An Introduction to Be Still & Know: An eBook Devotional Inviting You to Seek Still Moments in God’s Presence this Advent Season
Listen to Today’s Post Here:
Welcome, friend!
Today’s blog post is going to be a bit different than most, as I’ve decided to share with you the introduction to my new Advent eBook devotional, Be Still & Know: Seeking Still Moments in God’s Presence this Advent Season. The eBook is going to be available for purchase and download on November 1st, 2022 (that’s TODAY, woo hoo!), only on my Etsy shop, The Beholding Co.
I realize that we’re weeks out from Advent, but I wanted to give you plenty of time to grab your copy before the hustle and bustle of the Thanksgiving and Christmas season fully sets in.
I pray that in reading the introduction to my Advent devotional, you’ll catch glimpses of my heart and my reason ‘why‘ for creating this eBook. I know that sometimes it can be helpful to get a taste of a book before you purchase.
So, if you have a deep, holy desire to be hushed by the Spirit of God as you seek to behold more of Him this Christmas season, then I believe this Advent eBook devotional is for you.
It blesses me so much to have you here, and I pray these words today would be a blessing to you. And I pray most of all that as Advent slowly approaches, you would be able to slow down, seek still moments, and behold more of God’s presence with you amidst the typical chaos of the Christmas season.
Now, with all of that being said, let’s jump into the introduction of Be Still & Know.
An Introduction to Be Still & Know
Advent, derived from the Latin word Adventus, means to come.
It signifies ‘the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event’. It typically begins on November 28th and continues until the eve of Christ’s birth on December 24th. What a happy mystery it is that Advent – a period of time that’s supposed to be marked by the anticipation and celebration of Christ’s coming – falls right smack dab in the middle of a season glazed over with chaos, rushing, and the worshiping and coveting of material things.
Our society has tricked us into believing that the magic of Christmas comes solely from twinkling lights, cups of hot cocoa, and perfectly wrapped presents under a tree. And, yes, those things are quite magical and meant to be enjoyed wholeheartedly in the company of those we love most. But I wonder what would happen if we chose to take notice of Immanuel – God With Us – in the midst of our fun Christmas traditions and activities.
What would happen if we chose to behold more of Christ this Advent season instead of rushing right past Him? What if, in this slow way of paying attention to the presence of Jesus with us this December, we discovered that the true magic of Christmas continues on long after the lights are put away, the empty cups of cocoa are washed and put back in the cabinet, and the material things we so longed for lose their novelty?
It’s in the quiet, still moments of every day that Christ’s presence dwells. And in the midst of the crazy, chaotic Christmas season, His presence longs to be noticed in the same way He is always noticing us. Seeking out stillness this Christmas season is essential if we are going to be a people who not only acknowledge the miracle of Christ’s birth but experience it to the fullest. Jesus came down, wrapped in cloth and lying in a dirty manger, to encounter His people and to dwell amongst His Beloved.
I don’t think anyone understands the chaos of Christmas more than Mary, the mother of Jesus. While we don’t know for certain, scholars and historians say that Mary would’ve been between the ages of 12 and 16 when she gave birth to Jesus.
A young, unwed girl is greeted by an angel in the comfort of her own home in the little town of Nazareth. The angel Gabriel’s proclamation, meant to be the greatest honor in all of history, surely must’ve stirred up feelings of angst, uncertainty, and outright fear at the mention of conceiving and growing the very body of Christ.
Even as Mary willingly obeyed out of reverence for her God, her pregnancy would’ve been less than ideal. At that time in history, King Herod – out of fear and jealousy – was on the hunt for the one that was prophesied to be known as ‘The King of the Jews’. And when Mary and her new husband, Joseph, came to a little town in Bethlehem where it was time to finally bring the Messiah into the world, there wasn’t any room in the inn.
She was forced to deliver Jesus in a manger – a barn – amongst stables filled with farm animals with nothing but what I imagine to be straw and a dusty, dirty ground to lie down on. The coming of Jesus doesn’t fit our comfortable, seemingly perfect ideals of what it might’ve looked like to bring the Messiah into this world. Pandemonium, extreme discomfort, and disarray surrounded what would’ve been, singlehandedly, the most life-changing event in Mary’s life. In all of our lives.
But even as Jesus laid in that manger, Mary, with a tired, relieved smile gazing at the miracle of God in human form, chose to seek a still, quiet moment. Luke 2:19 tells us that Mary “treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart” (emphasis added). The Message version describes Mary’s actions as “keeping all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself.”
This is the still way, the way of beholding Christ amidst chaos, even the chaos of Christmas; slowing down long enough to ponder and hold deep within the miracle of God with us. As we choose to seek still moments in God’s presence despite our circumstances, we experience the fullness of Christ. Dead, dusty things come alive again and new things grow where the old has been uprooted. Lives are changed and broken hearts are healed and made whole again.
Love came down in the form of Jesus and Love invites each of us to “taste and see that He is good” (Psalm 34:8). But in order to taste the tangible presence of God, we must first learn how to slow down and notice Him with us. Stillness doesn’t just invite us into moments of silence, although that is part of it. Stillness is a slow, unhurried, surrendered way of living that rests totally in the sovereignty of Christ.
Psalm 46:10 calls us to be still and know that God is God, and we are not. It’s a beckoning, an invitation, from Christ to let go and let God. It’s an invitation to lay down our burdens and worries at His feet and receive the gift of His love-wrapped peace.
That’s what the next 25 days are going to invite us to do. They’re going to invite us to seek out still, quiet moments in God’s presence wherever we are and in whatever we are doing by resting in the truth of Who God is and Who we are in Him. When we understand the depth of God’s heart and intentionally choose to seek still moments, we are better equipped to behold His ever-present presence in our lives.
Each day of this devotional is going to begin with an invitation into silence and stillness with the Lord before moving onto your Scripture reading and devotional reading. The day will then close with a prayer and a reflection question for you to ponder, pray, or journal about with the Holy Spirit.
Advent is beckoning you to be held by the very thing you are seeking to behold; Christ.
Advent is inviting you to be still and know.
xo,
Download Your Copy Today
If these words today stirred something deep inside you to be still in God’s presence this Advent season, then grab your copy of Be Still & Know TODAY over on my Etsy shop, The Beholding Co.
