Finding Peace Biblically & Holistically
- Adam Garrett
- May 24, 2024
- 15 min read
Updated: Oct 30, 2024
Adam with a family in a 1 room shack in South Africa
Why is a "Biblical" Approach an Inherently "Holistic" Approach?
Proverbs 4:7
"The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding."
Wisdom is intrinsically holistic. Wisdom is in part effectively applied knowledge rather than merely some intellectual pursuit. Scripture in Proverbs 4:7 states that we should go to extreme measures to acquire it. While Scripture should be our first source for a wide variety of issues in life, if we exclusively search the Scriptures at the expense of all other available knowledge & disciplines, many of which have advanced considerably since the authorship of Scripture, we will fail to abide by Proverbs 4:7.
Why is a Holistic Approach an Inherently "Biblical" Approach?
Psalm 111:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!
There are many today who find intellectual difficulty with the prospect of studying and abiding by Scripture, for a wide variety of reasons, including but not limited to various arenas of bias (i.e. Dunning-Kruger effect, status quo bias and herd bias), and logical fallacies. It's much easier to throw baby Jesus out with what appears to someone to be bathwater rather than wrestling with the evidence on those issues and others as a whole for a true "Case for Christ".
Also, some opinions & practices by a number of Christians, even those in leadership, is indeed wrong, and we should not be surprised that people don't live up to God's standards, while we should seek His standards ourselves, comparing our lives to that of Jesus. The Bible, especially in the Old Testament, but also in the new, has many examples of those seeking to follow God but failing miserably for it.
In the Old Testament it's the reason why Moses & David wrongfully murdered people & why Israel & Judah split apart, and eventually went into exile for over 1500 years.
It's the reason why Peter denied Jesus 3 times. It's the reason why Jesus was condemned to be crucified by the religious leadership of the day. It's the reason why Peter had to be called out by Paul of Tarsus for wrongdoing despite Peter being perhaps the head of the Church at the time.
Approach Important No Matter Your Faith:
Eat/Drink Healthy
Some things that are helpful with anxiety include eating healthy & drinking plenty of water. You know what they say: "You are what you eat." That's not true of course, a gross oversimplification fallacy. You're far more than that. That said, what you eat has a high impact on your performance and your mood. Consider nutritional supplements like omega 3's, and pro-biotics, and consider seeing a nutritionist.
“Eat your food as your medicine. Otherwise, you have to eat medicine as your food.” ― Steve Jobs
Develop Great Sleep Patterns
Sleeping 8 hrs starting the same time prior to 11 pm every night can positively impact your physical health, your executive function, your relationships, your work performance, and more. I recommend the Sleep App to track your sleep habits.
Exercise Regularly (Including But Not Limited to PT, if Applicable)
A combination of strength training and aerobic exercise has been shown to help you cope better with stressors beyond exercise, boosting endorphins, helping you to live longer, being more successful, helping you to be better focused, improving executive function, etc.
If you have pain or other problems that can be mitigated by physical therapy, it's not just some selfish act to spend the time daily to do that physical therapy. See it as a matter of stewardship. Take the time. Please pray for me that I'd be practicing what I'm writing here; I have PT I should be doing daily for my Carpal Tunnel Syndrome & my lower back (Spondolysis). If you struggle doing it, consider scheduling times on a website or app like Focus Mate, which includes 3 free sessions a week on their free plan last I checked. I personally invest in the paid plan for unlimited sessions.
Tackle Underlying Problems
In some cases, anxiety & depression are based more on environment and other factors than it is a chemical imbalance. Be sure that you aren't just dulling the pain, but tackling any issues that could produce anxiety. Any chemical treatment where underlying issues like job problems are the primary source fostering anxiety is an entirely inadequate band-aid, & in some cases can exacerbate the problem.
For instance, if you're in a toxic/abusive relationship, get group counseling in some cases, and if just dating someone with no children that you two have had or are having, consider exiting the relationship. If you don't have the financial means to exit the relationship due to a live-in situation and your income, get help, i.e. section 8 or other subsidized rent.
If you struggle with your job or keeping up, consider counseling for time management as well as time management resources available, i.e. my secular-oriented article on the subject. I also have a Christ-centered page on the subject including a video of me sharing about it.
If you are struggling with your faith, here is a solid playlist I've put together.
Seek Help from Trusted Sources & Avoid Suicide
I have had a few close friends who died by suicide in the past few years. The world immediately became a worse place with their absence. They were both wonderful people who brought so much good into the world while they were here. One was like a brother to me. Another one was a former mentor.
There is nothing so bad that suicide should be a consideration, & I highly encourage anyone considering the prospect to share it with their family and those that love them who are wise, close, and trustworthy (especially their same gender).
In some cases, you might be able to get insurance to cover expenses like counseling. In other cases, you might be able to get your church involved directly or as a funding source for getting help. Insurance also can be helpful with medication. Don't self-medicate without consulting a physician. With prescription medication, try to look at it from a mathematical standpoint. Do the pros outweigh the cons of taking it? If it has extreme side effects that impact you, the harm could outweigh the benefits. In many cases, prescription medication can be helpful if you have a chemical imbalance that isn't able to be substantively benefited from other means of natural support.
For victims of domestic violence or other forms of abuse, go to https://www.thehotline.org/
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline - send a text message to 988 to chat with trained professionals and volunteers who are ready to help. https://988lifeline.org/
International Association for Suicide Prevention
Pertinent Scripture:
Trials in Life are a Growth Opportunity: James 1:2-5; Hebrews 5:8
James 1:2-5;
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
Hebrews 5:8 (on Jesus)
Although He was a Son, He learned obedience through what He suffered.
