Verse of the Day

10 Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!

Psalm 46:10 (NKJV)

Quote of the Day

“God never hurries. There are no deadlines against which He must work. Only to know this is to quiet our spirits and relax our nerves.”

— A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God

Reflection

There’s peace in stillness with God. The words “be still” come from the Hebrew word raphah, meaning to let go, sink, relax, or cease striving. Do you trust God enough to let go in your life (Proverbs 3:5-6)? There are so many ways we may fail at this in today’s world. One of the most prominent problems comes when we try to micromanage so much that we fail to give God the reins (1 Peter 5:7). 

For example, when you face a significant obstacle, does prayer feel like a priority or a last resort (James 5:16)? I find it challenging at times to let go of my grip on what matters to me. I often think about how I can produce more effectively. I might ask myself how I can mobilize more output lanes, optimize my workflow to release more content, or push myself to do more (Matthew 11:30). 

Usually, my desire to prioritize performance has manifested itself in my education, work, hobbies, and many other areas. But I am thankful that I found an outlet that serves God and blesses me a great deal as well in my ministry, Savior and Lord. Often, however, I must remind myself that it cannot always produce or grow according to my expectations or timing (Luke 16:10).

The irony is that I place that pressure on myself because there’s no one pushing me to do it any other way. In fact, it’s often when these pressures aren’t present in my life that I feel most empowered to put forth significant effort without crippling myself with stress, burnout, or worse (Philippians 4:6-7). That’s where humility and recognition of my strengths, weaknesses, and limitations combine with wisdom to help me remember a core truth: 

God doesn’t need me to accomplish His will. Yet I am privileged because He wants me to partake in it.

Perhaps this reality isn’t intuitive. Many people enjoy feeling needed, especially in a culture that often measures our value by our output. Yet God doesn’t work that way. If I never wrote another devotional, filmed another podcast, shared another teaching, or taught another person about His Word, He would still love me just as He does now (Romans 5:8). 

Yet none of these actions comes from necessity (Philippians 4:19). They come from a place of genuine affection for God, an overflow of His love in me, and a desire to delight the Lord. There’s no shortage of fuel or reasons for me to continue to serve Him. I have tasted of His goodness, and experiencing the fruit of my labor of love has edified me in ways that no other earthly assignment could offer (Psalm 34:8).

So you may ask, “Where does this connect with stillness again, Victor?” It’s in recognizing that God has everything under control (Ephesians 1:11). When you can’t show up for Him as you planned, He still has it all figured out. When you fail to meet a goal or deadline at work, God is still with you. When you are trying to solve a critical problem, He isn’t surprised. He is available to you as your loving Father, inviting you into a loving relationship with Him through His Son, Jesus Christ (1 John 1:3; John 15:15).

The day we let go is the day we are finally still. Striving in our strength is bound to run out of willpower, motivation, and meaning before the mission is accomplished. In fact, unless our mission is God’s calling for us, we’ll never find long-term fulfillment in this world (Psalm 63:5; Psalm 16:11). If you haven’t found God yet, this is your reminder to seek Him while you still have time (Isaiah 55:6). 

If you have, congratulations; when you have Jesus Christ, you have everything (Colossians 1:16-17). Without His presence, we are nothing. No matter what we accomplish, it will produce only empty dividends and fleeting happiness compared with the Lord. Both fall short of God’s immeasurable gifts, beginning with the greatest gift of all: salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. This salvation is freely given to all who believe in Him (John 3:16; John 6:44).

Application

What makes letting go much more manageable is when we also examine the next portion of the sentence:

“and know that I am God”

Knowing that God is sovereign (1 Chronicles 29:11–12), unchangeable (Malachi 3:6), all-powerful (Jeremiah 32:17), all-knowing (Psalm 139:1–6), and present everywhere (Psalm 139:7–11) gives us every reason to offer Him our full allegiance. Wisdom tells us that a God who loves us enough to send His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us is worthy of nothing short of our complete dedication (Matthew 22:37). Why would we want to hold out? 

No accolade, reward, pleasure, or experience even begins to compare with God’s provision, providence, protection, and peace. He has seen fit to shower us with spiritual tools such as prayer (Philippians 4:6), His Word (John 1:1; 2 Timothy 3:16), the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-20), fellowship (1 John 1:7), and much more. God has also sent us the Helper, His Holy Spirit, to guide us into all truth (John 14:15–18; John 16:13). I can attest in my life that He has shown up for me time and time again despite my sins. 

