The Great Lock In: What It Really Means to Lock In God’s Ways.
- marquita allen
- Sep 8
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 11
As we move from September into the last few months of the year, there’s a familiar pressure that starts creeping in. Social media is full of posts about “finishing strong,” hitting your goals, and checking off your to-do list before the year ends. Some even call it the “great lock-in” a final sprint toward success.
The message I’ve been hearing over and over the last few weeks through emails, reading, church, and quiet reflection is simple but profound: abide. Spend time with God. Go into the secret place with Him. Pause. Eliminate distractions. Lock-in with God.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I love goals and I believe God can absolutely call us to build, create, or finish things He’s put in our hands. But here’s the tension: are we chasing the checklist harder than we’re chasing God’s presence?
Because the world screams hustle, but God whispers be still.
The Danger of the Productivity Trap
We convince ourselves that success comes from the grind. The 10-step plans, the endless to-do lists, the hamster wheel pace. But you can be busy and still not be fruitful. You can hustle and still not move forward.
Meanwhile, Jesus is saying: “Abide in Me, and you will bear much fruit” (John 15:5). Fruit doesn’t come from frantic effort; it comes from staying connected to the source.
We can’t do good works for God if we aren’t connected to God.
“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. JOHN 15:5
What God Can Do in One Moment
Here’s the wild part: what takes us months or even years of hustling, God can shift in a single moment of obedience. One word from Him can reroute your life, birth an idea that changes your family’s legacy, or open a door no amount of striving could force open.
But here’s the catch you only hear those instructions when you slow down enough to listen.
I’m not writing this from a place of having it all figured out. I’m right in the middle of learning and practicing this myself. Here’s what it looks like for me currently:
Setting a one-hour-per-day limit on social media—and actually honoring it (harder than it sounds!).
Waking up earlier to read, pray, and start the day grounded in God.
Limiting endless scrolling and cutting back on podcasts or self-help content that can create noise in my mind.
Re-listening to my church’s previous sermon instead of hopping between multiple voices. While other content isn’t bad, I realized I need to create space to hear God clearly without overloading on information.
And let me tell you: it’s uncomfortable at first. Hustle/endless to do -list and taking in a lot of information daily feels familiar. Quiet feels… awkward. But slowly, I’m noticing more peace, more clarity, and less of that hamster-wheel energy.
God even downloaded this blog post in the middle of me cleaning my bathroom lol crazy right!?!? But I believe it’s because this week I’ve been in more communication with him throughout my day and making room for me to hear him.
A Different Way to Finish the Year
What if instead of rushing to “catch up,” we chose to:
Abide in His presence more than in our plans.
Rest in His timing instead of forcing our own.
Seek His voice instead of the next productivity hack.
Getting still enough to hear direction for the next season.
Choosing peace over pressure.
👉 Your Turn: As you step into these final months of the year, ask yourself—Am I rushing/hustling or distracted more than I’m abiding? What one distraction could you set aside so you can hear Him more clearly?
Because sometimes the strongest thing you can do in the last quarter is… rest.
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