A Call To Our First Love: 4 Ways To Return To Reverence

The last 25 years have seen numerous shifts and changes in the way data is used and the speed that it is processed at. It’s almost 2026, and humanity now lives in an era of 24/7 access (meaning we are reachable at all hours), and “information overload,” as we’re bombarded by global data streams around the clock. Add increasing economic and political pressures, and the result is worse than exhaustion and burnout. There’s a collective thinning of the soul. We are wide in our reach but shallow in our depth. 

Jesus would call this “lukewarm” and, in Revelation 3:16, He holds this charge against a church in Sardis threatening to expel them from His mouth. The same alarm is now sounding in the heavenlies! It’s a call to Christian churches around the globe, but especially to those in North America. Most are nothing more than Christian social clubs and God’s heart is grieved. There’s a vital need for a deliberate return to our first Love, our soon returning King Jesus, and the restoration of the ancient paths of reverence and stillness before our God. Repent, surrender your lives to Jesus, sit in stillness before Him and listen. When you hear His still small voice, obey!

This humbling of ourselves before our God will bring us into a deeper walk with Him. What does it mean to approach God in reverence?

The Theology of Reverence: Beyond Mere Respect

To begin, we must redefine reverence. In our modern terminology, reverence is often mistaken for stiff formality or religious etiquette. However, true reverence is an orientation of the heart. It is the “hush of the soul” in the presence of the Sacred.

Reverence is the recognition that we are not the center of the universe. It is a posture of awe that corrects our modern obsession with self-focus and selfish gain. When we approach God with reverence through reading of His holy scriptures, participating in individual and corporate worship, the observation of silence, or the act of prayer—we shift our focus back where it should be, and God’s love, joy, peace, patience and other spiritual gifts from Galatians 5 spring forth again in our souls.

In other words, in a world that encourages us to “use” everything and everyone for our benefit, reverence teaches us to “behold.” It asks us to metaphorically take off our shoes because the ground we stand on is holy. This recognition of the Sacred is the first step in establishing reverence; it creates a boundary that protects us from the profanity of the constant hustle and bustle going on around and in us.

The Discipline of Stillness: The Active Pause

If reverence is the heart’s attitude, stillness is the body’s practice. We often think of stillness as the absence of noise, but in a spiritual context, stillness is an active, focused presence. It is what the ancients called hesychia, which means an inner tranquility that remains even when the outer world is chaotic.

The difficulty of achieving stillness in 2026 cannot be overstated. Our brains have been conditioned for “variable reward” loops: the constant checking of notifications and the scrolling of feeds on our cell phones, tablets and computers. Stillness, therefore, feels like a withdrawal symptom. When we first sit in silence, we do not find peace; we find a riot of thoughts, anxieties, and unfinished “to-do” lists. It’s one distraction after another.

The spiritual discipline of stillness requires us to push through this “noisy” phase of silence. First the silence surrounds us, then stillness begins to calm our minds, hearts, souls, and spirits. Once that happens the soul begins to breathe, the body relaxes, and we can be in God’s presence and open to receive anything He has to share with us. As the Prophet Isaiah noted, “In quietness and trust is your strength.” This isn’t a passive strength; it is the strength of a tree with deep roots, unmoved by the surface winds of cultural trends, because our eyes are fixed on Jesus.

The Enemies of the Soul: Hurry and Noise

To return to reverence, we must identify the forces that stole it. The two primary thieves are hurry and noise.

Dallas Willard, a 20th-century philosopher, famously stated that “hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life.” Hurrying is not just about moving fast; it is a state of being “fatally distracted.” When we hurry, we cannot love, because love requires us to be present. We cannot worship, because worship requires attention. We cannot even truly rest, because our minds are already at the next destination, and thinking beyond. As a result, anxiety has become an unwanted companion..

Noise acts as a spiritual anesthetic. We use podcasts, music, and social commentary to drown out the “quiet whispers” of God’s voice. Both reverence and stillness require a “digital fast,”not as a legalistic rule, but as a survival mechanism. By cutting off the constant input, we force our internal world to slow down.

Practical Pathways to Reverence and Stillness

The need for reverence and stillness must move from theory into established patterns of our daily lives. Here are the foundational practices for returning to reverence and stillness:

1. The “First Fruits” of Attention

In many spiritual traditions, the concept of “first fruits” involves giving the best of one’s harvest to God. In the economy of 2026, our most valuable “fruit” is our attention. The first 15 to 30 minutes of each day (before the digital world is allowed entry) is the time for the “Lectio Divina” (divine reading of the scriptures), focused prayers of thankfulness, petition, and adoration which flows nicely into a time of silence. By giving the first moments of the day to God the Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit, we set the atmosphere for the remaining hours.

2. The Practice of “The Threshold”

Reverence can be practiced through the “threshold ritual.” Every time you move through a doorway (into your home, into your office, or into a meeting) take one conscious breath. As you let it out, ask God to help you be present for each person you encounter or interact with. This five-second pause breaks the momentum of hurry and brings the soul fully back into the present moment.

3. Breath Prayers

The breath prayer is an ancient tool for maintaining stillness in a mobile world. It involves a short phrase synchronized with the breath. Inhale: “Lord, you are here.” Exhale: “I am at peace.” This practice bridges the gap between the “prayer closet” and the boardroom, or computer screen. It allows stillness to become portable, ensuring that reverence is not a Sunday only event but a Monday through Saturday reality.

4. The Sabbath of the Senses

Once a week, take a 24-hour period of rest. This is the Sabbath—a day to cease all productivity and “delight” in both God and those around us, whether family or friends. In a worldly sense, honouring the Sabbath is a radical act of rebellion. It asserts that our worth is not tied to our output, but to our being. On this day, we prioritize things that allow us to live in God’s peace and rest, like walking in the woods or on the beach, enjoying long meals with friends, participating in corporate and individual times of praise & worship, or resting in God’s arms as we nap.

The Result is a New Way of Being

What happens when we successfully return to reverence and stillness? The world around us does not change, but our perception of it does. We regain our empathy for others, find clarity in both our thoughts and prayers, and we develop resilience and can no longer be easily shaken by the circumstances surrounding us, or the volatile headlines beeping onto our notification screens. Instead, our identity is anchored in the eternal (and the One we will spend it with), not in social status or financial success, with their temporary benefits.

“Whoever has ears let them hear.” (Matthew 11:15)