All Is Calm: Receiving Jesus' Rest This Christmas Sample

Day Four: Seek His Stillness

Have you ever sensed the Holy Spirit prompting you to take a break from the holiday preparations and sit for a while in Jesus’ presence, only to brush it off and focus on the next task on your list? 

I know I have. 

We often push ourselves at breakneck speeds, waking early and staying up late, squeezing every daylight hour for all its worth. Then we’re so exhausted by our hustle, we can hardly savor the beauty of the season.

And sometimes, this busyness is really just a guise to hide deeper hurts. If only we can keep ourselves busy, we won’t have to acknowledge the crippling wounds we carry. We fear stillness, so we leave no task undone, even though heeding the tyranny of the urgent threatens to undo us. 

Yet the answer is not chucking our traditions out the window and becoming a Grinch. Instead, we must incorporate moments of stillness into the busyness so we can work from a place of wholeness and rest. The truth is that God’s salvation comes to us when we repent and rest, His strength when we’re quiet and trusting. 

This Christmas season, dare to be still, even if just for two minutes each day. Bring your to-do list to the Lord and lay it at His feet. Savor the beauty of His presence as you reflect on His names and allow Him to heal deep hurts.

Declare His Lordship over your life; express your desperate need for Him, and allow yourself to be still. Bask in His presence. 

He is Immanuel—God with us. He sees. He knows. He hears. Let Him quiet you with His love.  

Prayer: Quiet my heart with Your love, Lord. Speak Your peace over my life as You spoke stillness over the stormy waters. Bring healing and restoration to the pain in my heart from losing a loved one, enduring tragedy or trauma, from hopes dashed and dreams destroyed. You, the Resurrection and Life, breathe new life into these deadened parts of my soul. Spark new hope in me for the future. Teach me to be still and receive your life-giving presence. Amen.