Overcoming School Stress

It is now August. For most young people, that is the forsaken month when school starts. Whether you are in public or private school, high school, or college doesn’t matter. Nothing quite compares to the feeling of doom that creeps in at the thought of returning to class. While not everyone experiences it, some individuals become majorly stressed once the school year hits.

Normally this stress is caused by worry, a normal emotion that comes with the forthcoming semester. Of course, everyone enjoys seeing their friends again, but that’s not the aspect that worries people. With the new school year comes new assignments and experiences to schedules that are completely unknown.

Questions begin to pop up, such as: “What will the classes be like?”, “How does the teacher grade?”, and “Will all my free time be swamped with homework?”

Even if you finally get the hang of things, it doesn’t necessarily get rid of stress and worry as tests begin to pop up and SAT scores and GPA seem to be the only thing the people around you care about. And depending on where you’re at in your education, the pressure around these subjects continues to build.

Academics are important, and we should strive to do our best in whatever we do. However, no matter how difficult the coming days may be, we need not stress over it. The Bible has several thoughts regarding the subject of worry, and the conclusion given to us is to just let it go. It sounds impossible, right?

The Bible states in Matthew 6:34 (KJV), “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”

This command seems hard to accomplish when stacks of work begin to pile up, and the future looms pretty close. How are we not supposed to care for tomorrow when there is so much to be done today?

The first step to this is in 1 Peter 5:7, which states, “Casting all you care upon him; for he careth for you.” Have you ever had so much work and stress that you wish it was taken away? The answer to this problem is not only letting it go. This verse tells us to give our worries to the Lord because he cares for us. Because of Jeremiah 29:11, we know that the Lord wants us to prosper, and one way that can be achieved is by giving Him our stress.

John 14:27 says, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” This directly states that the Lord will give us peace; He doesn’t want us to be troubled. When we fully surrender to the Lord – build a relationship and pray to Him – it is easier to give Him our stress and allow Him to put it away.

Of course, we still have to do our work, but the stress of the burden will be taken, making it easier to focus and work on. If you doubt this, look at Psalm 94:19. It is unclear who wrote the 94th Psalm, but whoever wrote it was in anguish regarding wicked people. Amid his worry and torment, the writer states, “In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul.”

If you are a person that is serious about your education, it will not be hard to become stressed during your studies. But if you’re a Christian, you have someone who can take that stress and worry away, but only if you fully trust Him. When we lean on Him during our times of trouble, the Lord will take care and look out for us.