DEVOTION:
Psalm 46:10
"Be still, and know that I am God."
TOUGHTS
There is a place I find myself returning to every year. It isn't a mountain with breathtaking views or a lake bustling with activity. It's simply a bog, tucked away in the quiet of Maine. This photograph was taken there this past June. For reasons I can't fully explain, I love this place. Perhaps it is the calmness. Perhaps it is the stillness. Perhaps it is the silence that seems almost sacred or the expectation of seeing a moose. Whatever it is, I find myself going out of my way just to spend a few moments there. There is something about that quiet water that slows my heart and settles my soul. As I stood there again this year, the presence and peace of God were real.
The water was so still it reflected the sky. The trees, though long dead, were still standing. Around them, new life quietly flourished. Lily pads stretched across the water's surface, frogs galore, grasses pushed upward from tiny islands, birds moved unnoticed, and beneath it all, life continued unseen. What first appears to be a place of decay is, in reality, overflowing with life. It reminded me that our lives often pass through seasons that feel much like this bog. We may not feel as though anything exciting is happening. We aren't standing on life's mountaintops. We aren't celebrating great victories. Instead, life feels quiet... perhaps even unnoticed.
Yet hidden does not mean forgotten.
God often accomplishes His deepest work in the quiet places. While the world celebrates noise, speed, and constant activity, the Lord frequently chooses stillness to shape our hearts. It is in those moments that we begin hearing His voice more clearly than the voices demanding our attention. Perhaps that is why the psalmist wrote, "Be still, and know that I am God." Stillness is not wasted time. It is an invitation to trust the One who never stops working, even when we cannot see what He is doing beneath the surface.
As I left the bog that afternoon, I realized it was more than a peaceful place to visit. It had become a quiet reminder of God's presence. The same God who brings life to hidden places is faithfully at work within us, even during seasons that seem dead, uneventful, or unnoticed. Maybe that's why I keep going back. Not simply because the bog is beautiful, but because every visit gently reminds me that sometimes the holiest places are not the loudest ones. Sometimes they are simply the quiet places where our souls become still enough to recognize that God has been there all along.
DEVOTION:
Psalm 46:10
"Be still, and know that I am God."
TOUGHTS
There is a place I find myself returning to every year. It isn't a mountain with breathtaking views or a lake bustling with activity. It's simply a bog, tucked away in the quiet of Maine. This photograph was taken there this past June. For reasons I can't fully explain, I love this place. Perhaps it is the calmness. Perhaps it is the stillness. Perhaps it is the silence that seems almost sacred or the expectation of seeing a moose. Whatever it is, I find myself going out of my way just to spend a few moments there. There is something about that quiet water that slows my heart and settles my soul. As I stood there again this year, the presence and peace of God were real.
The water was so still it reflected the sky. The trees, though long dead, were still standing. Around them, new life quietly flourished. Lily pads stretched across the water's surface, frogs galore, grasses pushed upward from tiny islands, birds moved unnoticed, and beneath it all, life continued unseen. What first appears to be a place of decay is, in reality, overflowing with life. It reminded me that our lives often pass through seasons that feel much like this bog. We may not feel as though anything exciting is happening. We aren't standing on life's mountaintops. We aren't celebrating great victories. Instead, life feels quiet... perhaps even unnoticed.
Yet hidden does not mean forgotten.
God often accomplishes His deepest work in the quiet places. While the world celebrates noise, speed, and constant activity, the Lord frequently chooses stillness to shape our hearts. It is in those moments that we begin hearing His voice more clearly than the voices demanding our attention. Perhaps that is why the psalmist wrote, "Be still, and know that I am God." Stillness is not wasted time. It is an invitation to trust the One who never stops working, even when we cannot see what He is doing beneath the surface.
As I left the bog that afternoon, I realized it was more than a peaceful place to visit. It had become a quiet reminder of God's presence. The same God who brings life to hidden places is faithfully at work within us, even during seasons that seem dead, uneventful, or unnoticed. Maybe that's why I keep going back. Not simply because the bog is beautiful, but because every visit gently reminds me that sometimes the holiest places are not the loudest ones. Sometimes they are simply the quiet places where our souls become still enough to recognize that God has been there all along.