“Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).

The other night, I slept fitfully. I woke up at 3 a.m., 4 a.m., and 5 a.m.—I’m punctual—until I finally abandoned the effort and decided instead to open my Bible and get an early start to my morning devotions. Before I could reach for it, though, God spoke these words through a gentle nudge to my heart: “Not this morning, dear child. Lie back down. I just want to talk with you for a moment.” Absurdly, I still reached for my Bible—twice!—before His words hit home. Then I took a deep breath and said something super-wise: “Okay.” 

Right away, I started sifting through my usual topics to explore with Him—things like lingering challenges, urgent needs, looming tasks—because that’s my norm: He prompts me to spend time with Him, and I try to determine which direction our talks should go. I settled on the topic of ongoing challenges—my “Why” questions: “God, why have certain things happened in my life that seemingly held me back? Why haven’t I accomplished more? Why didn’t I leave the mark I had hoped for?” But before I could get my thoughts organized (this all happened in 3 seconds, by the way), God raised a good point. “I think you misunderstood. I’m going to talk; you’re going to listen.” 

Which reminded me of Job, how God had told him, “Pay attention, Job, and listen to me; be silent, and I will speak. If you have anything to say, answer me; speak up, for I want to vindicate you. But if not, then listen to me; be silent, and I will teach you wisdom” (Job 33:31-33). And it also reminded me of that sharper “exchange” when God said “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?” (Job 38:2). That’s when it sank in—I’d been reaching for control while He was calling for my surrender.

So I stopped. I listened. And for ten whole minutes we “talked,” after which I felt ten times better. God, of course, was as perfectly at peace as ever.

Anyway, later that morning, I told my wife about it. And with her usual warmth, she called it “wonderful” and asked if I’d written it down so I could share it someday. “I don’t need to,” I replied most tenderly (I jest). “He put the words in my heart.” Then I went and wrote it down, anyway. Here’s what He said: “Your life isn’t about your accomplishments or leaving some predetermined mark, dear child. Your whole life is about Me. Rest in that.”

I hope this encourages you to set aside your plans while you listen to God today.

Kevin Murray
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