“He says, "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

Last year the pastor at my church suggested that rather than make a New Years Resolution, that we choose one word for the year that would challenge us. For 2017, I picked the word, “Trust.” Actually, I didn’t pick that word, God did. I prayed about what word I needed for the year and God, kept putting the word, “Trust,” in my head.

Of course, that was the exact word I needed because, how I have had to put my trust in God this past year. From my daughter’s cancer diagnosis to starting this blog and finishing up book edits. I Have had to trust God and His timing in all of this. 

In November, I started praying what word God wanted for me for 2018, and I heard him whisper, “Be Still.” Okay, I know that is technically two words, but for anyone that knows me, being still is not how I operate. A week after I felt God give me that word, guess what the sermon at church was that week? The pastor did the entire sermon in silence typing it on his computer with the words on the screen and the importance of being still in God’s presence.

Of course, I still kept praying about it, because God didn’t really want me to be still, after all, I sit and knit all of the time. That’s the thing, while knitting makes me sit, I really am not being still because my hands, eyes and mind are moving. 

Don’t get me wrong, praying to God or listening to praise and worship music while I am knitting is not a bad thing, but when I am doing that, I am not being still to hear God speak to my heart. Yes, He may lay on my heart who should receive what I am making but there is more peace in His presence when I sit on my back patio in total silence and hear the sounds of nature as I say my morning prayers or read my morning devotion book.

Being an empty nester, I have gotten into the habit of spending quiet time with the Lord every morning, but inevitably, the phone dings (really, I thought I put it on silent and my tablet in sleep mode😬) or a message pops up on my tablet where I have typed up my prayer requests. If I really want to hear from God, I need to leave my phone and tablet in the house and sit with my Bible and my prayer list typed out like I used to do. 

So for, 2018, I plan on putting aside my bad habit of having any of my electronic devices with me and rather than look up Bible verses on my iPad, go back to my tried and true hard copy Bible that has gotten me through all of the rough patches in my life. 

I guess I do kind of have a New Years resolution. While having Bible apps on my phone and iPad are not bad things, if I know that having the temptation of it next to me is going to take my focus off of God during my quiet time, when I need to be still, then I need to leave them on the charging dock while I spend time in God’s presence. Anything can wait for another 20 or 30 minutes, even an hour if that is how much time God desires from me. 

Will you join me for 2018 and choose a word that you would like to change about yourself? Are you someone who tends to worry and needs peace? Have you been convicted that you need to be bold about your faith? I don’t know where you are or what word would be good for you, but God does, pray about it and He will lay it on your heart or mind.

While, my goal for 2018 is to, “Be Still,” it may not be yours so I am choosing a memory verse for this month that is reminder that God is with us wherever we go this year. “So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”—Deuteronomy 31:6 (NLT) 

Dear Lord,
Help me to rest in Your presence and be still this year. I thank You for Your promise in Deuteronomy 31:6 that I shall not live in fear because You have personally gone before me and are with me every step of the way. What a comfort to know that while people and material things can be fleeting, that You are not. You will never abandon me. It is in the mighty name of Jesus that I pray these things. Amen!

Please join me this month to memorize Deuteronomy 31:6 and maybe participate in making red baby hats for the months of January and February. I plan on participating in The American Heart Association’s Little Hats, Big Hearts project.