A Fresh Start With ACT for Christians

You’re standing at the water’s edge.

Waves move in and out with a slow, rhythmic pulse. The breeze brushes your skin. You can hear the steady hush of water meeting sand — that constant, timeless rhythm of rise and retreat.

You step closer until the water touches your feet. The coolness grounds you. The surface ripples, restless with movement, but as you look deeper, you notice something surprising.

Beneath the waves, everything is calm.

You take another step in — ankle deep, then knee deep — and the deeper you go, the quieter it becomes. The sounds above the surface fade. The turbulence softens. Beneath it all, there is stillness.

Now imagine your mind and soul as this body of water. Above the surface, your thoughts, feelings, and fears rise and fall with the winds of life — unpredictable, emotional, often overwhelming. But deep beneath the surface, there’s a steadiness that never moves. That’s where peace lives. That’s where God is.

Jesus in the Storm

This picture of calm beneath chaos is more than an exercise — it’s a glimpse into one of the most vivid moments in Scripture.

Mark 4:35–41 tells us about a night when Jesus and His disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee. A fierce storm swept over them. Waves crashed into the boat, water filled the hull, and experienced fishermen began to panic.

And Jesus? He was asleep.

While the disciples frantically fought the storm, Jesus rested with perfect peace. When they finally woke Him — shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” — Jesus stood, rebuked the wind, and said three words that still echo in every heart that’s ever known fear:

“Peace. Be still.”

In that moment, the storm obeyed. But more than that — something shifted inside the disciples.

They realized peace isn’t found in calmer circumstances; it’s found in the presence of Christ.

Understanding ACT Through Faith

In my counseling and coaching work, I often use a framework called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT.

ACT isn’t about “thinking positive” or ignoring pain. It’s about learning how to stop fighting what’s happening inside us — the thoughts, emotions, or memories we can’t control — and instead commit to living out what matters most.

At its heart, ACT promotes psychological flexibility: the ability to stay grounded and act in alignment with your values, even when your emotions or thoughts pull you in another direction.

For Christians, this aligns beautifully with faith.Spiritual flexibility is what Jesus demonstrated that night on the boat. While His disciples were tossed by fear, He remained anchored in His Father’s will. His stillness wasn’t apathy — it was awareness.

Through faith, we can develop that same kind of awareness. Not by pretending the storm doesn’t exist, but by remembering Who’s in the boat with us.

When we integrate faith and ACT principles, we begin to live with what I call faithful flexibility — the ability to be fully present, fully surrendered, and fully committed to walking with God, even when life’s waters rise.

Let’s explore what this looks like through a simple framework: S.T.A.R.T.

S – Stop Struggling and Be Still

When your life feels like a storm, the last thing you want to do is stop struggling. Instinct tells you to row harder — fix it, fight it, flee it. But in God’s kingdom, stillness is the first act of faith.

The disciples did everything they knew how to do before calling on Jesus. They relied on experience, not awareness. And yet, the storm didn’t stop until they turned toward the One who could calm it.

Maybe that’s you today. Maybe you’ve tried every strategy, every distraction, every way to manage your pain — and you’re still exhausted.

Stopping the struggle doesn’t mean giving up. It means shifting your focus from control to connection. From “I must fix this” to “I’m not alone in this.”

Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God.”When you stop striving, you make room for surrender. You stop splashing and start floating in His grace.

T – Take a Breath

After stillness comes breath.When anxiety hits, our bodies respond with shallow, rapid breathing — the same reaction the disciples likely had as the waves crashed. Jesus, in contrast, was sleeping — calm, rhythmic, steady.

In ACT, we often begin with a grounding breath — not to escape the world, but to re-enter it with awareness.Breath reminds us we’re here, alive, and held.

Try this right now:

• Inhale slowly through your nose for a count of 4.

• Hold that breath for 7 seconds.

• Then exhale through your mouth for 8 seconds, as if you’re releasing tension and fear.

  
  

Repeat this rhythm two or three times. Notice what changes. Your body softens. Your mind quiets. And somewhere deep inside, you remember — you’re not alone.

This is what mindfulness looks like when infused with faith. It’s not emptying your mind but filling it with the awareness of God’s presence.

Genesis 2:7 reminds us, “The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.”Each breath is a reminder: His Spirit sustains you.

A – Accept God’s Solution

Acceptance is a word that makes many Christians uneasy. It can sound like apathy or compromise. But true acceptance is neither.

In ACT, acceptance means creating space for what is — for the thoughts, feelings, and circumstances we can’t control — so we can focus on what we can control: our actions and values.

In faith, acceptance looks like trust.It’s admitting, “I can’t calm the storm, but I know who can.”

The disciples discovered this when Jesus stood and spoke peace over the sea. His power didn’t depend on their effort — it rested on their awareness of His authority.

Maybe your storm is anxiety, grief, uncertainty, or loss. Acceptance doesn’t mean liking it; it means surrendering it. It’s the shift from, “Why is this happening to me?” to “Lord, be with me through it.”

God’s solution is always presence before performance. His peace comes not from changing your situation but from changing your focus.

R – Readiness to Change

Readiness is the moment faith moves from belief to behavior.

Many of us say we trust God, but we still cling to what’s familiar — even when it no longer serves us. Change begins when we realize that staying the same hurts more than growing does.

This is where values come alive. In ACT, we don’t change by eliminating thoughts or feelings — we change by moving toward what matters. For believers, that means walking toward Christ, even when the world around us grows dark.

Recent events in our culture have stirred those waters again. The assassination of Charlie Kirk shocked and saddened Christians across the nation. Whether or not you agreed with his tone or methods, his death awakened something in many hearts — grief, yes, but also conviction.

Some felt deeper fear about the hostility toward people of faith. Others felt a renewed fire to speak truth with grace, to love boldly, to live authentically.

It’s natural to feel both sorrow and courage in times like these. But what matters most is what we do next. Readiness to change means letting moments like this deepen our faith rather than darken our hope.

Ephesians 4:15 calls us to “speak the truth in love.”When the world feels stormy and uncertain, readiness looks like compassion anchored in conviction — standing firm without growing hard, and speaking truth without losing love.

T – Talk With God

Every fresh start begins and ends here: conversation with God.

Prayer isn’t performance. It’s not about perfect words or poetic phrases. It’s simply bringing your honest self into God’s presence.

When Peter walked on water and began to sink, he didn’t give a speech. He prayed three words:“Lord, save me!”And Jesus reached out immediately.

That’s prayer — not perfection, but direction.

If you’ve been running on empty or wrestling through storms, take time today to talk with God. Tell Him your fears, your failures, your fatigue. And then be still long enough to listen. His peace isn’t a feeling you chase; it’s a presence you receive.

Philippians 4:6–7 says it best:

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

That peace isn’t just for someday. It’s for today.

A Fresh S.T.A.R.T.

Let’s remember:

S – Stop Struggling & Be Still

T – Take a Breath

A – Accept God’s Solution

R – Readiness to Change

T – Talk with God

Life will always have storms. But when we learn to stop fighting, breathe deeply, trust God’s presence, and live by faith instead of fear — we find calm beneath the chaos.

That’s what psychological flexibility looks like when it’s rooted in faith: the ability to stay anchored in Christ no matter what waves rise.

If this blog spoke to you, I’d love to hear from you.Say hello at hello@shaunhardie.com or visit www.shaunhardie.com.