How to Do Your Best Work in the New Year
Be still, and know that I am God.
Psalm 46:10 ESV
Why am I here? I asked God quietly, my heart pulled in different directions. I was attending a women’s soul care retreat while some of my family members faced struggles back home. I felt torn—pulled between staying back and God gently nudging me forward. However, when one door after another opened for me, I stepped through, unsure of how to embrace the experience yet trusting God’s leading.
Arriving at Glen Eyrie Castle, the cool, crisp air and historic stone walls whispered peace. I shared a room with my dear friend and coauthor, Nichole Suvar, and finally met women I had only known through online writing circles, including the wonderful host of this blog series, Twyla Franz. To top it off, hugging Jennifer Dukes Lee, our keynote speaker, filled me with tender joy. I was surrounded by grace and beauty, yet underneath it all, a restless tug pulled at my heart. Early the next morning, I journaled, asking God to show me why He had brought me there.
God’s Whisper in Worship
During worship that morning, we sang, “It is Well with My Soul.” Through my tears, I sensed the Lord whisper:
This is why you are here. You do your best work in My presence.
Peace washed over me. The enemy had been whispering lies—that I should forgo rest, that my family needed me more than I needed God. That lie suggested I could somehow control their well-being and that caring for myself was selfish. But the truth is my family didn’t need me to be everything. They needed me to be grounded in the One who is everything.
A Call to Be Still
In Psalm 46:10, God urges us: “Be still, and know that I am God.” When we examine the Hebrew meanings of the words still, know, and God, this verse takes on a beautifully personal tone. It could be understood as God saying to us:
Child, cease from your striving and encounter Me. Know—by experience—that I am Elohim, the Creator and sovereign God of the universe, fully in control.
That is the kind of stillness God calls us to, not mere inactivity, but a posture of surrender. It’s a place where striving gives way to trust, and where His presence strengthens our hearts.
The Gift of Rest
Later that day, Jennifer Dukes Lee spoke on the “winter seasons” of our lives. She said something that sealed what God had already spoken to my heart:
“God works best in our times of rest because we allow Him to do so.”
Friend, consider the gift of resting in God’s presence. Amid busyness, obligations, or uncertainty, rest is not neglect. It’s where God’s work begins. His presence tenderly renews our weary hearts, realigns our priorities, and restores our strength. God invites us to step back so He can step in. The world may urge us to keep going—to do more, to be more—but God gently reminds us to be still. From this sacred place of surrender, He expands our capacity to love and serve others well.
The Key to Your Best Work
Whether God opens the door for a quiet retreat, prayer with a friend, or simply waking before the house stirs, allow this time, and remember this: You don’t have to have it all together. You merely need to be still and let God be God—because you do your best work when you allow God to do His work in you.
Lord, help me to lay down the pressure to be everything to everyone. Teach me to be still and know that You are God. Fill me with Your peace, renew my spirit, and remind me that my best work begins in Your presence. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Where might God be inviting you to slow down, lay your burden at His feet, and rest in His presence?
*** This post is adapted from The Unexpected Blessing of Feeling Torn by Theresa M. Miller, from the devotional Unexpected Blessings: 40 Days of Trusting God in the Details (releasing February 11, 2026).
Meet Theresa M. Miller
Theresa M. Miller is adventurous at heart and dedicated to pursuing spiritual, mental, and emotional growth. Originally from the wooded East, she now resides in the wide-open spaces of Wyoming, nestled near the Big Horn Mountains. She cherishes her role as a wife to Rob and mother to their four children. She is the author of The Posture of Victory: Finding True Peace Amidst Our Everyday Battles Bible study, co-author of Unexpected Blessings: 40 Days of Discovering God’s Best, and co-author of Unexpected Blessings: 40 Days of Trusting God in the Details (releasing February 2026).
Theresa serves in women’s ministries in her community as a Bible teacher and co-founded Dandelions, Potholes, & Wrinkles and The Sisters on Purpose Podcast with her sisters. She has been published in Calla Press Literary Journal, Moms Ezine, (in)courage, and various other publications.
Find Theresa inspiring women to rise, heal, and boldly live from a place of victory everywhere below!
Where to find her . . .
Begin Within is a series to inspire a year-round lifestyle of gratitude that will impact not only your own life, but the lives of your neighbors as well. Gratitude is a theme we talk about often around here because it ties so closely into other missional living rhythms. Practicing gratitude reminds to keep our hearts soft and expectant and our eyes open. Therefore, the more we embrace gratitude, the easier it becomes to truly see our neighbors and where we can join what God is already doing in our neighborhoods.
If you would like to contribute to Begin Within, you can find the submission guidelines here.
