Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. PSALM 139:16 NLT 

I’m grateful God wrote so many beach days into the story of my life. At the ocean I’m deeply inspired, incredibly thankful, always prayerful, and still. I’ve lived near the coast for two years, and before beach days became the norm for me, I didn’t slow down very often. Writing kept me quiet and still, of course, but little else did. I found it difficult to sit still long enough to watch a movie. Like so many of us in our fast-paced lives, we get into the mindset that staying busy means we’re driven, motivated, successful people. While that can prove to be true, it might be tempting us to get our priorities out of order. 

I recently read that in Hebrew, the phrase “be still” in Psalm 46 means to “let go or to release.” Along with being still, giving up control is another hard one for a lot of us. But fear and anxiety are the other two peas in the pod with control. The three of them go together, and none of them are good for us. The Psalm is essentially saying, “let go and know God is in control.” Because we belong to Him, we don’t have to be afraid. Every moment of our lives was laid out before a single day passed. And God is always good. He writes beauty and purpose into every one of our stories. 

When we feel like our lives are speeding up and our days are spinning slightly out of control, it’s time to sit still for a minute, take a deep breath, and let go. Release the stress, the doubt, the fear, and turn it over to God. We aren’t going to be able to manage everything perfectly, and thankfully we don’t have to. We have a Father whose perfect love is in control of our lives. Every moment that’s written was penned with that love and it will never fade—no matter how many times we try to take the pen out of His hand. 

Father, I know I can’t do this without You. My life is in You. Give me the courage to live it completely surrendered every day. 

This is an excerpt from The Beach is Calling: 90 Devotions for Rest & Relaxation – a devotional now available on DaySpring.com. Shop all books, journals, and devotions from DaySpring here.