Breathe: A 6-Day Plan to Transform Chaos to Calm

Scriptures: Matthew 6:25-34, Matthew 11:25-30

Introduction: What Can I Do to Stop the Stress?

“Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest,” (Matthew 11:28) 

Have you ever felt Jesus whisper this beautiful invitation to better nurture yourself with rest? 

From the moment we wake up, we are inundated with noise, pressures, and expectations that wear us down. While we can be heroes when it comes to loving and caring for others, it can be so hard to give ourselves permission to rest and refresh when we’re stressed and need it the most. 

Perhaps you’ve always been the encourager, always the one responsible for taking care of others, and you never felt the need to take care of your own mental health before now. 

Perhaps you didn’t feel comfortable sharing your needs, or maybe you just didn’t have time to figure it out, so you did what you had always done: put your heart to the side and carried on. 

But here, today, perhaps for the first time ever, you wonder if it’s okay to pay attention to your own diminished wellness. 

You wonder: What can I do to stop the stress?

The passage from Matthew 11 continues with these instructions from Jesus in verse 29-30: “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.” 

Right in the midst of all the division, chaos, and worries swirling around us, Jesus is quietly loving you. He invites you to take His easy yoke in exchange for your burdensome one. He is leading you to a posture of trusting Him with your exhaustion. He wants to be your resting place.

You Are Worth Taking Care Of

Over the coming days, I’m going to walk you through scientific and Scripture-based methods to help you restore calm to your body and emotions, stress less, take better care of yourself, and create new rhythms of rest.

A Rhythm to Renew, Release, and Restore

As you take this journey to transform moments of chaos to calm, I will guide you to experience a simple, powerful rhythm to breathe and respond to stress. 

Each day you will be invited to participate in one of the following responses: 

• Breathe in Truth. Refresh your spirit with God’s loving words of affirmation. Encourage your heart with God’s loving promises in Scripture to empower you in your true identity as God’s beloved daughter. Renew your mind with the truth of what God says about you. 
• Breath Prayer. Release your stress using calming, breath-oriented prayers. Use each short, simple “breath prayer” to relax, following the rhythm of your breathing, bringing focus and calm. You will feel closer to God and experience His peace and presence. 
• Soul Care Challenge. Restore peace and joy to your body and emotions using simple soul care tips based on science. 

Scriptures: Psalms 46:1-3, Psalms 46:10, Isaiah 41:10, 1 John 4:18, James 4:8

Day 2: Emotional Wellness

God Is Here

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.” Psalm 46:1-3 

As the psalmist describes the earth giving way, the mountains moving, the sea roaring—it provides an image of what our tremendous stress feels like as it comes at us from all different directions. But this scripture also reminds us of where our strength comes from.

God is Your Refuge at All Times

In times of pressure and change, we often push ourselves harder. But today let’s remember our refuge is in the unshakable God, the one who never leaves and is perfectly present. 

God doesn’t turn away when we’re feeling paralyzed by worries and discouraged. 

God turns toward us in times of emotional turmoil. 

He sees you when you wake up feeling stuck behind a wall of worries and stress. 

He feels the anxiety that grips your chest so badly you can hardly catch a breath. 

In these moments, God draws you close. And God loves you.

The Stress Response: Fight, Flight, or Freeze

The human nervous system is activated not only by life-threatening events but also by daily stressors, such as work and parenting demands, family dysfunctions, bad traffic, or memories of past traumas. 

When we experience stress, the body’s natural and God-designed reaction is to prepare to fight, flee to safety, or freeze. When the “fight-flight-freeze” response is activated, cortisol and adrenaline release into your system— your blood pressure soars, your breathing speeds up, your muscles tighten, jaw clenches, hands sweat, and your stomach tenses. 

The cortisol and adrenaline flooding our systems to help us overcome adversity? Those same naturally released hormones also keep us from relaxing and sleeping. They put our bodies into constant hyper-alert mode.

The Rest and Relaxation Response

God designed a powerful counterbalancing force to combat the effects of the fight-flight-freeze response. 

