Counseling and Dealing with Stress During COVID-19

I imagine that if you are dealing with stress during the age of COVID-19, you have realized by now that you are not alone. Whether you are single, married, with kids, without kids, retired, elderly, or in college or just graduating from high school, you can relate to some kind of stressors during this crazy time we are living in.

The world can seem hopeless, and the issues can seem daunting, but when the stress ramps up and nothing seems to help, there is an answer. The only answer that can relieve all stress, wipe away tears and despair, give hope and joy where it is needed, and give peace and contentment where no one else can fill this void.

The answer is Jesus. He is waiting to help you and all you must do is ask him to be with you in all that you are going through. I promise you this, he will answer you. Maybe not in the way you want or think he should, but he will come through and if you have even the smallest amount of faith, it will be done for you.

“Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:24). He truly awaits your prayer and desire to talk to him, so do not wait any longer. Talk to him like your best friend, because trust me, he is the best friend you could ever ask for.

I know because he is mine. Once I learned to talk to him like he was not only my protective Father in Heaven but my best friend, everything changed in the way that I related to Him. The intimate relationship that you can develop with God is indescribable and you will realize that nothing is impossible with Him.

“Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). He longs to help you, even when no one else in the world is there for you and you feel all alone.

During these uncertain times of stress and worry, there is one who can take it all away. If you feel tired, sick, lonely, worried, or sad, know that God is always with you. No one could predict that COVID-19 would happen and what our world would be living in as it is now. The future is unpredictable, and stress can mount before you even realize it is there.

It is important to turn to God in these times, but He wants us to turn to Him even when things are good. God wants to be your constant companion, and there for you in joy and sorrow. “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3).

In the book called, “God Calling,” by A.J. Russell, the devotion for September 27 is as follows:

“Divine Restraint

Is my hand shortened that it cannot save! No! My Power to save increases as your power to understand My Salvation increases. So, from Strength to Strength, from Power to Power, we go in Union.

Limitless is my miracle-working power in the Universe, though it has limitations in each individual life, but only to the extent of the lack of vision of that individual. There is no limit to my power to save. Also, there is no limit to my desire and longing to save. My hand is not shortened, and it is stretched out still, longing and waiting to bless and help and save.

Think how tenderly I respect the right of each individual soul. Never forcing upon it my help, my salvation. Perhaps in all my suffering for Humanity that is the hardest, the restraint of the Divine Impatience and longing to help, until the call of the soul gives me my right to act.

Think of Love shown in this. Comfort my waiting, loving, longing Heart by claiming my help, guidance, and miracle-working power.”

In other words, God is saying that He has limitless power to save you, and wants you to have faith, call upon him, and it will be done for you. How amazing is that?! Jesus came to earth and lived among us as a Human being himself, to save us from our sins and give us eternal life. We do not deserve this, because we are all sinners and fall short of God’s glory.

But the point is that He loves us unconditionally and nothing we can do can separate us from his love for us. In your life, you mess up often, as I do, and as we all do, because we are human. We all have people in our lives who love us conditionally, based on what we do for them or how we perform.

This is why some (I know because it was hard for me to understand once, too) can’t understand how he can love us no matter what and that we don’t have to do anything to earn his love.

I do not know about you, but that is the kind of love of which I have always dreamed. And besides the unconditional love I have for my husband, and my two daughters, and they for me, I never knew a love like that existed. Let alone that Jesus wants me to have it and have it to the full.

I have known what is like to worry, be sad, stressed, alone, scared, afraid, tired, overwhelmed, exhausted, and feeling like I can’t take anymore. All of us have been there at some point in our lives. If you have not been there, you will, because that is what it means to be human.

However, this evil world wants us to believe that we will always be stressed, always be tired, always be sad, etc. But not God. Listen to what the Bible says about this one: “The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full” (John 10:10).

That is awesome news! We don’t have to live in misery, or despair, or stress, or worry no matter what the world throws at us, we have a hope and a peace in knowing that we are saved and redeemed. Even if every single person in your life has left you and you are all alone, fear not. God has not left you and He never will. That is amazing!

He will never leave you, or me, and again, I don’t know about you, but that gives me a peace that I never knew could exist. Nothing in this world will give you the unconditional love, peace, and joy that God can give. Trust me, I know, because before my relationship with God was a deep and intimate one, in my younger years I tried to fill it with things and people I thought would fill it. It never did. And I know, most people have experienced this as well.

God does not want to fill your time only when you need him, he wants to be present with you in all of your time, every day. Something about knowing he is always present with me and I am never alone, has given me a peace that I never had before in my entire life. It changed me, and it can change you too. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6).

This is one of my daughter’s school Bible verses, and it makes her feel loved unconditionally by God. She wanted me to share it with you. Here it goes: “Know this my beloved brother’s, let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger, for the anger of men does not produce the righteousness of God” (James 1:19-20). She hopes you like reading it and it gives you joy.

Another verse my daughter loves that I have taught her, and that we talk about often, is geared towards helping you fight fear. It reads as follows: “For I was not made with a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7).

Counseling during COVID times looks a little different these days. Instead of seeing people in person, most of us are doing some form of telehealth to help our clients. I have seen some benefits in this, as well as some drawbacks. I have enjoyed being able to be with my family more and spending a lot of quality time together.

The drawback can be that most of us who are parents are trying to figure out childcare while we are working. My husband and I have become a great team and both of us switch off with the kids when the other one must work.

When COVID first hit, the acts of working, caring for my children, and homeschooling our oldest daughter was exhausting and stressful on all of us. Honestly, we could not wait for summer and it was an amazing and relaxing summer – one of the best I can remember!

But we must remember that in all this uncertainty, God is still with us and we are never alone. He will not leave us by ourselves to figure it all out and feel abandoned. That is not his way. His way is to shine light in the darkness, give hope where there is despair, give peace where there is worry, and love where there is sadness.

He helps those who believe in him and reaches out to pursue you, even when you fall away from him. But only in kind, loving, and respectful ways because that is how our God operates. “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:18-19).

Thank you for taking the time to read my article. I hope that God has you happy, healthy, and safe wherever you currently are. If you are struggling with any issues that I can assist you with, please do not hesitate to contact me for an appointment. I wish you God’s love, peace, and amazing health in the coming year.