Chosen Grace

Happy New Year Saints! I pray 2020 is a year full of blessings and abundance for you. And to kick off the new year, I’d like to tell you of something that happened in 2019 that really changed my perspective on everything.

For the past forty days, I intentionally took a break from social media. And today is the first day I’ve been back on it.

I wanted to take a break from social media because I felt I needed one. And when I first began my forty-day social media break, I didn’t expect it to last that long. But, because the number forty symbolizes completion in the Bible, I knew that it was the right move for me.

The last time I wrote to you guys, I talked about focusing on God, and how when we focus on our circumstances we lose sight of Him.

So, in the forty days that I spent away from social media, I truly and purposefully focused my time and energy on God. And when I tell you it was worth it- it was. God began to speak more clearly and I began to listen.

God revealed a lot to me at that time, but he told me one important thing that I will carry with me into the new year: be still. Those two words changed my perspective on how I am to function in 2020.

You see, be still comes from Psalm 46:10:

“Be still, and know that I am God.” 

The psalmist knew that God is Yahweh. With that understanding, he also knew that being still was important when you walk with Him.  And the same way the psalmist knew, I began to see how important being still is when walking with God.

Being still means to not fret and worry, but to truly understand that God has it all worked out.

Being still encompasses one important thing: truly trusting God. Because if you don’t trust Him, you have no faith. And a person with no faith can not please God (Hebrews 11:6).

Forty days away from social media taught me to trust in God for each day. It taught me that as long as I trust God daily everything else is gonna be alright. It taught me that each day was uniquely crafted by God to honor Him.

In this new year, I’m choosing to be still and allow God to order my steps (Psalm 119:133) That means I’m not gonna rush, push, or pull anything that doesn’t need to be. I’m completely trusting God for this year. I have surrendered it unto Him.

I choose to wait with expectancy in this new year and allow God to have his way in my life.

I’m choosing to be still each day because each day is sufficient for its own troubles (Matthew 6: 34).

I don’t know what God has in store for me this year, but I do know each day I wake up is filled with his grace. And that’s good enough for me.

As this post comes to a close, I’ll leave you with this: as I neared the forty-day mark, I was reminded of Matthew 4. That’s where Jesus was tempted by Satan after his own forty days of fasting.

When God led me there, I kinda grew nervous. Nervous because I didn’t want to be tempted after coming out of my social media break.

But, if my Savior can endure temptation, so can I. This year won’t be immune to temptations. There will be trials and tribulations. But just as Jesus was strengthened after his forty days in the wilderness, so was I. And so I will continue to be.

I’ll leave you with this: this new year is gonna be filled with ups and downs. But I know that I must trust in God. I must be still and know that God is God.

With Love and Being Still,

Malaysia.