Be still and know.
Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! Psalm 46:10 NKJV
Would you like to know God, but life is too busy, too hectic or inconvenient to attend another meeting? Do you have questions about your life? Are you living on borrowed time and are frustrated or sad that life didn’t turn out as planned? Are you are mad? Disappointed? Depressed? Are you appalled by the downward spiral of ethics and lack of regard for the unborn, unwanted, and vulnerable children of our generation. Do you have deep concern for the future, for your children and grand children and the world condition they are inheriting? Do you wonder if our country will implode somehow because of vicious rhetoric that seeks to drive ideological wedges between all of us?
Likely, some of these, or other, more personal burdens, are weighing on your heart today. Because you care. You worry. You want things to be better than they are.
Take some time to be still. Quiet your mind. It is difficult and requires that you unplug from distractions. It requires discipline. Practice. But, ultimately, you will find the pearl of great price, the peace that passes understanding, the perspective you have been missing through all of life’s tribulation.
Through stillness, and quieting your heart and mind, you can find yourself in circumstances that you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy, and yet be encompassed within the peace-filled, protection of the arms of God. Like the sanctity of a mothers womb, stillness can help you realize that you are in Christ, that your very life is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3.)
Stillness isn’t idleness and you don’t have to move to a deserted island to experience it. It is first developed consciously and intentionally, but over time it can be a normal part of your day as your spirit is at rest in the grace and peace of God. Distractions are minimized and your heart, mind and emotions become conditioned to glorify and exalt the Lord in all things.
The seed of the word that fell among the thorny ground was choked out by the thorns. In the same way our sense of God’s presence is stifled by the distractions we hold so dearly to – the phone, the internet, social media, the news, our own wants and desires.
Start right where you are by simply turning things off. Put your smart phone in the other room, turn it to silent. Turn off everything. Shut off the lights if you have to. Be intentional and just still your mind and breath. Invoke the precious name of Jesus and incorporate it into your breathing.
Inhale – “Lord, Jesus Christ,”
Exhale – “have mercy on me.”
Slowly, repeatedly, until this simple declaration of Jesus as Lord, and plea for mercy, leaves your conscious mind and becomes a normal part of your breathing pattern. Be still. Just be still and breath for one minute, longer if you can. Keep praying this Jesus Prayer after your quiet time, through the course of your day, as often as the Lord brings it to your mind.
Let it become your first thought upon waking in the morning, and the last thing you do before sleep. Pray it until it leaves even your breathing pattern and becomes part of the rhythm of your heartbeat, protecting you from distraction, even while you are occupied with other duties of life.
God will bring into perspective all of the questions and difficulties of life that you are burdened by and replace them with the peace of knowing He is Lord, and He is good and He will be exalted among the nations. He loves you, dear one. Be still and know.
Sincerely,