Relaxation isn’t accomplished by pushing through, ignoring the stress, or telling yourself to stop stressing by sheer willpower. Instead, when you take time to enjoy what gives you peace and joy, you activate a God-given, natural way to slow down and create a sense of calm and safety: the rest and relaxation response.

Breathe in Truth: Loosen Your Grip and Relax

“Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10 

Be still. The Hebrew word for the command is raphah, which literally means “to loosen your grip” or “relax.” 

Know. The Hebrew word is yada, which conveys knowledge that comes from “a personal experience.” 

Be still and know doesn’t mean sitting around and doing nothing. It’s the opposite! Being still means personally experiencing God by doing whatever helps you to loosen your grip and relax. Sometime today, take an action that helps you experience what peace and joy feels like for you. It’s very unique to your personality, the way God made you. (Try small steps—like sipping different herbal teas and taking walks out among the trees.)

Scriptures: Isaiah 40:21-31, Psalms 139:5, Deuteronomy 31:8, Hebrews 6:19

Day 3: Physical Wellness

Heartsickness Spells Burnout

Burnout is chronic stress that comes from working too hard for too long without downtime and when you feel everything is on your shoulders and there is no room for your desires. When that stress goes ignored, your body lets you know! Burnout results in extreme exhaustion, irritability, and a lack of motivation and productivity. It can lead to chronic anxiety and depression. 

But when we share our stress with God and acknowledge our weaknesses, God’s strength and character shine: 

“The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:28-31 

Rather than waiting until circumstances get better, until life is free of worry and anxiety, God wants us to trust Him to take control of our well-being now, right in the midst of the hard.

Embrace Your Limits

Even if you double down on your efforts to achieve and provide, you’ll still have to confront the spiritual exhaustion that comes with burnout. Research shows that when we avoid people, places, or events to temporarily escape feelings of dread, we actually increase anxiety and reinforce our fears. This is called avoidance anxiety.Studies show that when you do the thing you fear, regardless of the outcome, you lower the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol keeps you awake at night, causes muscle strain, a fluttering heartbeat, and raises blood pressure. As you address your fears, you lower cortisol and restore calm. 

When we hit the wall of our limitations, God gathers us in His arms to say, “There is a better tomorrow for you.” Hope gives us permission to do things differently and to believe God will be faithful.

Breath Prayer: When You Feel Burned Out

God knows the challenges ahead of you and nothing will catch him by surprise. “You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head” (Psalm 139:5). 

Try a breath prayer in response to this promise today. 

When you inhale, say “Moment by moment,” remembering that life is lived one day at a time. 

Then, vary your breath prayer by whispering one of God’s promises on the exhale: You go before me. Hope is the anchor to my soul. You place your hand of blessing on my head.

Scriptures: John 14:16, John 14:26, Romans 8:26, Job 12:7-10, Hebrews 4:12

Day 4: Spiritual Wellness

There was a time in my life when I noticed whenever I was most stressed, I would stop praying. 

I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t have the words. And when I didn’t know how to pray, it made me feel ashamed. 

Have you been there?

God showed me how prayer is an intimate soul conversation. Prayer is a relationship in which you can be made known, not a spiritual transaction to be made better. Praying touches the part of us that is in process, uncertain, full of questions and doubts. 

That is why praying is hard to do. 

What do you do when you’re too stressed to pray? Jesus understands and whispers, Lean into Me. Just let Me love you. I will help you.

“I will ask the Father to send you the Holy Spirit who will help you and always be with you…The Spirit will teach you everything and will remind you of what I said while I was with you.” (John 14:16, 26 CEV) 

Jesus knew we would have days in which we’d be so overwhelmed, we wouldn’t feel like praying. Jesus provided a better way. We can lean on God and let Him love us. When we’re just too stressed out, the Holy Spirit helps us express what we need! 

“The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans” (Romans 8:26).

Soul Care Challenge: Practice Pursed-Lip Breathing to Relieve Pain

When we are stressed, we often take shallow breaths. Pursed-lip breathing helps you slow down your pace of breathing. As you apply effort to each breath, you take in more oxygen with each inhalation. It’s a simple stress-reducing technique similar to what laboring mothers use in childbirth. 

I used this method to bring relief when I had panic attacks, and it is still my go-to breathing technique when I feel stressed. Here’s how to get started. 

