New Year Devotions

January can feel like a long exhale. Our devotional theme for the month  gently invites us to notice God’s presence in the “ordinary things” of daily life — the kettle boiling, the commute, the quiet moments, the messy ones. No heroic resolutions. No spiritual guilt trips. Just small, doable steps that slowly turn our attention back to God.

WEEK 1 — Slowing Down Enough to Notice

1/1 Take a Breath
Psalm 46:10 — Be still and know…

What was it the great Welsh poet, William Henry Davies,  said, “What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare. No time to stand beneath the boughs. And stare as long as sheep or cows.”

In our  world of urgency, rush and haste, we often miss so much and in fact put our selves in danger. Our bodies and brains absolutely hate it, even if we pretend we’re coping like champs.  When you’re constantly rushing, your system basically thinks you’re being chased by a bear 24/7. Too much rushing results in cortisol spikes, tense shoulders, foggy thinking, and that weird feeling that you’re forgetting something… because you probably are. Did you know that stress hits your heart harder than caffeine ever could. With all that rushing about even when you try to go to bed, your brain is still sprinting. Yes, that’s chronic rushing messing with your rest.

A  wildlife photographer spent a week trying to capture a rare bird. He had all the gear, all the patience, and all the knowledge — but for days the bird refused to appear. One afternoon he just sat down on a fallen log, exhausted. He wasn’t pretending to be still; he genuinely had nothing left in the tank.

And then something strange happened. As he stopped moving… the forest started. After a while, the soundscape changed. The forest “trusted” him again. And then, as if it had been waiting for him to stop striving, the rare bird landed on a branch just a few feet away. Long enough for the perfect photo.

Later he said, “I spent five days trying to find the bird… and it took five minutes of stillness for the bird to find me.”

Stillness doesn’t mean doing nothing — it means becoming the kind of person who can finally receive what God has been trying to give us all along. When we stop rushing, stop forcing, stop striving, the “voice” of God — the guidance, the peace, the reassurance, the next step — often finds us.

 “Be still, and know that I am God.”

Prayers 

God of quiet and calm,

slow our hearts and steady our minds.

In the silence, draw us close.

Let your peace settle over our worries

and your presence rest within us.

Make us still,

that we may know you are God.

Amen.

Stillness isn’t a luxury for holy people. It’s the quiet space where ordinary people finally hear the holy.

Practice: One minute of stillness today.