I recently got a text the night before worship asking if I could step in and run lights—something I hadn’t been trained on and honestly didn’t feel ready for.
I hesitated. I knew I’d probably mess something up. I prayed on it … and then I said yes.
Turns out, someone else had already stepped in! I felt relief, but also a quiet nudge—like maybe the point wasn’t whether I was needed, but whether I was willing.
The next morning, I had about an hour of quiet—just coffee, silence, and time with Jesus. Nothing complicated. Just hanging with him. Then the day shifted.
At 8:00 am, my phone came off of Do Not Disturb. The person covering lights was needed somewhere else. Now they needed me ASAP. I showed up, got a crash course, and somehow made it through! Then, right after, I was asked to step into something else—helping host the online New Member Class. Again, not something for which I was prepared. No real plan. No extra energy. Just a lot of dependence on God in real time. And sure enough, he showed up, and everything went much better than I had expected!
That whole experience pulled me right into today’s Scripture. Jesus had just finished a full day of healing, teaching, and showing up for people. If anyone had earned a slower morning, it was him. But instead, “very early in the morning … Jesus got up, left the house, and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”
Before the crowds, the needs, and the noise, he chose solitude.
And then the disciples came looking for him: “Everyone is looking for you!” In other words: You’re needed, let’s go! But Jesus didn’t rush back. He didn’t react out of pressure. He said, “Let us go somewhere else … so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”
He moved with clarity, not urgency. That’s the difference. It’s easy to confuse being needed with being called. People will always need something. There will always be another ask, another opportunity, another place you could show up. But Jesus shows us a better rhythm:
Start with the Father.
Move with intention.
Follow calling over pressure.
Looking back, if I hadn’t had that quiet hour with God, I probably would’ve walked into that morning stressed, resistant, and running on empty. Instead, there was a steadiness to it. Not because I had it all together, but because I started in the right place with the right presence.
When you begin your day in God’s presence, the pressure to have it all handled starts to fade. You’re reminded that God’s got the whole world in his hands, even the stuff you can’t quite see or understand yet. Just be ready to say yes when he challenges you, and trust him to help you handle what follows.
Reflection:
- Where in your life are you feeling pressure to have everything handled right now?
- Are you reacting to what’s urgent or responding to what God is actually calling you into?
- What would it look like to start your next day with God first … and simply be ready to say yes?
Prayer:
Dear Jesus, help me to slow down and be fully engaged with you before I rush into everything else. In the middle of pressure, expectations, and uncertainty, remind me that I don’t have to carry it all. You already have it figured out. I just need to lean into my faith that’s in you alone. Give me clarity to know what you’re calling me into, and the courage to say yes, even when I don’t feel ready. And as I step into what you place in front of me, help me trust that you’ll meet me there and carry me through. In your name I pray, Amen!