- Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth. (Psalm 48:10)
- Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him;…(Psalm 37:7)
- The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. (Psalm 23:1-3)
These verses in the Psalms call to me especially in these summer months. I always think things will slow down and be quieter in the summer. The reality is that there are a few less meetings, but piles of “catch up” things eat up all that spare time. It is easy to get caught up in doing just for the sake of doing.
God reminds us in scripture that an important thing to do is to “be still.” In the stillness we get to know God. We get to just sit in awe at the wonders of the world God created. Our souls are restored. Our priorities shake into the right order. Our anxiety lowers, our stress dissipates, our smiles become more natural and we feel the joy of our salvation.
In our world, being still is uncomfortable. We can’t seem to just sit and enjoy the moment—we have to be “doing” something, even if that is playing games on the phone or checking Facebook, or doing some picking up, or laundry, or… or…or..
We say we don’t have time to be with God. I think we really just don’t know how to just be quiet and at rest so we can feel God and listen for God’s words of love and encouragement.
It is in those “be still” moments that we are strengthened for the important work that does need to be done: loving our neighbors, standing up for the oppressed, building our families, raising our kids and grandkids, changing the world with one loving act or word at a time. Without the “be still” moments we burn out, tune out, give up, and lose our sense of being a BELOVED child of God.
My advice is that all of us need to take just a few moments of every day to just “be still.” Not to sit in front of a screen but to rest in God’s arms. Tune out the lists of things not done for a few minutes and tune in God instead. You will feel refreshed. You will be restored. You will be ready to take on the work of love once more.