Listen Time: 7:35 minutes
About This Episode
In the wilderness, Jesus faced a fundamental test: Would he perform to meet expectations, or remain anchored in who he truly was?
This Stillpoint meditation explores three moments when Jesus refused to twist himself into what others wanted—and invites you to find that same ground of unshakeable identity in the Father’s love.
You don’t have to be what they expect. You don’t have to shrink to fit. You are held in the love that made you.
Episode Outline
Moment 1: The Temptation to Perform The wilderness test—when performing miracles would have meant negotiating his identity
Moment 2: The Temptation to Shrink The mountain withdrawal—when becoming their king would have meant becoming less than himself
Moment 3: The Ground of True Self The Gethsemane prayer—surrendering into his truest self, held in the Father’s love
Carry This With You
I don’t have to be what they expect.I don’t have to shrink to fit.I am held in the love that made me.
Related Reading
This meditation draws from the Substack post “The Gift of Knowing Yourself” — exploring how spiritual formation helps us know not just God, but ourselves. Because transformation requires awareness of the precise places where we need healing grace.
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About Gene Maynard
Gene Maynard is a pastor, spiritual director, and author of Trekking: A Guidebook for Spiritual Transformation. His forthcoming book, Living More: In a World of More, Choose Less—and Live Deeper, explores the themes at the heart of his move to Montana. He writes The Compass: Navigating the Interior Journey, a Substack exploring ancient formation practices for modern disciples, and is launching Stillpoint, a retreat ministry outside Glacier National Park for depleted pastors and missionaries..
Connect: The Compass Substack | genemaynard.com
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“May you walk today as one who is fully known and fully loved.”
