Sit With It

READ

Like many people in the modern world, I struggle to sit with discomfort. I often go to extreme lengths to avoid the unease that comes with slowing down and paying attention to what is truly happening in my heart. In silence, distressing thoughts and difficult emotions often rise to the surface—and in response, I rush to numb or distract myself. 

Yet God often speaks most clearly in moments of stillness and quiet attentiveness. 

When we learn to sit with our thoughts and emotions—even the ones that seem painful or meaningless—we gain deeper insight not only into ourselves, but into the very heart of God. When we choose to remain still in the midst of profound anxiety, grief, devastation, or unease, we encounter a God who is greater than all our distress. 

Let’s take a moment to read Psalm 46:10: 

Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.

REFLECT

Psalm 46 was written during a time when Israel faced an overwhelming military threat. God’s people were surrounded by enemy nations devoted to their destruction. Their natural impulse was to take up arms and fight—to defend their homeland and protect God’s holy temple. 

Yet in the midst of their fear, God called them to do something that seemed entirely nonsensical: He commanded them to be still.

Rather than engaging with their enemies and contributing to the world’s endless cycle of violence, God called His people to rest and release the battle into His hands. 

In many ways, God asks us to do something similar with our difficult emotions. 

We often approach anxiety, grief, shame, or fear the same way Israel approached its enemies: as threats that must be conquered, suppressed, or escaped. We assume that if we slow down long enough to face our emotions, they will overwhelm us. So, instead of sitting with our emotions, we fight them, flee from them, or deny their existence. 

Yet the same God who is sovereign over warring nations is sovereign over our difficult thoughts and emotions. If we dare to slow down and reckon with the feelings that seem most threatening, we discover that they are not nearly as dangerous as they once appeared. 

Our emotions are not enemies. Rather, they are gifts through which God reveals the condition of our hearts and draws us toward deeper healing and dependence on Him. Our emotions, though often overwhelming, are not intended to hurt or harm us. God, in His grace, uses them as teachers and guides.

When we stop resisting our emotions and begin bringing them honestly before God, we open ourselves to greater wisdom, deeper self-awareness, and a more intimate understanding of who our Heavenly Father is. 

So stop fighting your feelings. Sit with them, knowing that God is with You in the discomfort. Allow the distress to come and go. Trust that the unease will lead you into greater intimacy and dependence on God, who is sovereign over all your distress. 

RESPOND

Take a moment to process what God might be leading you to do in light of what you read. 

• Do you struggle to sit with discomfort? Why or why not? 

• What might it look like, practically, to “be still” with your difficult thoughts and feelings this week? 

• How might remembering God’s sovereignty and goodness change the way you approach your internal battles?

REST

Take a moment to rest in God’s presence and consider one thing you can take away from your time reading, then close your devotional experience by praying: 

God over all my discomfort and distress — thank You for inviting me to be still. I can have rest, because You are victorious over every threat that comes against me, whether they are real or perceived! Lord, In Your grace, help me to slow down and confront the storms raging inside me. Give me courage to face the emotions I’d rather hide from, suppress, or fight against. Help me to be still with my thoughts and feelings, trusting that You are sovereign over them. You are sovereign over all things! Abba, let me trust in Your love and in Your desire to teach me, guide me, and grow me through my discomfort. Give me discipline and courage to be still, to allow my distress to make me more dependent on You and aware of Your loving character. Amen.

Port City writer Kate Redenbaugh wrote today’s devotional.