To Be Still
God made us as human beings, but how often do we live more like human do-ings?
We are so busy doing things that we have very little time or attention left for simply being. The doing is good, but not at the cost of an unsettled soul.
I have tried to write a blog for weeks now—starting lots of them, but keep erasing, deleting and never finishing them. They feel forced and uninspired, like I’m writing because I feel like I’m supposed to write a blog. But that’s not what this space is about. It’s about inspiration, not obligation.
These past few weeks have been particularly full for us. Several big projects have overlapped, requiring every last ounce of our time and attention. Simply put, I have been busy “doing.” And after prolonged days of this I become less than my best. We were made for the rhythmic beauty of work and rest; doing and being; activity and stillness - together they are a beautiful dance of ebb and flow. Living either in excess is not good, healthy or sustainable.
Tonight, after we tucked the kids in bed I ran out to Target to pick up a few things. It was nearly time for the store to close so the aisles were empty. I left my cart partially full of groceries while I ran down to grab something at the end of the aisle. When I came back to my cart I noticed a green notecard resting there with these words written on it, “Be still and know that I am God. - Psalm 46:10.”
I looked up and down the aisles around me and didn’t see anyone who could have put it there. I paused and soaked in those words like a cool drink after a long run on a hot day. They brought unexpected life and refreshment.
I could barely focus and get through the rest of my shopping list. I wanted to leave right then and there to go home so I could begin the good task of being still. As soon as I read those words they looped over and over in my mind. As I walked up and down the remaining aisles the litany of ways that I’d been running myself into the ground was becoming clear to me. I began to see how “the doing” has crowded out the stillness and my ability to rest in God. I realized how much I needed to be encouraged to pause and be still.
I don’t know who or what put that card there in my cart, but it is overwhelmingly evident that these words, “Be still and know that I am God” are words that God wanted me to hear in that moment and right now. Perhaps this is something God wants to remind you as well?
For those of us who are over-busy, let us lay aside a few non-essentials and take time to rest, to soak in the reality of an ever-present all loving, faithful and good God. He is God, we are not. He is in control and we can rest in His perfect provision. Perhaps after you finish reading this you could pause, lay down your computer or phone and step outside for a moment to take a deep breath of the fresh air and remind yourself of the bigger Reality that holds you.
You were made to be a human being. Rest in that reality. Be still and know your God. Enjoy the sweetness and stillness of a moment fully focused on His reality. Rest in His provision. Rest in His greatness.
It’s not up to us to busy ourselves to make Him great for the world to see. He is already great, and we can rest in the reality of who He is and what He’s doing. As we “be” He “does.” It’s amazing. No good thing does He withhold from those who love Him. We can be still and know that He is God, what a beautiful invitation to rest and trust and freedom