I tend to hold tension in my body, especially my shoulders. When it's terrible, I tend to get migraines. It hit me as I was working out one day; after the workout, I felt less tension in my body and needed to let go of what didn't belong to me. Let's use stress; it could come from all kinds of places; it could be your job, worrying about our society, watching the news, your ever-growing to-do list, and the list goes on.
For me, it was other people's opinions. I learned to let go of their views and switch my thoughts on what God says about me. The same goes when my negative thoughts start to consume me; I stop and ask myself, what does God say? What does the Bible say?
John 16:33 NKJV says that "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world".
In the Bible, this is highlighted in red, which means that Jesus is speaking. When negative thoughts come, I would rather have the verse's peace. By knowing who we are in Christ, we shouldn't be caught up in our negative thoughts or waste our time on naysayers.
Matthew 7:24-25 NKJV "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.
Use what God has said about you as the foundation. Start your day with His word (the Bible), build yourself, and start your day with the Lord. Allow Him to minister to those areas in your life that you're struggling with so when your body wants to hold on to that stress, let it go! Find ways to help release the tension; I found mines on the treadmill. A simple act ministered to me, and I want to encourage you to do the same. Look for God to speak to you during your daily activities.
The Bible says in Matthew 7:7 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." I encourage you to seek Him today, my friend; we don't have to be strong with God and carry everything alone. Let your guard down. Let's work on this together, I will make an active decision to get active by taking some more hikes (see below photo), my last hike in 2021.
Love,
Authentically Tee
