It was just an ordinary Saturday… until it wasn’t.
I was having a conversation with a friend, and things shifted quickly. What started off lighthearted began to stir stress in my heart. My thoughts began spiraling. That familiar wave of anxiety crept in. And right as I was trying to hold it all together, I received a text from my mom. It read:
“God’s word is: Be still.”
And it was exactly what I needed.
That wasn’t just a text. That was a holy interruption.
The Verse We All Know (But Rarely Live)
Psalm 46:10 says:
“Be still and know that I am God.”
We quote it often. We hang it on our walls. But do we actually live it?
That day, I couldn’t shake it. I looked up “be still” in the original Hebrew. The word is rapha which means:
- to let go
- to sink
- to cease striving
- to loosen your grip
- to surrender
This isn’t a passive stillness. It’s a holy release.
A command to stop grasping for control and allow God to be God.
The Bird With Clipped Wings
As I reflected more deeply, an image I’ve carried for a while came back to me, a bird with clipped wings.
When a bird’s wings are clipped, it doesn’t just lose flight. It loses confidence. It becomes confused, disoriented, and vulnerable. It can no longer do what feels natural: take flight and run.
During that same conversation with my friend, I kept talking about flying. About running. About escaping.
But now I realize, God isn’t letting me fly right now.
He’s clipping my wings.
Not to harm me.
But to teach me surrender.
Surrender Looks Like Safety
Sometimes, what feels like restriction is actually protection.
God clips our wings to ground us in His will. To stop us from flying into something premature or unsafe.
Yes, it feels confusing.
Yes, I feel vulnerable.
Yes, I want to take off.
But He’s inviting me to be still.
To stop fighting, stop running, stop fixing and surrender to what is.
Because the stillness?
That’s where the strengthening begins.
That’s where my wings are healed and grown for what’s coming next.
Finding the Slipstream
At church yesterday, the message confirmed everything even more. The sermon was about finding your slipstream.
In aviation, a slipstream is the flow of air behind a moving aircraft. It helps reduce drag, creates lift, and enables planes to go farther, even with less fuel. It’s invisible, but powerful. It carries you forward when your own momentum runs out.
The pastor said something that hit me deeply:
“In moments of pain, surrender to God, not looking for the bad, but looking for the good, so you can keep going.”
That was it.
This moment, this grounding, this season of stillness… it’s not punishment. It’s my slipstream.
God is not trying to harm me. He’s helping me navigate pain by keeping me close to Him. He’s carrying me through the emotional drag so that when I do fly again, I’ll have greater lift. He’s aligning me for higher altitudes.
I don’t have to force anything.
I don’t need to flap my own wings.
All I need to do is get in His flow.
When I Fly Again…
This season of surrender is not forever. It’s preparation.
When I fly again, and I will, it won’t be frantic.
It will be intentional.
It will be higher.
It will be in Him, with Him, and because of Him.
A Mother’s Wisdom
After all of this, my mom offered some simple, grounded advice:
Write down what you’re praying for. Attach scripture to each one. And bring them to God.
That’s the kind of spiritual discipline that quiets the noise and makes room for faith.
A Challenge For You
If this resonates with you, I want to challenge you the same way I’m challenging myself:
This week, when you feel like running or fixing or overthinking, pause. And do this:
- Say aloud: “Be still. Cease striving. Know that He is God.”
- Write down what’s weighing on your heart.
- Find a scripture that speaks to that situation.
- Pray. And let it go.
- Ask God to show you your slipstream. Trust that if He’s grounding you, He’s also carrying you.
Let Him Clip What Needs Clipping
It may feel like your wings have been clipped.
Like you’ve been grounded or held back.
But maybe—just maybe—God is protecting you until the winds are right.
Maybe He’s strengthening you in stillness so that when you rise, you’ll rise higher.
Not in your own strength, but in His.
Let go.
Be still.
Find your slipstream.
And trust that God is taking you somewhere beautiful.
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