

Waiting is a trial all its own. The truth is that trials come as a fiery purifier of our faith like gold and silver are refined. 

Any fiery dart lie that we allowed to penetrate is hidden dross that weakens our faith. 

As the Lord allows situations of waiting, He uses them to expose the hidden dross that manifests as impatience. 

Psalm 25:4-5 are great verses to hide in our hearts. The Holy Spirit will use them to remind us to continually seek Him as we wait. 

David wrote, “Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day.”

A key for us in waiting is to keep His word before us. Psalm 119:2 says, “Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart.”

God’s word that is hidden in our hearts will guard us from the temptation to make things happen in our own strength ~ because we didn’t wait for His impeccable timing.

It is good to live in the awareness that apart from the Lord we can do nothing. John 15:5

Psalm 84:5 says, Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage.”

Verse 7 says, “They go from strength to strength…”

When we walk in the Spirit, then our fleshly automatic pilot is dismantled. Galatians 5:16-17

Psalm 84:11 is a reminder of one blessing of the righteous. It says, “The Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord gives grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”

Psalm 34:9-10 says, Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him…those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.”

What do you lack? I encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit where you stepped out in your own strength.

The path of obedience is strewn with grace. Years ago I heard a pastor say that grace is God’s strength to do what He called us to do. 

When I’m in a hard circumstance I like to say, “Lord, I’m standing in my grace box.” All four sides say “Your grace is sufficient for me.”

David wrote Psalm 143. In verse 4 he expressed how he was overwhelmed. Then he increased his faith in verse 5.

It says, “I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your works; I muse on the work of Your hands.”

We can do the same looking back through Scriptures. Over and over the Lord miraculously worked deliverances when the circumstances seemed impossible. 

As our faith is increased our heart is freshly awakened to desire to commune with the Lord. 

Verse 6 says, “I spread out my hands to You; my soul longs for You like a thirsty land.”

It reminds me of David’s words in Psalm 63:1. “O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land.”

The Lord uses our hard trials or spiritual dryness to create  hunger and thirst to draw us into intimate communion with Him.