First, take a minute to drop your shoulders and release your tongue from the roof of your mouth. (You tend to hold tension in your mouth and jaw.) Breathe in slowly though your nose for two counts, keeping your mouth closed. 

Next, purse your lips like you’re about to blow out candles on a cake. Exhale slowly by blowing air through your pursed lips for a count of four. Repeat. 

These breaths calm your mind, emotions, and body. With confidence, you can move forward to tackle any issue with Jesus by your side.

Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 1:4, Matthew 26:36-38, Ecclesiastes 4:12, 1 Peter 1:22, John 15:15-16, Philemon 1:7

Day 5: Social Wellness

Everything hard you are going through isn’t wasted. The suffering you are enduring will be a loving bridge to others who need to experience God’s peace and comfort in times of trouble. But here’s the catch. To offer others the comfort of friendship, we must receive it first ourselves. 

“[God] comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us” (2 Corinthians 1:4 NLT). 

Notice the priority of comfort: You can only offer comfort to others with the comfort you first receive yourself. That’s the way God designed relationships; if we prioritize time for friendships, we can receive the nurture that will flow from others.

Breathe in Truth: You Are Worthy of Friendship

When you’re stressed, one of the first things you’ll be tempted to delete from your schedule is spending time with friends. Maybe you’re used to being the encourager, but you doubt if others would be there for you if you shared your burdens or honest feelings. Maybe you have been hurt by people who let you down or deserted you. 

You might be tempted to think: It’s not worth the risk. I’ll get along fine. But God created us to need each other. 

Even Jesus needed friends. On the hard night Jesus spent in Gethsemane, He could have gone off to pray by Himself as He often did. Instead, Jesus chose a small number of His closest friends and allowed them to see Him fall on His face and cry: 

“Then Jesus went with His disciples to a place called Gethsemane…He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee [James and John] along with Him, and He began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then He said to them, ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with Me’” (Matthew 26:36-38). 

When you miss the comforting smile of a friend, ask God to guide one of three types of friends to cross your path. 

First, someone to laugh and swap stories with, who is walking through a similar season. 

Second, someone walking just a little ahead who can encourage and mentor you. 

Third, someone a little younger whom you can encourage and mentor. 

“A cord of three strands is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12). 

Ask the Holy Spirt to illuminate your mind and nurture the power of three friends in your life, because a cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Jesus tenderly whispers, 

I see your longing for friendship as well as fears being hurt.

Don’t give up. I am with you.

I will help you because I’ve chosen you to bear fruit.

I chose you because you are my friend.

Together, we’ll find friends to share the journey. Share your story so a friend can share hers in return.

Scriptures: Philippians 4:6-9, John 14:23-27, John 16:33, Colossians 3:15-17

Day 6: Whatever Is True

“Be anxious for nothing,” the apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Philippi, “but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6 BSB). Although well-meaning, this verse if often given out as a shortcut to instant peace. 

A fly-by reading of this verse, however, places guilt and discouragement on believers, as if anxiety can be waved away with a magic wand. It’s like telling ourselves, If you’re anxious, just stop!

A deeper look at this power promise, however, shows that Paul isn’t suggesting believers should ignore anxiety but rather respond to it. We can go to God for help, thanking our Savior and Creator even amid our troubles, trusting that He will answer us.

Practice Peace

But the advice doesn’t end there! In the following verses, Paul encourages believers to practice peace as we wait for God’s provision: 

“The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:7-9). 

Think on these things. Put this into practice.

Experiencing God’s peace isn’t about sitting around, passively receiving. You can “pray and petition” using a Breath Prayer to engage your heart. You can think on “whatever is true,” and reflect on God’s truth from the Scripture to engage your mind.

When we encounter stress and wait for the anxious situation, problem, or answers to unfold, God wants us to create and develop new rhythms to experience the peace that will calm our anxious thoughts and emotions. Remember that the ideas and principles on mindfulness, meditation, and self-care our culture offers originate from God. 

As people of faith, we practice stress relief to be more fully mindful of God’s loving presence, because He is our loving Creator who gives, renews, and sustains the breath of life in you and me.