10 “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalm 46:10)

Cease striving. That is a big ask God. Many of us (most?) seem to be wired for the opposite, ceaseless striving. We are driven to have a better family, better job, better stuff and we want it all NOW!

But God is calling us to pause, take a moment, do not feel like every second of every day needs to be filled with something.

When was the last time you just stopped, sat down, and just stared out a window? Letting your mind wander, or better yet, praying softly without expectation. Just sitting with yourself and God.

Yea, far too often it is the sitting with our selves that makes us uncomfortable. This is because many of us, at our core, do not like what we see or what we feel. We are carrying all this baggage and self loathing. We are not comfortable in our own skin enough to just be alone with ourselves. In fact, we may not even like our own company.

It has taken a long time, but I am pretty comfortable with myself. It was not always that way and it took a lot of self-reflection to get where I am. Do I like all of what I see? No. But I am working on it and I try to give myself some grace while I am.

It can be hard to expect God to love us when we are struggling to love ourselves.