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Quiet Wins: The Hidden Strength of a Slower Life

Quiet Wins: The Hidden Strength of a Slower Life

Last updated on: July 17, 2025 at 11:03 pm by Jeff McLain

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Quiet Wins: The Hidden Strength of a Slower Life 2025-07-17T23:03:17-04:00 Jeff McLain

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Quiet Wins: The Hidden Strength of a Slower Life. Image by Jeff McLain with ChatGPT.

We live in a culture that often embraces a “go big or go home” way of thinking, not quiet wins. This phrase, used by many, implies that success is found only when we take bold, often illogical leaps for greatness, visibility, fame, and success. Over the past few years, I’ve seen a rise in people using hashtags to communicate this mentality—#riseandgrind, #hustleharder, and others like them. For too many, value and identity are tied to a nonstop pursuit of work, productivity, and achievement.

Platforms, Products, and the Pressure to Perform

Though I enjoy reflecting through blogging, I’ve not tried to pursue building a brand. Yet, there’s hardly a moment when I’m not engaging with other bloggers or designers without encountering the idea that we are all cultivating platforms and marketing ourselves as products. Brands, we’re told, define health and success. Brands are everywhere we look right now.

Our driven world thrives on a battlefield confession that says, never settle. But this busy and chaotic world undermines the holy contentment Paul calls us to in life. These ways of being prioritize the prizes found in performance, pursuit, platform, pace, and power. The Scriptures, if we allow them, will reorient us toward a different set of values and visions—ones defined by peace, trust, and faithfulness rather than flashiness.

The Sacred Strength of Slowness

In a world obsessed with loud opinions, fast results, and constant noise, the quiet life is often overlooked—or worse, misunderstood. But there’s a sacred strength in slowness. This blog features a lot of reflections and resources on what it means to live by a different set of priorities. When I started the Lead a Quiet Life blog on Patheos a few years ago, it was rooted in a verse that I felt God had highlighted for me—1 Thessalonians 4:11–12. Since then, I’ve been pursuing what it means to lead a quieter life at a slower pace—to discover a simple life and faith that embraces downward mobility in a chaotic world and a church culture often obsessed with excess.

A Pilgrim’s Journey and Calling

I’ve had the privilege of serving in both the church and nonprofit sectors, each bringing unique challenges and opportunities for personal and spiritual growth. And while I continue to grow, I remain the same spiritual pilgrim who set out on this adventure years ago. Over time, though I’ve felt an increasing call toward innovative teaching, mentoring, strategic thinking, and helping others see Jesus, life, and everything in between from a fresh perspective—at the core of it is a call to lead a quiet life.

This blog is shaped by that calling. It recognizes that 1 Thessalonians 4:11–12—and the teachings of Jesus—invite us to lead a quiet life. Not one driven by the battle cry of never settle, but one where success isn’t measured by achievement. Leading a quiet life means learning to live with stillness, defined by waiting on God. It’s a life not distracted by the world’s standards or the busyness of others, but one rooted in faithful presence—working with our hands, not to get something or get ahead, but to give, to serve, and to be Jesus to others.

My Daily Filter

The Apostle Paul urged the Thessalonians to “make it your ambition to lead a quiet life” (1 Thess. 4:11, NIV). For several years now, that phrase has stuck with me. It’s not passive or apathetic—it’s an intentional pursuit of faithfulness over flash, of depth over drama. This verse is written inside my journal. I try to read it daily, and I return to it at least several times a week. Without a doubt, it’s a verse I wrestle with often.

Over time, this simple instruction has become a filter I use when new opportunities present themselves or when I’m considering stepping out in some way. The challenge to lead a quiet life has become the goal—and everything else is weighed in light of that. In that aim, I find a daily challenge to live in a way that is still, and to know that God is God.

I’m not there yet. But I believe that by making this my goal, I will continue to grow toward it. It’s a place I can reach. And at the very least, it gives me clarity. It tells me what to say no to.

A Life That Lasts

The call to lead a quiet life isn’t the kind of life that trends. It won’t get you viral views or build a platform overnight. But it does build something lasting—within our souls, our relationships, and our communities.

Though I am human and I wrestle with that. I want to be liked. I spent many years trying to be someone—working with bands, chasing recognition, striving for something bigger than the life I had. And while much of who I was no longer defines me (in the same way my upbringing doesn’t), I do know what does define me now. And I know what I want to define myself. I even know what I hope will define you.

The Battle Beneath the Surface

I hope the Church is defined by a Kingdom-seeking, righteousness-seeking, not-leaning-on-our-own-understanding sense of purpose—a way of life that values nothing more than quietly and faithfully following God for the sake of others.

Spiritual formation, as M. Robert Mulholland once said, is being formed in the image of Jesus for the sake of others. But the truth is: I still love carnal pursuits. I still love my sin. Every day is a battle—a battle to say no to what I can gain through cleverness instead of honest labor; a battle to avoid gossip in the workplace; a battle to resist the desire to be seen.

I’m learning, through every failed attempt, to pray not my will but Yours. And maybe Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians 4:11–12 are best turned into a prayer:

Lord, teach me to lead a quiet life, to mind my own business, and to work with my hands—so that I might gain the respect of outsiders, for the sake of Your Kingdom. For Yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

Confessions from a Small Church Pastor

I keep hearing that people want this—something simpler. A quieter life. A simpler church. I’m told the trend is moving toward smaller, more intentional communities of Jesus followers. But I rarely see it lived out.

I pastor a small church community. People tell me they long for authentic simplicity and belonging. They say they’re tired of performance-driven church, tired of the noise. And yet, many still chase after programs and prestige. They confess they want a slower life—one rooted in stillness and Sabbath—but their schedules and choices are defined by pursuit and pressure (Side note, we’d love for you to check us out at River Corner Church).

I can’t pretend those things don’t tug at me, too. I wrestle with them. But deep down, I’m driven by something else—something that reminds me I don’t need success, recognition, or scale. I don’t want it. I don’t deserve it. And I don’t think the Kingdom looks like that.

When I pray, Your Kingdom come, I know it doesn’t look like noise and hustle.

An Invitation to Rest and Trust

So, friends, maybe you’re tired. Burned out. Worn thin by the pace of everything and everyone. I get it. I’ve lived it. Maybe you’re wrestling with what it means to say yes to a quiet life.

But here’s what I’m learning: Quiet is not failure. Stillness is not laziness. Simplicity is not scarcity. These things are an invitation. To rest. To listen. To trust.

A Path of Resistance

Leading a quiet life doesn’t mean retreating from the world—it means showing up differently within it. It’s a protest against the noise. A path of resistance shaped by peace.

And maybe that’s exactly what the world needs more of right now.

Learn to say yes to this quiet way of resistance and revolution.

Final Reflections from Scripture

So let us remember:

“Be still, and know that I am God.” —Psalm 46:10
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” —Matthew 5:5
“In quietness and trust is your strength.” —Isaiah 30:15

These aren’t just verses to read—they are invitations to live differently. May we have the courage to say yes to that kind of life.

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About Jeff McLain

Through 'Lead a Quiet Life,' Jeff McLain explores his pursuit of simplicity in a tumultuous world as he serves as the Director of Pastoral Ministries at Water Street Mission and as pastor at River Corner Church. Jeff's commitment to Jesus as been shaped by an unconventional journey from activism to hitchhiking, is reflected in his academic pursuits and throughout his involvement with various initiatives. Residing in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Jeff, along with his wife and three daughters, embraces family moments outdoors, while his love for baseball, boardwalks, beaches, and books adds depth to his vibrant life. You can read more about the author here.

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