Calm at Christmas
Calm: Part 1
We have officially entered the holiday season! Do the activities surrounding the holidays make you giddy with excitement, scouting the stores for all things “grinch,” or somewhere wavering in the middle? Interestingly, Psychology Today reports that studies show that approximately 40 percent of all adults are riddled with social anxiety around the holidays.
The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines anxiety—and its synonyms care, concern, and worry—this way: “a troubled or engrossed state of mind or the thing that causes this.”
The Greek word for anxiety means “divided” with the implication that what is divided is our mind. When we live in anxiety, we can become a “double-minded” person who is “unstable in all his ways,” as James says.
Peter links anxiety with the roaring lion, our adversary, Satan, who prowls around seeking who he may devour (1 Peter 5:6-8).
So let’s take a moment to identify where we are facing anguished uncertainty (uncertain goals) this holiday season.
It may be:
Family relationships
Work environment and relationships
Physical health
Financial expenditures and expectations
The world gives us helpful (or not so helpful) advice to calm our anxious hearts:
“Really?! Calm Down!”
“Suck it up!
Get it together!”
Since our body, soul and spirit are connected, our anxious emotions trigger a physical response both for good and for ill. Scripture speaks directly to this.
Isaiah 13:7 NLT – “Every arm is paralyzed with fear. Every heart melts”
Jeremiah 50:43 – “The king of Babylon heard the report of them, and his hands fell helpless; anguish seized him, pain as of a woman in labor.”
Ezekiel 7:17 MSG – “‘Every hand hangs limp, every knee turns to rubber” (In view of God’s coming judgment upon His people).
In a frightening scenario painted in Psalm 46 of both physical upheaval and political turmoil, God gives a command, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).
But how can we know that He is God if we are in anxious turmoil?
Let’s start with some simple, physical practices to counter anxiety. Some of these we do subconsciously and don’t even realize they are calming such as massaging our arms or rubbing our face. But small practices done over time can make a significant difference!
The first is belly breathing—slow and low. This is the breathing taught to U. S. Navy Seals which helps deactivate the fight or flight response.
Inhale to a count of four letting your diaphragm expand, hold to count of four, then exhale to the count of four and say a verse of Scripture. My favorite is Psalm 56:3, “When I am afraid, I will trust in you, O Lord.” Then pause and count to four. Repeat three times. I love to do this “stronghold buster” as I lay down to sleep.
Others say a name of God like Lord Jesus on the inhale, and a Scripture prayer on the exhale like “Help me to be still and know that you are God.”
The next is quiet through participating physically in worship. The Scripture is replete with commands—let us sing to the Lord, let us shout to the God of our salvation, let us worship and bow down, let us exalt His name together. Dr. Richard Smith of the Oklahoma Neuroscience Institute found participatory worship causes a decrease in blood pressure, pulse and breathing slows, hand temperature increases, and there is a reduction in anger and depression because of increased dopamine and serotonin! If David’s harp music calmed the angry King Saul, it can bring peace to our soul.
As I mentioned in the beginning, it’s almost impossible to tell someone else or yourself to relax and then be instantly relaxed. But what is helpful is tensing and releasing various muscle groups from your head to your toes. This is something you can do discreetly like when I was on a flight when they announced there was a malfunction in the ventilations system, and there would be no air circulating from the time we touched down till we got to the gate!
Another practice is yawning. Yawning signals to your body that it is time to quiet and rest. Turn your head to left, yawn, and then to the opposite way and yawn. One article called it the fastest way to hack mental stress and gain focus as it gets more oxygen to the brain.
Laughter and play are helpful as well: “A merry heart is like good medicine” (Proverbs 17: 22). The Christian author Dr. Archibald Hart writes, “Delighting in the everyday pleasures of life actually repairs and heals the overstimulation of our brains.”
Lastly, physical exercise can help us to calm. Strenuous exercise releases endorphins which relieve pain and create a sense of well-being. Walking at a little slower pace gives us time to drink in God’s beauty in creation.
In Matthew 7, there’s a familiar story of two men, one who built his life on the rock and the other one on the sand. Jesus says this, “Everyone who hears these words and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matthew 7:24). The wise are not those who simply get it, but those who practice it. This week should give us plenty of opportunities to practice these quieting exercises so that we can know the God who is the Prince of Peace!