Be Still…
We are a world that is in perpetual motion. We run full bore from the minute we climb out of bed until the moment we collapse back into bed at night. Then once we climb back into bed at night we roll around and find ourselves not able to sleep; our bodies are exhausted, but our minds are still racing, thinking of a million things. Cell phones are never out of arms reach. Even weekends and vacations are of no help; we take our work and our technology with us wherever we go. And social media, oh my, it consumes, wastes, huge amounts of time and energy. Stillness is just not in our DNA.
Even though I have slowed down my pace, both due to aging and the cognitive deficits from my stroke, I am still guilty of letting the challenges, busyness, and chaotic nature of life interfere with my need for stillness, for quietness, for solitude. Last night my wife and I had the privilege of attending a concert that was mostly worship music. It was just what the doctor ordered for both of us. As I sat with my eyes closed, singing (badly, I might add), worshipping, it allowed me moments to experience God’s presence. In those moments, an overwhelming sense of peace and contentment resided in my soul.
Then, at home, as we settled into bed, and as my brain tried to settle itself, some of my favorite “be still” verses came to mind…
As the Israelites feared being killed by the Egyptians as they stared out at the intimidating Red Sea, Moses told them – “The LORD will fight for you, and you have to only be silent” (Exodus 14:14).
In Psalm 62, the psalmist shows a strong resilience in the Lord, for rest is found in Him – “For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. For he alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress: I will not be shaken” (vv.5-6).
Living in a world filled with greed, rampant abuses of power, and suffering, Psalm 37 offers these comforting words – “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the one who carries out evil devices” (v.7).
God himself says this in Psalm 46 – “Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” (v.10).
What if each and every day we made Psalm 131 our own. It expresses King David’s walk with God, in which he has complete contentment because of a life fully submitted to, and trusting in, God. Here is that Psalm, which is only three verses – “O LORD, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.”
There are mornings when the golf course pond behind our house is perfectly still. I just love that image of stillness; the beautiful reflection of trees cast upon a still pond’s glassy surface.
So, I ask… On a daily basis, are you purposefully carving out time and space to be quiet and still with God.
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