Devotions From City HarborShembull

I try so hard to keep it in when I’m falling apart… but I’m tired ‘cause I know that I’m not strong enough.

It’s not in our nature to give up control. In fact, we tend to hold tight to every little thing we can. Our Christian life is certainly no exception to the rule.

We have this invitation to die to ourselves, to leave everything behind. It’s a call to total abandonment. Yet, somehow we turn it into something else to figure out. We turn sanctification into some sort of competitive challenge. We pour all this energy into having the right sort of quiet time, going to the right worship services, involving ourselves in the right organizations…the list goes on.

In this way, we make Christianity an idol. We make it about achievement instead of relationship. We make it about doing things instead of being with people. Most importantly, we make it about knowing things instead of knowing God.

But that’s not the heart of God we see revealed in scripture.

“Be still, and know that I am God” - Psalm 46:10

We have a Heavenly Father who has created us that He might enjoy relationship with us. He is glorified simply by us walking in harmony with Him. It’s the simplest thing in the world. But it may also be the most difficult.

Because that means letting go of the reigns, not trying so much. Perhaps most alarmingly, it means it’s not about us at all.

The truth is we can give everything we have, and we will still be unsatisfied. We can spend hours in prayer and study and still be wracked with anxiety. No amount of striving or perfecting will ever give us genuine friendship with God. And that, of course, is what we’re designed for.

I think God is most concerned with us just being with Him. He wants us to know the sound of His voice, to recognize His touch. That means we can let go, stop taking everything so seriously, and just rest with Him.