Loosen Your Grip and Relax
Nurturing yourself and prioritizing your well-being can feel like speaking a foreign language. I had no idea what it meant practically to experience peace in my body and emotions when I was stressed. So I started praying differently.
Instead of praying, “Help me sleep” or “Take away my anxiety,” I asked God, “What does it mean to rest? Teach me how to relax. I don’t know what that looks like.” And with this new prayer, God put a curiosity in me to learn about soul care—the practice of letting God nourish and tend to our bodies and emotions.
One of the first scriptures I asked God to help me understand better was a verse we often hear quoted:
“Be still, and know that I am God”
Psalm 46:10
Although well-intentioned, a lot of people would share this verse to tell me to stop worrying or stop being anxious. But even when I did still myself, I felt no relief.
A word study digging into the original meaning of the passage changed how I responded.
Be still. I discovered that the Hebrew word for the command is raphah, which literally means “to loosen your grip” or “relax.”
Know. The word in Hebrew is yada, which conveys knowledge that comes from “a personal experience.”
“Be still and know” doesn’t mean sitting around doing nothing. It’s the opposite! Being still means doing whatever helps you loosen your grip and relax, to personally experience God.
I began taking action to do things that helped me relax, exploring practices that brought me peace and joy as a way to personally experience God. I started with simple, small steps—like trying different herbal teas (pepper- mint turned out to be my favorite) and taking walks out among the trees. I also began calming my heart with breath prayers, to remind myself of God’s promises using the rhythm of my breathing to activate my body’s relaxation response. As I breathed in and out, God’s truths lifted my heart and refreshed my memory with his goodness, stopped the spiral of negative thoughts, and steadied my soul.
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!) If it’s an especially hard day, rest in the thought of Jesus holding you close in his arms. He is with you at this very moment—loving you, ready to carry your burdens each and every day.
Excerpted with permission from Breathe by Bonnie Gray published by Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, Oregon, 97408. Copyright 2023, Bonnie Gray. www.harvesthousepublishers.com
About the Author
Bonnie Gray is the author of Breathe: 21 Days to Stress Less and Transform Chaos to Calm, Whispers of Rest, Finding Spiritual Whitespace and Sweet Like Jasmine. An inspirational speaker and podcast host of Breathe: The Stress Less Podcast, Bonnie touches thousands of lives using storytelling, soul care, and prayer. Bonnie’s global following of readers come to her for inspiring Christian content in her authentic, unique voice. Her writing has been published and syndicated across a broad online audience. Bonnie lives in California with her husband and two sons.
