“He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’” Psalm 46:10 (NIV)

Standing alone in a parking lot, I watched my best friend drive away with my phone, laptop, tablet, and every other screen I owned. This would kick off seven screen-less weeks while I lived with Benedictine monks and Amish farmers.

I remembered God's invitation in our key verse, Psalm 46:10: “Be still, and know that I am God …”

I thought, This might be the first time in decades that I — truly unplugged — will be able to understand what that means.

Being still is something we have a hard time with these days. The average person spends five hours a day looking at their phone. At the time of my retreat, I spent more than seven. We all feel the suffocating chaos of an always-plugged-in life. So I decided to experiment to see what would change if I removed the thing that took up seven hours of my day.

The first few days without a screen, I quickly realized that God was speaking a lot more — and a lot louder — than I thought He was. The problem was that I'd had the volume of life turned up way too high.

How can we make changes that lower the volume of life?

Here’s one I made: I bought an alarm clock to wake me up instead of using my phone. My phone isn’t plugged in by my bed. For the first hour I’m awake, I don’t look at my phone. I spend time in God's Word, not in the words of others. I don’t have other voices distracting me from God’s voice. Allowing God to be the first and only thing you lean into in the morning, instead of the countless notifications waiting for you, will change the trajectory of your days.

This is just one of many changes that I’ve made in my life since finishing my experiment. There are so many things we’ve forgotten how to do in our screen-filled days — things like wondering, beholding, experiencing solitude, getting bored, noticing and savoring.

But more than anything, I’m learning that we’ve placed God in way too small of a box. At the end of our key Bible verse, God states, “I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:10). And the psalmist realized this truth after speaking of stillness. Maybe it’s not only the volume of life that is keeping us from exalting God but also the speed of life.

We have such an incredible opportunity in front of us to reconnect with who God has created us to be — by falling back in love with life as it was created to be lived.

Father, I consecrate my day to You. Thank You for the gifts You have waiting for me on the other side of my screens. Restore and renew my ability to notice, wonder, behold and savor today. Help me experience this day in the way that You intend for me to experience it. I praise You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

OUR FAVORITE THINGS

For a practical guide to reconnecting with the beauty of life on the other side of screens, grab a copy of Carlos Whittaker’s book Reconnected: How 7 Screen-Free Weeks with Monks and Amish Farmers Helped Me Recover the Lost Art of Being Human.

ENGAGE

To learn more about Carlos, find him on his website or over on Instagram. To hear more from Carlos, listen to his podcast or watch on YouTube.

Enter to WIN your very own copy of Reconnected by Carlos Whittaker. To celebrate this book, Carlos’ publisher will give away 5 copies! Enter to win by leaving a comment here. {We’ll randomly select 5 winners and then notify each one in the comments section by Monday, October 28, 2024.}

FOR DEEPER STUDY

Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (NIV).

What’s a simple change you can make today that lowers the volume of life so you can be more attuned to hearing God’s voice?

© 2024 by Carlos Whittaker. All rights reserved.

Proverbs 31 Ministries thanks Nelson Books for their sponsorship of today’s devotion.

Click here to view our policy on third-party links.