Monday
07-06-2026
By: Brenda
“Stillness and Surrender”
Mary & Martha:
The tension we all live in..
Every morning, before my feet even touch the floor, my mind is already running.
Tasks. Responsibilities. Plans…
“Bible study—wait, dishes.”
“Prayer—wait, laundry.”
“Quiet time—wait, everything else.”
It feels like Martha’s heartbeat is inside my chest- busy, responsible, overwhelmed, trying to keep up with my own thoughts.
And yet, I hear God whispering the same invitation He gave long ago… an invitation Mary understood instantly.
Martha- was busy, distracted, pulled in every direction, and trying to manage everything at once.
Mary- was still, present, surrendered, sitting at Jesus’ feet because nothing else mattered in that moment.
Both of them loved Jesus. Both of them served Him. But only one of them stopped long enough to receive from Him.
I ask God,
“Father, please show me how to slow down.”
And I already know His answer:
Psalm 46:10
“Be still and know that I am God.”
The Hebrew word for “be still” is raphah- and it means to let go, relax, cease striving.
It is not passive. It is not inactivity.
It is surrender.
It is God saying:
“Release your grip.
Stop trying to control everything.
Let Me be God.”
Throughout Scripture, God’s people are told to:
Be still, Sit still, Stand still.
Not because stillness is easy but because stillness is where God speaks.
Here are three pictures of “Stillness”
Mary- “Be still.”
Mary chose presence over productivity.
Ruth- “Sit still.”
Ruth trusted God with her future when she could do nothing to change it.
Israel- “Stand still.”
The Israelites faced an impossible sea and an approaching army, yet God said,
“Watch what I will do.”
Today, I choose to be like them.
I read a poem this morning as I put this study together and it fit so perfectly.
“With thoughtless and impatient hands,
We tangle up the plans the LORD has wrought. And when we cry in pain, God saith, ‘Be quiet child, while I untie the knot.’”
I can hear Him saying this to me.
It makes me smile.
God loves us enough to untangle what we have tangled. God loves us enough to slow us down when we will not slow ourselves.
Today, I will let go.
Today, I will stop trying to control everything around me.
Today, I will find time to be still and know that He is God.
Oh, how God loves us ❤️
Dear Father in heaven,
Today I come to You with open hands and a quieted heart.
I confess how easily I rush, how quickly I fill my mind with tasks instead of Truth, and how often I choose motion over communion.
Father teach each of us to be like Mary- still at Your feet.
Teach each of us to be like Ruth- resting in trust.
Teach each of us to be like Israel- standing firm while You fight for us.
Untie every knot we have made with our hurried hands.
Loosen every fear, every burden, every anxious thought.
Help us release control and surrender to Your perfect sovereignty.
Let Your peace settle over each of us like a gentle covering, and let Your presence be the place our soul returns to again and again.
Today, may we choose stillness.
Today, may we choose trust.
Today, may we choose You.
In Your Son’s precious name, Amen.
Have a blessed day
God loves you ❤️
and so do I ❤️