Reset From Fear - Reset Your Stress Response with Scripture

“Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day. Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday.” (Psalm 91:5-6, NLT)

“You can go to bed without fear; you will lie down and sleep soundly.” (Proverbs 3:24, NLT)

“Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10, NLT)

It was two in the morning and sixteen degrees outside as I strapped my ten-week-old baby boy into his car seat, rushing to the children’s hospital. His breathing was becoming more and more labored. His congested nasal passages limited his oxygen flow.

I drove down the eerily empty Dallas toll road, praying over and over again, It’s your breath in his lungs. It’s your breath in his lungs. God, keep my baby breathing.

Every December I’m reminded of those dark, sleepless nights when my infant son Rhett struggled with the respiratory illness RSV. His breathing issues overshadowed the joy of that holiday season, and there are moments now, years later, that I find myself creeping into his room when he sleeps, laying a hand on his chest to make sure he’s breathing. December is a month when my body remembers the fear of night.

During times of mental instability or reemerging traumatic memories, sleep can be scary. We fear the lack of sleep, the dreams that come with sleep, or the haunting emptiness of a still, quiet house in the middle of the night. It can trigger painful reminders, anxiety, hopelessness, and insecurity.

How many times have you awakened in the middle of the night and worried about things that in the daylight don’t seem so bad? The brain loves to wander at night. I can get caught up in so many worries, from the fear of not closing my garage door completely or forgetting to lock my doors, to fears about my children (Are they getting sick?), finances (Did I pay that bill?), anything! I often wake up in the morning and wonder why I was so fixated on certain worries.

Everything seems darker, scarier, and more worrisome at night. Practicing breath work is one tool I use to help reset my fear brain if it hits at night.

My favorite breathing activity is the 4-7-8 pattern, made popular by Dr. Andrew Weil. First, inhale through your nose for four seconds, hold for seven seconds, and exhale through your mouth for eight seconds. Breathing this way can put the brakes on the fight-flight-freeze response by activating your vagus nerve to bring calm to your entire body.

Scripture can help level up the benefits of breath work even more. When you find a verse that brings you comfort, simply inhale while mentally reciting the first part of the verse, then exhale through the last part. Breathing and soaking up the truth of God’s Word can physiologically shift the nervous system’s response to stressful thoughts.