Learning to Let the Season Slow You Down
TONIGHT'S SCRIPTURE
For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. Psalm 62:1
SOMETHING TO PONDER
One of my favorite things that has developed in my faith is that a season of slow isn’t a form of punishment; it’s a gift of respite. We live in a culture that gives busyness a badge of honor. People celebrate when one is spinning a dozen plates about their head with commitments and needs, but what I’ve learned is that way of living will eventually crush you.
God created us with limits and a need for slowness with good reason. The human heart needs invitations to rest and recalibrate. We see this all throughout the Bible. People would be called into a season of private intimacy with God. It grew them and gave them an opportunity to dwell in the presence of God, without the world's needs vying for their attention.
Psalm 62 was written with the intention to invite us to wait on the Lord and His clear direction. It frees us from thinking we have to walk through life carrying the weight of all the decisions to make. Instead, we have the gift of going to the Father with all our decisions. We get to take every care and worry to HIs feet. We get to sit in a posture of rest and slow, though it feels like the world is passing by at a breakneck pace.
Think of Noah and what was taking place in his heart and mind when God asked him to build an ark. This was a slow process, a work that took great time and the Lord's direction. God gave every detail, and Noah had to wait upon the Lord for what to do next as he waited for the inevitable storm.
When the storm finally came, Noah had a heart of praise, for he had listened to the Lord and done the work that others thought was useless. His season of slowness provoked outsiders to look at him in confusion, yet he persisted in walking faithfully forward in God's calling.
What is God asking of you? Has He asked you to be still or to slow down? Is He calling you to rest in His presence as He brings clarity to your life and the circumstances you find yourself in? Whatever the asks are, lean in. Set down the million and one things at His feet and ask Him what He’d like to do in this next season of your life.
Slow seasons are gifts. Stillness reminds us that God does not need us to always be doing things for Him; rather, we need to listen to Him intently. Embrace the silence, praise Him for the words He will speak, and let slow joy mark your journey ahead.
How have you allowed busyness to keep you from following the Lord’s promptings?
YOUR NIGHTLY PRAYER
Father, thank you for the invitation of slowness and stillness. Our culture tries to tell us that being busy and tasked with a million to-dos somehow makes us better and more worthy. Holy Spirit, please convict me when I fall into that trap. Strip me of what you have not asked me to do and remind me that listening for your voice and direction is the most important thing I can do. Give me the confidence to live differently from the world. Please help me lay down my pride and what hinders me from slowing down and trusting what you’re doing. Make me a hearer and doer of your word. Keep me tethered to your feet and your plans. In Jesus’ name, amen.
THREE THINGS TO MEDITATE UPON
What has the Lord asked you to lay down?
How can you live more still?
Do you take your cares and needs to the feet of Jesus?
Reflect on tonight’s prayer and share how God met you there. Join the Your Nightly Prayer discussion on the Crosswalk Forum.
Photo credit: ©GettyImages/OKrasyuk
Chelsey is the voice behind the Living with Less Podcast and author of the 52-week devotional More of Him, Less of Me: Living a Christ-centered Life in a Me-centered World. She writes devotions for Lifeway Women's Journey Magazine, Crosswalk.com, and iBelieve.com. She also writes Bible reading plans for the YouVersion Bible App. Chelsey lives in Ohio with her husband and two children. You can connect with her on Instagram @chelseydematteis and at her website ChelseyDeMatteis.com.
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