Finding Peace: A Believer's Guide to Holiday Stress

We have entered an exciting time of year—a time filled with thanksgiving, celebration, and worship! We offer thanks for the rich blessings bestowed upon us by our Creator God throughout the past year, and we seek His guidance in the new one at our doorstep.

Perhaps our greatest joy during this season results from celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Christmas reminds us that it is only through Him that we find our true purpose for living on from one moment and year to the next. Likewise, our seasonal activities include reunions, meals, and celebratory parties with family and friends. But unfortunately, our investment in the festivities can easily shift our focus from God’s blessed provision to preoccupation with party planning, food preparation, and preserving harmony with those in our circles who may be difficult to get along with (perhaps there are valid reasons for not gathering with them the rest of the year!). In short, life becomes quite stressful—and our struggle to cope with the stress diminishes our experience of the true joy that permeates this season.

We stand in need of a reset in our busy lives, but accomplishing this goal necessitates an understanding of the nature of stress and the role it plays in our lives.

So, what is stress? According to psychologist Dr. Arnold Lazarus, stress is a product of an environmental event as well as an individual's perception of his/her ability to cope with the event. Endocrinologist Dr. Hans Selye characterized stress as the body’s nonspecific response to any demand, external or internal, on an individual. Selye viewed stress as a non-specific reaction to any demand, but we now understand that stress can be influenced by a combination of biological, mental, social, and—for us believers— spiritual elements.

While stress is often thought to be negative, Selye suggested a certain amount of stress was actually beneficial in facilitating optimal functioning in daily life. However, as many of us have experienced, other levels of stressors can negatively impact our ability to function in our daily lives.

The body’s initial, rapid-acting response to stress that is perceived to be overwhelming is to activate a system in the brain known as the sympatho-adreno-medullary (SAM) system which, in turn, results in the release of significant amounts of epinephrine and norepinephrine throughout the body. Activation of this system leads to what most of us know as the “fight-or-flight” response. This response can serve to protect us in emergent situations. While God designed our bodies with the capacity to cope with stressful situations, that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily good for us to live in a state of stress. In fact, research has shown that under circumstances of chronic, largely uncontrolled stress, microscopic damage in the brain as well as other medical problems throughout the body (e.g. bleeding ulcers, adrenal gland enlargement, premature aging through a shortening of telomeres) can occur if this system is activated for extended periods of time.

For many of us, our holiday stress may not reach or exceed the point where such damage can occur. We would do well to learn better management of chronic stress anyway. However, we will still find ourselves susceptible to stress-induced illness. Suppression of the immune system during times of stress causes this to occur. Several hypothetical models have been developed to advance the potential reasons for this, but Selye proposed one of the more compelling ones—which is known as the general adaptation syndrome (GAS). He suggested that we respond to acute stressors by mobilizing all possible biological and psychological resources at our disposal. These help us get through the stressful time, but the “cost” of this includes reduced immunosuppression as our body’s resistance becomes exhausted. As a result, we become more susceptible to colds, influenza, and other illnesses. Remember the last time you contracted a cold after navigating through a stressful set of circumstances? Now you have a better understanding of why that occurred!

It might be easy to conclude that we can avoid significant stress by simply avoiding holiday activities altogether. That, however, is unrealistic—not to mention unnecessary. The same God who we desire to praise and worship during the holidays is the same God who created us with the capacity and mechanisms to manage stress appropriately. We would do Him a disservice were we to avoid the celebrations of His gifts.

So how shall we cope in the best possible way with the associated stress? Response to this question begins with establishing and maintaining a healthy balance in our daily lives. First, we are called to become mindful of the extent to which we focus on the activities of the holidays—many of which have been generated by Madison Avenue, not by God. Scripture reminds us in that we are in, but not of this world (John 17:14). Likewise, Romans 12:2 exhorts, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind…” (English Standard Version). These, and related Scripture passages, should encourage us to not become so caught up in the overt trappings of the holidays that we minimize—if not completely forget about—the real reasons for celebration. Consciously trimming our level of involvement in these activities will allow us more time and resources of body, mind, and spirit to focus on the gifts and blessings of God.

The author of Psalm 46 exhorts us to take a second step toward a healthy balance in life during the holidays. Much of this Psalm describes the powerful destructive forces that are present in this world, most of which are caused by humankind’s fallen condition. These are juxtaposed with reflections of the “river whose streams make glad the city of God” (verse 4). We are reminded that God is our salvation in the midst of the world’s chaos. In a sense, it foretells the advent of the Messiah, whose birth we celebrate during this season. We then read of raging nations, teetering kingdoms, and melting earth! But the psalm does not end there. God himself then addresses us in verse 10 with the words, “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” Notice that God is not calling us to do anything here. Rather, He is calling us to be. In the cacophony of life we far too often become caught up in doing. We preoccupy ourselves with pursuing purpose and achievement through involvement in our professions, sports, families, and church. During the holidays, we allow ourselves to overbook our schedules with gatherings, shopping, decorations, and concerts. Remember that none of these aspirations and activities are inherently bad. They indeed have their place in life. On the other hand, they should not so occupy our time and resources that we forget to be a child of God, created in His image.

In Psalm 46:10, God adds two additional exhortations. We are not merely called to be, but rather we are called to be still. It is in the stillness that we can train our attention upon hearing God’s voice speaking to us with words of saving grace, love, and exhortation. Moreover, we can truly be still, and know that He is God—which is His third exhortation here. Although learning to know Him is a lifelong call, it is particularly important for us to seek to know Him and His Son during this holiday season. So make time each day to pause and reflect on God and on His gracious gifts—particularly that of His Son, who was born in a quiet village in Galilee over 2000 years ago.

A growing body of research is demonstrating the efficacy of mindfulness training for reducing stress in combat veterans and those encountering anxiety disorders. In no small measure God is calling us to spend time contemplating His love, goodness, and providential care for us. This is a form of mindfulness to which each of us must aspire—particularly during the holiday time of year. This year, make time to just be with your Lord and Savior. That is the ultimate way to manage life’s stress. May your Christmas be merry and your New Year bright with hope!