God is With You: Deuteronomy 31:8
Deuteronomy 31:8
8 The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
Find Peace While Rejoicing Despite Suffering Through the Power of Christ: Philippians 4:4-13
Philippians 4:4-13
4Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. 6Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. 9The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
10But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity. 11Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 12I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. 13I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
For Paul to stay that is huge considering the fact that he also stated the following in 2 Corinthians 11:25-30:
Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.
Find a Sanctuary in a Place of Rest with God No Matter Your Circumstances: Psalm 23
1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,he leads me beside quiet waters,3 he refreshes my soul.He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley,[a]I will fear no evil, for you are with me;your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Find Refuge in God: Psalm 46
Psalm 46[a]
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth A song.
1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.[c]
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
8 Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth.9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth.He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields[d] with fire.10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
No Need to Worry About Tomorrow: Matthew 6:25-34
Mathew 6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[e]?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
God Knows You & Notices Your Suffering: Psalm 139: 1-18
Psalm 139
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1
You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
2
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4
Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
5
You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
7
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17
How precious to me are your thoughts,[a] God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18
Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with you.
Bad Things Happen to Good People: Job
Read the book of Job.
Without freedom, both the possibilities for people to love and to destroy would be eliminated. The problem of evil is the problem of freedom. God is Love incarnate (1), and despite the high amount of choice that He allows, He also is bursting to lavish His Love not merely on the perfect, which existed solely in Christ, but on the imperfect who could never deserve it by virtue of their imperfection (2). He does not completely shield the more deserving, not even the sole perfect One in all of human history, from destruction, yet He loves to redeem and restore, even through death at times as with His only begotten Son (3). His love is completely undeserved for the imperfect, despite their notions at times of amassing karma by their good deeds, yet He loves to pour out grace on the undeserving (4). Everything good in our existence, including the very life that we have, the air that we breathe, and even the good things that we do are by His mercy and grace (5). May all praise be to the One who has lavished loving-kindness on us in times of plenty and in times of want, who even seeks to grow us in the darkest of times when the cost of freedom is most clear, who remains with those who have found Him even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death (6).
1: 1 John 4:16;
2: Romans 3:9-31; 9:16, 23-29; 11:5-6
3. Job, Isaiah 53:3-6, 11 (prophesied centuries before Christ with a copy that is before Christ), Romans 3:24-26, 2 Corinthians 5:21
4. Romans 5:6-8; 11: 35-36, Isaiah 64:6, Ephesians 2:7-9, Psalm 50:7-15
5. James 1:17, Romans 2:4
6. Romans 8:28, Ephesians 1:3-10, James 1:2-5, Philippians 4:4-9, Psalm 23, Deuteronomy 31:8
Our greatest blessing, which is the free will that we have, the ability that we have to make choices, moral choices, also is our greatest choice because I often choose the wrong thing, and so does everybody else, and people get hurt out of that both intentionally and unintentionally. - Rick Warren - The Case for Faith
Watch The Case for Faith
Also available on Amazon
Abide in Christ, Meditate on the Word, Walk According to the Word (Principally in Love), Bear Fruit, & Experience Joy: John 15:1-17
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants,[a] for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.
Christian Focused Approach:
Worship
Here are some solid songs:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSo6O5wDaQd8IQp3Yse_A_cjy_5-0kBwS
For me, I experience more tears of joy within the context of worship than I do in all other areas of life combined. If I don't experience passionate worship daily, my day will tend to be much worse. I suspect that time in worship are the highest endorphin levels I experience, directly counteracting any form of anxiety, most days when I cry tears of joy in the context of worship. If I engage in passionate worship, not just going through the motions of it, the tears tend to flow freely. Including biblically sound principles in private worship like dance during worship, raising of hands, and bowing are all helpful for me to engage more thoroughly. If I do that during corporate worship, there's some level of distraction, but it's still also beneficial as long as your church is accepting of such practices.
Play Scripture on Audio
The best-rated Bible (It was the audio book of the year when it came out) for playing these on audio on repeat to help you meditate through them is the Bible Experience which I'm a big fan of. It's TNIV. There are also free versions with multiple translations (my favorite being ESV) on The Bible app even though none of them is as high-quality production as The Bible experience that includes music at times, sound effects, etc. When I am struggling with anxiety about something during the day it's helpful for me to take even a 5 minute break for a walk and pray or listen or meditate on some of these. Walking through trails in the woods while listening to Scriptures on peace has been very helpful for me in my hardest times.
Sabbath Observance
Another thing that is helpful for me with anxiety is being a bit strict about not working on the Sabbath unless it is an emergency or really urgent so that I can have a full day of rest. On the Sabbath another thing that's helpful is if I spend time in truly replenishing activities such as things with the Lord even though I'm not as strict with that as I am with avoiding RE working.
Devotionals on Anxiety
There are many devotionals on anxiety, including some free ones like this one with the Bible app.
Spiritual Disciplines
Engaging in daily spiritual disciplines of Scripture reading, prayer, worship, meditation, journaling, etc. can be highly beneficial to your mental/emotional health.
Related:
Celebration of Discipline: Richard Foster (Amazon)
Be Part of a Good Church
When you're hurting, being a part of a good church (especially combined w/ topic specific small groups like grief share or divorce care) that can minister directly to your needs on a regular basis and provide you a network of supportive friends and ministers can be highly beneficial in cultivating a higher level of peace.
Related:
Read, Watch & Study About Other Christians Overcoming Extreme Obstacles
Related:
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