Be Still

In January 2025, I bought a keychain from The Crowning Jewels' Heavenly Inspired collection.

This particular collection is unique in that whatever you buy from it is prayed over, and you receive a personalized prophetic word/theme.

So when I bought the keychain, I had no idea what would be on it, but I was in a very challenging place in my life and desperately needed to hear from God.

Those closest to me had already been speaking into my life and my situation, encouraging me to relax, stop striving, and trust God.

If you know me, that’s pretty much asking me to lasso the moon.

If you don’t know me, it means I’m a planner, a researcher. I have a contingency plan for the contingency plan. And it’s not so much about being in control as much as it's about I don’t like surprises; I don’t like being unprepared.

Because I’m old enough to have learned that hasty decisions or speaking without thinking will get me in some nasty spots. So, in an effort to remedy my faults, I’ve shifted towards overanalyzing in an attempt to present myself well.

With life lifing and tossing me about like a rag doll, to hear someone say, "Relax, trust God, don’t strive so much," was all but infuriating.

“These people know me too well,” I thought.

“They’re letting their personal opinions cloud their advice,” I told myself.

So I ordered the keychain, believing God for not just a divine word, but one that was clear.

I’ll never forget when the package was delivered.

I was working from home that day, got the email confirmation that it was delivered, and raced to the mailbox.

“I wonder what my word is?” The thought had crossed my mind less than 100 times since I’d ordered the keychain

As I tore open the box, the keychain still hidden, a thought struck me: "I bet it says, be still."

I laughed, actually laughed out loud to myself.

I laughed even harder when those exact two words were as bold as daylight on my little canvas keychain.

Whoever had prayed over me and my little keychain at The Crowning Jewels heard from God. Clearly.

Through tears and ironic laughter, I read the personalized prayer on the inserted card.

The affirmations on the opposite side of the card were equally moving and applicable to my life.

God was speaking to me, and my friends hadn’t missed it, nor had the staff at The Crowning Jewels.

Most of that last 18 months has been spent learning what it means to be still.

As a person who likes to actively check off boxes and achieve goals, this is very hard for me. But God has allowed me the grace and space to learn and walk out what faith and trust in Him really looks like.

And honestly, I think I discovered the secret to having faith.

Having faith isn't solely a choice; it's a response to realizing the heart of God is for you.

Once you grasp how much God loves you, faith will follow.

If you really know the depth of His love, if you can comprehend how God's desire to know you is all He wants, if you can understand that you are enough for God, how can you not have faith in a God like that?

Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God, but it is incomplete without the revelation of God's love, which is the key message of the Bible.

We're meant to grasp that God loves us so much that He sacrificed His Son so that we could have everlasting life with Him.

John 3:16 (NIV)

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

In John 3:16, the Greek word for love is agapao, which means to prefer.

Simply put, faith is the outcome of the revelation of God's love for you.

So when you're struggling to have faith, when you're struggling to stand one more day, when it doesn't make sense, when it looks like it's all falling apart, pause and refocus on the fact that you are loved, you are enough, you are what God desires most, and He prefers you.

No matter what, that's what you hold on to.

The Greek word for God in John 3:16 is Theos, and it consistently identifies a Divine being who is personal, covenant-keeping, sovereign, righteous, loving, and magisterial. Ultimately, He owns and sustains all things because He created all things.

This theme of God’s character is further reflected in the Psalms and Exodus.

Psalm 46:10 (NIV)

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.

The Hebrew word for God in this verse is Elohim, and it means Creator, Covenant-Keeper, Judge, and Redeemer.

Exodus 14:14 (NIV)

“The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

Exodus 15:3

“The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name.”

The Hebrew word for LORD in both verses is Yhvh, which describes God as the sovereign God who creates, redeems, and judges.

The command to be still isn’t just a suggestion from anyone; it’s spoken by the Creator, Covenant-Keeper, Judge, Redeemer, and Sovereign God who claims me as His own.

It isn’t a demand for control; it’s a gentle invitation spoken in love. My Warrior God speaks with unmatched strength and unwavering love, reminding me that He truly has everything under control.

And my job isn’t to fight; it’s to have great faith, rooted in the deep revelation of His passionate love for me.

My Warrior God will not let me fail (Deuteronomy 31:6).

He will work all things for my good (Romans 8:28).

He will keep His promises (Hebrews 10:23).

He will redeem me (Isaiah 43:1).

He will fight for me (2 Chronicles 20:15-17).

I just need to…be still.

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