“My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him.” Psalm 62:5 (NASB)

Each year, the beautiful new planner sits on my desk, a collection of blank pages ready to be filled. This calendar may seem silent, but don’t let it fool you. In reality, it is sending me messages, the same messages I’ve heard for years. Action leads to achievement, it whispers to my mind. You had better get moving; time is ticking by.

Much of my life, maybe like yours, has been dedicated to developing my talents and abilities,  increasing my capacity and getting it all done. As a young professional, my worth hung on the words of my employer — positive or negative. As a mom, I needed to hear I was doing a good job. In this new, empty-nest season I call “just us,” you would think this inner drive would slow down. But it doesn’t.

See, it’s not my surroundings that drive me. It comes from me, deep inside. My worth has been unable to survive on the daily grind of doing it all. There is too much beyond my control to make something so valuable hinge on something so volatile.

Maybe a new year does this to you, too? You hear the sounds of “hustle harder,” so you make all the goals, begin the new plans and start a fail-proof system. That has defined my January for many years.

Recently, I’ve started listening to a different voice and giving myself freedom, especially in the month of February. It’s a voice that has been there all along; I’d just failed to hear it. This voice speaks to me to set aside all the demanding expectations I feel and breathe a short prayer. It calls to me with calming words, directing me to be still with God.

Habakkuk 2:20 says, “But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him” (ESV). This voice is the Holy Spirit, the One who has been with me and in me since the day I said yes to Jesus, accepting His new life and giving Him mine. He calls me to quiet and to peace. He calls me away from hustle and hurry.

I’m learning not only to listen better to this still, peaceful voice, but also to remind myself throughout the day of the messages He sends me in His Word: “My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him” (Psalm 62:5).

Stillness — it goes against much of what you’d think the list of goals and new planner stands for. Yet it is everything our soul longs for: peace, contentment and serenity. Now, I’m beginning to see a new way where both my work and peace can live together.

No matter how much hustle you hoped for in January, maybe this month you can make a shift and focus on God’s peace and stillness. Whether we hit our goals or not, let’s redefine our Februarys. God’s peace is still there for us, along with His love.

Oh, Jesus, thank You for calling to me to come and be still. It goes against not only the culture, but sometimes the voice inside of me. Help me to still my heart and come to You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY

Exodus 14:14, “The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” (ESV)

Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” (ESV)

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