In fact, I can let go (be still) because Jesus Christ didn’t come to condemn us (John 3:17). Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). Through Him, I can confess those sins, turn from them, and receive forgiveness too. While I still stumble at times, and His grace covers those shortcomings, I don’t desire that grace become a license for a pattern of disobedience (Romans 6:1-4). However, I am absolutely grateful that God’s grace, forgiveness, mercy, and love are there when I do struggle.

Walking with God was the best decision I could have ever made. I have seen it time and time again that when my heart has manufactured an idol out of something, God helps me surrender it before it’s too late. As His children, God does not want us to remain in foolishness or idolatry (Leviticus 26:1).

God has helped me surrender things that, in certain seasons, I prioritized far too highly. For any of us, an idol might take the form of a material possession, a person, a career, a marriage, a hobby, an addiction, or anything else that draws our primary focus away from God.

Notice how many of these things can be blessings when kept in their proper place. That is what can make their transformation into idols so subtle; they may not raise any red flags at first. Over time, however, it becomes easier to recognize when we need to cease striving for these things and let go if that is what God wants us to do. Some become genuine blessings only within God’s will and timing (James 1:17). Meanwhile, anything inherently sinful is not worth pursuing at all.

Once we let go of those, we can properly recognize what the latter part emphasizes to us. God deserves our exaltation (Isaiah 25:1). He deserves our undivided attention and worship (Psalm 95:6; John 4:24). It’s simply not healthy for anything to take His place, nor should we allow it as believers (Jeremiah 29:13). John Calvin once wrote, “Man’s nature, so to speak, is a perpetual factory of idols” (Institutes of the Christian Religion, 1.11.8).

None of us is above the mistake of making something that should remain secondary to God more meaningful than it ought to be. Even King Solomon, whom God blessed with deep wisdom, was not immune to deception, distraction, or idolatry (1 Kings 4:29; 11:1-10). What makes us think that we’re any more capable? That’s why it’s so important for us to take inventory (2 Corinthians 13:5).

What is one thing taking far too much of your attention right now compared with the Lord? For some of us it could be something obvious, but for others it’s an area where we’ve surrendered too much territory over time. 

We cannot afford to allow these patterns to continue indefinitely (Romans 12:2). The consequences of sin are real, and it’s often uncomfortable to acknowledge that truth (Romans 6:23). It’s not often that we see a believer succumb to habitual sin from one day to the next. As Casting Crowns describes it, habitual sin is often more of a slow fade than a sudden collapse. That’s all the more reason to evaluate our lives in God’s presence and ask Him for wisdom to recognize these patterns and grace to repent (James 1:5–8).

Set aside ten quiet minutes with God today. Ask Him to reveal what you are gripping too tightly, then surrender it specifically in prayer. Be still—not because nothing matters, but because God remains sovereign over everything that does.

Prayer

Dear God,

Thank You, Father, for Your many gifts. Today I want to thank You more specifically for Your presence in my life. I am grateful that I can count on You to provide for me in ways I cannot provide for myself. Whether You bless me with the ability to help myself, or surround me with people that I can trust, I know that I can always depend on You.

Please help me pay that forward to others when those moments arise. Sometimes I follow the promptings I believe come from Your Holy Spirit, but other times I need to pay closer attention to notice them. In a world full of distractions, I often fail to spend enough quiet time with You in Your Word, and I do myself no favors.

Please help me correct that pattern and return to You consistently. It’s a treasure to explore Your Word, experience Your presence, and enjoy the peace of quality time with You. Instead, I often choose to cater to the whims of my fleshly desires. Please help me repent of those worldly patterns and remain steadfast with a transformed, renewed mind that desires You above all else.

Thank You for allowing so many of us to enjoy quiet time with You, dear Father. There’s really nothing better to do, yet I often don’t make it the priority it should be in my life. 

Often I pay too much attention to almost everything else, rather than to the things that would benefit me most. But just like anything, all of us should start small if we’re not ready for more. The same way I might start with a few push-ups and build up to many more on any given day, how much more should I put in my spiritual reps? 

I need You, I want You, and I love You. Please help me to show that to You. I want my thoughts, words, and actions to all align with Your will for me. Today and forevermore, I want to draw nearer to You. Please help me avoid the pitfalls that could entangle me and keep me from immersing myself in Your presence. The last thing I want is to find myself ensnared by sin. Please help me repent and avoid that at all costs, for I know in my heart that You have greater plans for me. The world’s offerings are so shallow and unfulfilling compared to the infinitely greater and unfathomable riches found in You.

I pray in Jesus Christ’s precious, holy, and mighty name.

Amen.