Be Still
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I absolutely love being still. I like sitting on my chase and looking into my backyard or sitting on my screened-in porch enjoying the breeze or even laying in bed awake at night after everyone else has fallen asleep.
I wasn’t really comfortable being still or quiet for many years. I think there were two reasons for this.
First of all, in my mind, any extra time I had could be used to knock out another project. Back then I didn’t see the value in being still. I didn’t see it as productive, but I feel very differently about this now.
Secondly, I think I was afraid to sit still because I feared that I would start thinking thoughts I shouldn’t think once my mind became quiet. I was almost constantly afraid of sinning in those days and I felt safer when my mind was busy.
I have found since then that I don’t have to be afraid. Instead, I now live confident in the ‘keeping power’ of God!’ (Jude 1:24) Check out this verse in Jude for yourself and you will see that this is just one more way we can choose to place our trust in God instead of ourselves.
Psalm 46:10 talks about being still and I really like the Amplified version.
Let be and be still, and know (recognize and understand) that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth!
Isn’t this the truth! When we are willing to ‘let be’ or ‘let things go’ it is so much easier to be still.
We used to practice something with our girls when they were younger and had issues with self-control. We would say, O.K. let’s practice getting self-control. Then we would ask them to sit still, fold their hands and place them in their laps for a specific period of time – maybe five minutes. This helped gather all that energy in their little bodies into one place, because they would sit there and stare at their folded hands.
Of course, it was difficult for them to be completely still so they would wiggle their fingers and play games with them. It was so cute! It really does work though. You should try it, especially if you have toddlers. Actually, it works with older kids and us adults too – ha! We never outgrow the need for some things.
What caused our girls to get out of control in the first place? If I really break it down, I would have to say each time it was the same answer. Not letting something be. Maybe one would hit her sister because she wanted her sister’s toy or maybe they couldn’t stand the thought of leaving their food on their highchair so they played the game of, ‘we will drop our food on the floor one piece at a time, giggle, and watch mom pick it up.’
When they were not operating in the fruit of self-control it was because they wanted what they wanted and they were determined to do whatever it took to get it. Can you see the correlation here between our kids practicing self-control and us practicing being still?
I don’t know about you, but being still puts things into perspective for me. It causes me to focus all my energy in one place for a while, just like my kids needed to.
I’ve noticed the thing that bugs me the most in life is when I have to run from one calendar appointment to another to another. I am a very happy person who feels up most of the time, but when I do start feeling unhappy, I can almost always track it back to an overbooked schedule.
There is something addictive about stopping and zoning out every once in a while, even if it is only for a few minutes. I promise you that if you start sitting still a little more often or even quieting your mind down more frequently, you ARE going to like the peace you feel and the refreshing that it brings to your life.
I went on a 3 day fast last year and the whole time The Lord had me just sit and be still. This was a surprise to me. I was ready to get out all my Bible study books and spend hours studying, but The Lord wanted to teach me a lifelong lesson. Instead, He had me sit for hours at a time, look out the window and just enjoy His presence. It was amazing and that 3 days had a very positive impact on my life. For one thing, I have been addicted to being still and knowing He is God ever since that time.
If you have a hard time taking breaks, I encourage you to pray that God would give you the grace to learn this important lesson. You won’t regret it.
Learning to be still may take some time to get used to, especially for all the type A personalities out there, but I guarantee you it is so worth it. You will find treasures in these moments that you can’t compare with anything you could ever buy!
I hope and pray that through this blog post I have been able to help you see the value of enjoying the calmness and peace of being still and knowing He is God!
If you have not yet made Jesus your Savior and received the wonderful joy that His finished work on the cross has provided for you to live in, please visit my page here titled Jesus In The Driver’s Seat. On this page I explain the good news of the gospel and you will have the opportunity to pray a prayer of salvation, making Jesus your Savior! Jesus loves you and His arms are wide open!
Sandra McCollom
