(Read Psalm 46)
As you read this, it is two days before the start of June. The year is nearly half over. I had pledged to my family late last summer that I would write my last weekly devotional in October and focus my time on assembling them into a book containing 365 of them to be available to the public. My new intention was to have more quality time with family, painting (not the house-and-trim kind), sitting by the lake, and writing — especially a different book I began about 30 years ago.
Family, friends, and regular subscribers already know I’m still writing devotionals, and no devotional book is available yet. That all changes now. It will be a difficult shut-off valve, as all are, but God has opened another door and has His foot on my butt to go in. In a true sense of transparency, most of my devotionals are conceived during the week of publication and then “penned” the day before they are published on the Transformation Bible Ministries website. My beautiful and not always patient wife does the cleanup and edits them on Friday nights. On the negative side, this hasty schedule added stress and intensity to my life. It also pushed my client’s work to the following Monday.
Writing these devotionals has been a labor of love. David Silver, the TBM President, entrusted this opportunity to me almost 8 years ago. This experience has taught me more about my relationship with Christ, God’s Word, and the faith and lives of others than I would have gained through anything else I could have imagined. Eight years of daily sermons wouldn’t have provided the riches I’ve encountered. More recently, I’ve learned that I need to be honest with God, honest with my family, and honest with myself.
Literally running on empty a few weeks ago, after yet another very late work night, I was preparing for my morning run. Aside from the boost I get from quiet time in the Bible, running is the only other way I get energized enough to plan and prioritize my days. I was in brain fog, oblivious to my watch’s battery status, so imagine my surprise when I heard the dead-battery chime just half a mile in. Looking down, I saw a useless piece of black plastic around my wrist. The face was blank. It was a stark reminder to me to eliminate the hurry. Lose distractions. Throw away what isn’t real. Pay attention to what is.
“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
Psalm 46:10–11
Halfway through the run, I saw one of our church Pastors walking his dog. I asked him what the verse for the day was. His eyes remained trained on me, and with no hesitation, he said, “Be still, and know that I am God.” That was perfect — perfect, of course, because God said it. But perfect for me, because I needed it — on that day, at that time. And that’s how God’s plans work in our lives.
We put this verse on coffee mugs and journals and treat it like a gentle invitation to slow down and have a quiet moment with God. But am I missing God’s real intention?
This is not a soft suggestion to take a breath. This is a sovereign command — and it carries the same weight as Mark 4:39, when Jesus turned to a raging storm and said, “Quiet! Be still!” He wasn’t just calming the weather. He was declaring something over the chaos: I am God. All of this is under my authority. When Psalm 46 tells us to “be still,” the original Hebrew has an aggressive edge that most translations smooth right over. The NET translation says “stop your striving,” the NASB reads “cease striving” — the literal roots of the word meaning “to be unoccupied” or “to stand empty.” This is an order to stop spinning the hamster wheel and let go of the control we’ve been clinging to.
God is telling us to stop trying to fix things, force things, and manage outcomes on our own. The hard truth is that you can’t truly recognize who is in charge until you lay your weapons down and stand empty before Him.
In being still before Him, I had to acknowledge a promise I’d made and not kept. Praying about this experience has put me squarely in the crosshairs of another of God’s directives. My Dad taught me that my word should be trustworthy on its own, without needing an oath to back it up. That said, Ecclesiastes 5:2–5 warns us against making rash vows to God and then not following through. “It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it.” In my flawed view of reality, I tend to over-promise and under-deliver out of fear of conflict, disappointment, or scrutiny. I sometimes say “yes” when “no” is the better answer, and “no” doesn’t come easily when “yes” flows out of my mouth.
“Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.”
Matthew 5:37
In this passage, Jesus was countering Israel’s religious leaders and their shallow interpretation of Old Testament law. In that era, people swore oaths on “heaven and earth,” or even on their own lives, rather than swearing directly to the Lord — a loophole that let them sidestep the full consequences of breaking a promise. Jesus’ big point highlighted the need for integrity in our words. When we promise with an oath, we’re actually undermining our own personal integrity and honesty. The oath itself signals that your ordinary word can’t be trusted. For the Christian, a simple yes or no should be sufficient — they are to be trusted even without an oath.
All this to say, I’m figuratively looking in the mirror as I write this. I promised my family one thing, but in my reversal, I let them down. I turned my word, reputation, and character into something fickle. God wasn’t surprised — He knew. He also put the seeds of this week’s devotional in my head. God has something else in store for me, that’s not necessarily better or bigger, just different.
I’ll be on sabbatical from writing the devotions. Working with the ministry and some guest authors, my daughter will be adding new devotionals to fill your Saturday inboxes. Transformation Bible Ministries is undergoing some huge, wonderful changes — look for them in the coming weeks and months, and stay tuned for news about the book launch, targeted for July or August. I highly encourage you to keep reading, visit the website: https://transformationbibleministries.org, and donate if God is calling you.
Thank you for your love and support all these years. Let Christ be the guide you follow, not your conscience out of convenience or fear or duty. Be the one God made you to be.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
Philippians 4:6