In Mark 5:36, Jesus says, “Don’t be afraid. Just trust me” (TLB).

This is such a big message in the Bible that the phrase “fear not” appears 365 times. God wants us to get the message that we don’t have to be afraid because we can trust his timing.

Trusting God is the number one stress reliever in your life—an important truth to remember at Christmastime. The more you trust God, the more your stress is going to decrease. Another way to relieve your stress and demonstrate your trust in God is when you ask him for something in prayer. When you do, don’t try to set a time limit or deadline on God’s answer. Leave the timing up to God.

To help your faith grow deeper, you need to pray a prayer like Psalm 31:14-15: “I trust in you, Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’ My times are in your hands” (NIV).

Why not memorize that Scripture? When you get up every morning, read Psalm 31 as a prayer and tell God, “I trust you, Lord. You’re my God. My times are in your hands.” Practically, that means you probably have more to do today than you’ve got time to get done. So you ask God to help you sort it all out so that you can do what matters most and not worry about the rest. You say to him, “I surrender my schedule. I surrender my calendar. I surrender my agenda. My times are in your hand, and that means I’m not going to fear. I’m going to trust you.”