It's a new year, and we are all trying to figure out ways to forge into the future without the stress of the past. We are all trying to determine what disciplines and attitudes are benefits and conversely what commitments and habits have become deficits.

One of the issues I am dealing with this month of January is how to live an entire year free of stress and weariness. I am re-evaluating my relationships and priorities so that I can stave off stress and welcome peace.

The enemy knows if he can keep you distracted with stress, he can steal the "abundant" right out of your life. Stress will rob your joy, it will dismantle your peace and it will deny you of hope. Stress doesn't have the power to change tomorrow, but it sure does mess up today.

A Bible dictionary defines weariness, which is the byproduct of stress, as, "exhaustion; to be faint; to wear out or be worn out; tired, sick, fatigued, exhausted and out of patience."

Perhaps this definition also describes the life that you are living today. In any case, that is the "you" that the enemy wants you to be. Satan is conniving, deceptive and secretive, and he will wear you out any way that he is able to do so. The route to weariness is a short one, and you will arrive at exhaustion sooner than you dare believe. Stress has a way of piling up in a woman's life until she is unable to make quality decisions, enter into meaningful conversation and enjoy the life she has been given.

Stress is not merely just a result of trying to attempt to do too much, but it is spending your time doing things that leave you unfulfilled and empty.

The devil, who is your archenemy, wants you to be worn out and run ragged through your entire life.

"He shall speak words against the Most High and shall wear out the saints of the Most High" (Dan. 7:25a).

Satan is wearing down the saints of the Most High God with busy-ness and the tyranny of the urgent. Why are you listening to his strategies? Satan knows you will lose if he can wear you down. What will you lose? Not your eternal salvation, of course, but you will lose your temper and your patience. You will also lose your perspective and your peace of mind.

Perhaps it is time for you to make some much-needed changes in your life. You may need to reorder your daily schedule or reprioritize your time commitments. Ask a friend to help you reorganize your life so you live abundantly and not as a worn-out, run-down shrew.

Often when I am feeling overwhelmed, I declare to the enemy, "You are not going to wear me down ... I am going to wear you down with worship and the Word of God!"

After you make that declaration, then begin to reevaluate your choices so that you break the cycle of weariness in your life. Choose to spend time with the Lord rather than spending your day talking on the phone or playing computer games. Speak psalms and hymns and spiritual songs over your life rather than spouting opinions and gossip and frustration. Purpose today that you will no longer invest yourself in urgent demands but that you will devote yourself in eternal, important disciplines. Trust me, you will only need to make a few strategic choices to replace your weariness with God's perfect peace.

Carol McLeod is an author and popular speaker at women's conferences and retreats, where she teaches the Word of God with great joy and enthusiasm. Carol encourages and empowers women with passionate and practical biblical messages mixed with her own special brand of hope and humor. She has written 10 books, including The Rooms of a Woman's Heart; Defiant Joy!;Holy Estrogen!; No More Ordinary; Refined; Joy For All Seasons; Let There Be Joy!; Pass the Joy, Please!; Guide Your Mind, Guard Your Heart, Grace Your Tongue; and Stormproof, which releases on March 1, 2019. Her teaching DVD, The Rooms of a Woman's Heart, won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award for excellence in religious programming. You can also listen to Carol's "Jolt of Joy" program daily on the Charisma Podcast Network. Connect with Carol or inquire about her speaking to your group at carolmcleodministries.com.

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