DEVOTION: Be Still.

By Leila Halawe

“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” Psalm 46:10

Have you ever found yourself frantically rushing around trying to get yourself organised when your ears prick up and you think you can hear someone calling you? You slow your movements down, eventually coming to a complete stop and try to listen as hard as you can. I was in this very situation last night as I went to meet a friend of mine for dinner. She told me to park my car in the parking garage under her unit block and told me she would meet me downstairs at the elevator and walk me up. After parking my car, as I started making my way to the lift, I thought I could hear my name being called. I kept walking, but again, I heard this little voice calling my name, so I eventually stopped walking and just stood where I was, looking around to work out if there really was someone calling me. As I stood there for a few seconds, the voice got louder and I realised that it was my friend walking through the garage, calling out my name trying to work out where I was. As it turned out, she was waiting for me at the lift and when I didn't get there as soon as I should have, she realised that I was heading towards the wrong lift and went looking for me. 

My walk with God feels like that sometimes. When I find myself a little disconnected from God, or find myself feeling a little independent, I start making my own plans and walking them out. And without fail, I start to hear my name being called in some way, shape or form. It generally isn't an audible voice, more of a stirring, or a restlessness within that something isn't right that makes me slow down a little to work out what it is and where it's coming from. It eventually brings me to a complete standstill and when I finally stop, I start to hear the gentle whisper of God. 

We read in Proverbs 16:9 that a 'man's heart makes his way, but the Lord directs his steps.' Isn't that typical of us? I don't know about you, but there have been many times, too many to count, where God has had to step in and redirect my steps to align with His plans and purposes. There has been many a time when I haven't stopped long enough to listen to God's gentle whisper telling me which way I should go, instead barrelling on ahead and hitting multiple roadblocks along the way. We can often think that we know what's best, or what we need, but the truth is that we don't know best. 

Because only God knows best. 

God knows what we need. 

God knows when we need it.

God knows how He will provide it.

We can often forget that God created us and already knows the future. He has the victory already, which means that we have the victory through Jesus, so following His lead is the wisest thing to do. We just need to stop and be still. 

Seek His face.

Seek His heart. 

Seek His voice. 

When we put our faith and trust in Him, we won't be let down. In fact, when we put our trust in Him, we can be sure that we will be guided down the right road. That doesn't mean that the path He leads us on will be painless, or trouble free, or full of constant joy and happiness. No, we will all face those things, sometimes more than once and sometimes for long seasons, but when we walk the path He sets us for us, we can be guaranteed that He will go before us and sustain us. We can go the extra mile knowing that He will be there to lift us up. Knowing he will provide for us. Knowing he will be our comfort when the road is too hard to walk.

We just need to be still and know that He is God. Not was, not will be, IS. No matter what, He is God. 

As we go about our day today, can I challenge us to stop and be still before Him, if only for 5 minutes. Sit at His feet and exalt Him. Praise Him. Worship Him. And let Him be everything He promised you he will be. 

Leila (Lays) Halawe is a Sydney based coffee loving nonfiction writer and blogger. She has published a short devotional, Love By Devotion, and shares her views on life and faith via her blog page Looking In . You can connect with her via Facebook at Leila Halawe Author  and via Twitter at Leila Halawe.

Where to from here? - Jo-Anne Berthelsen

I wonder how you feel as you look back over this past year. Have you managed to achieve those goals you might have set for yourself at the beginning of 2014? And how do you feel as you look towards 2015? For those of you out there who are writers, are there more book ideas and plots already beginning to take shape in your imagination?

This past year was a strange writing year for me. It was the first year since 2007 that I did not have another new book released. I began my journey of being published with my second book almost complete before the first was released, so, over these past seven years, I have had the luxury of always having something else ready ahead of time for my publisher to consider. This year, however, things caught up with me at last.

On top of that, I began the year in hospital, having a back operation, and also injured my ankle a few months later. Yet, by God’s grace, I still managed to fulfil around twenty-seven speaking engagements and book promotion events. We acquired a beautiful new granddaughter as well and now spend many hours minding said granddaughter, plus our three other beautiful grandchildren. In the midst of all this, I nevertheless managed to complete my second memoir and plan to submit it to my publisher after Christmas.

Next year, I hope to start writing another novel. I have three or four different ideas outlined on my computer—which one should I choose? Should it be the one inspired by memories of my artist grandmother and set in Queensland, my home state? Should I explore what happened to Grace, the child of the two main characters in my last novel, The Inheritance? Should I pursue the idea of writing a novel about a Turkish girl, set both here in Australia and in Turkey, a country I have visited several times and where I have had many adventures with a friend who lives there? Or should I go with a novel already begun, entitled Maddie, a story inspired purely by a photo that captured my imagination during a wonderful creative writing course I undertook several years ago?

As I think about each of these ideas, I feel excited about the possibilities. But, since this will be my ninth book, I well know the challenges I am likely to encounter. Am I ready to commit so much time and effort to another novel? More to the point, is it where God wants me to put my energies in the coming year? If it is not, then I am wasting my time. So, over the Christmas break, I plan to put time aside to pray and reflect and, as best I can, make sure this is the direction my writing should take. Then I can move forward with confidence, knowing that, even if I strike difficulties with this particular project, God is right there with me in the midst of it all.

As you look back over 2014, I hope you can see how God has strengthened and sustained you, however challenging your year might have been. And as you look towards 2015, may you know God’s clear guidance and enabling  in whatever projects you undertake, whether writing or otherwise.

Jo-Anne Berthelsen lives in Sydney but grew up in Brisbane. She holds degrees in Arts and Theology and has worked as a high school teacher, editor and secretary, as well as in local church ministry. Jo-Anne is passionate about touching hearts and lives through both the written and spoken word. She is the author of six published novels and one non-fiction work, Soul Friend: the story of a shared spiritual journey. Jo-Anne is married to a retired minister and has three grown-up children and four grandchildren. For more information, please visit www.jo-anneberthelsen.com.