Happy New Year from Reconciled World!

In October, we announced that Reconciled World’s theme, which we believe we heard from the Lord, is

Be still, and know that I (the Lord) am God.

Now, here it is January 2017—a shiny New Year—and time for a reality check.

The truth is, I’m a doer. I get an insane amount of things done. I took a personality test one time that labeled me a “Driving Driver.”

Proverbs 31? On it.

Psalm 46:10? I have a long list of super plausible excuses reasons for why that verse was not written to me. I’d write it out for you, but I have too many other things to do.


I know the truth. I’ve memorized the verse, “He says, ‘Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted on the earth’” (Psalm 46:10). God is glorious, and He wants His children to make ourselves still long enough to soak that in.

But I live into this lie: that my value is measured by how much I accomplish in this life. It puts me at the center of my own little universe. It obliterates grace and unconditional love. And it robs God of glory because it keeps me focused on my (so-called) accomplishments instead of on how God is at work.

I’ll say this for the Be Still theme—it definitely humbles me. With Paul, I find myself crying, “I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing” (Romans 7:18b-19).

So here I am, looking ahead to the New Year, and wondering if anyone else is having the same experience. Do you want to be still and meditate on God’s glory, but…?

I don’t usually do New Year’s resolutions, because, let’s face it, they don’t work. Plus, you know…too busy. But I have carved out some designated hours in the next six months to sit with God and *not ask for anything*. In fact, I just put some dates on my calendar (hey, it’s a start). I can’t fix myself, but I can at least give God some hours to work on me.

If being still is hard for you, too, I encourage you to join me in confessing our weakness and creating the space. You can comment on Facebook, and we can hold each other to it. And if you have any other ideas for how a Driving Driver like me can Be Still in the New Year, I’d love to hear those too.

Be Still resources you might have missed: