I wrote this post about slowing down. Then I asked AI to help me do it faster.
If that does not sum up the tension most of us are living in right now, I do not know what does.
We talk about stillness, pin quotes about rest. We nod along when someone says we need to unplug. And then we pick up our phones before our feet hit the floor in the morning, fill every quiet moment with noise, and reach for the next tool that promises to help us do more in less time.
I am not pointing fingers. I am looking in the mirror.
What Are We Really Reaching For?
Here is the question I have been sitting with lately. When I reach for a screen, a shortcut, a distraction, what am I actually reaching for?
Sometimes it is efficiency. And that is fine. Tools are not the enemy. We use them, and that is okay.
But sometimes, if I am honest, I am reaching for noise because the quiet feels like too much. Because sitting still means sitting with something I have not fully dealt with yet. Because presence requires something of me that busyness lets me avoid.
The Still Small Voice
In 1 Kings 19, the prophet Elijah was exhausted, overwhelmed, and hiding in a cave. God did not show up in the wind. Not in the earthquake. Not in the fire.
He showed up in the still small voice.
That phrase has stayed with me. Still. Small. Voice.
Not a notification, a headline or a highlight reel. A whisper that requires us to be quiet enough to actually hear it.
And I wonder sometimes how many still small voices we are scrolling right past.
Tools or Crutches?
I want to be clear about something. This is not a post about technology being bad. I use it every day. It helps me work, connect, create, and serve the people I care about. There is nothing inherently wrong with that.
The question I keep coming back to is a matter of the heart.
Is this tool serving my calling, or replacing the part of me that is supposed to show up?
Am I using it to do good work more effectively, or am I using it to avoid the slower, quieter work that only happens when I put everything down and just be?
There is a difference between a tool and a crutch. And only we know, in our most honest moments, which one we are holding.
The Discipline of Putting It Down
Stillness is not passive. It is one of the most countercultural, disciplined, intentional things we can choose in a world that rewards constant motion.
It means choosing the slower path sometimes. The handwritten note instead of the quick text. The walk without earbuds. The morning that begins with Scripture before it begins with a screen. The prayer that is not rushed because something else is waiting.
It means trusting that what grows in the quiet is worth more than what we produce in the noise.
And it means being honest with ourselves when we are reaching for distraction and calling it productivity.
Lord, forgive us for the quiet we keep filling. For the stillness we keep scrolling past. For the moments You were speaking and we were not listening because we were too busy doing.
Teach us to put it down. Not perfectly, not all at once, but faithfully and with intention. Remind us that You are not found in the noise. Help us to be still enough, brave enough, and quiet enough to hear You when You whisper.
And when we reach for the wrong thing, gently turn our hands back toward You.
Amen
Lastly, I wanted to share two morning devotionals that have genuinely anchored my own quiet time and helped me choose presence over noise. These are resources I use and love personally. Please note that the links below are affiliate links, which means I may receive a small fee if you purchase through them at no additional cost to you. I only share what I truly believe in, and these are no exception.
Jesus Calling, Small Brown Leathersoft, with Scripture References: Enjoying Peace in His Presence (A 365-Day Devotional)
The Divine Romance: 365 Days Meditating on the Song of Songs (The Passion Translation, Imitation Leather) – A Heartfelt Translation of the Song of Songs