Be Still

Be still and know that I am God. (Ps. 46:10)

It is a hard thing to do. We think we would like to be still until we have to do exactly that. We are given the opportunity to do so several times a day. We allow other things to crowd in on that still time. We keep our schedules before us. We have reminders that pop up on our phones, that E-mail us automatically when we have an appointment coming up, or we carry pocket calendars around with us lest we miss some momentous event.

Many of us do not like stillness and quiet. We crowd our lives full of events and responsibilities to avoid the still time, for it is in that still time that the Scripture promises us God’s presence.

Yes, He creeps in and whispers something that the everyday rush and noise would have allowed us to ignore in almost any other circumstance. However, in the stillness of that quiet moment there can be little doubt that God has spoken and is now still, awaiting our response. What do you say when God shows up in the midst of your quiet time? Unfortunately, many of us treat Him like someone we hardly know. We don’t know what to say, how to act, or how to respond to His actions.

This short piece was one of the more difficult things for me to write in a long time. I started and threw out maybe as many as a dozen ideas, some made it all the way to the words on the page only to fall victim to the delete button. I was frustrated. I got anxious. The topics were good, but why didn’t the words seem to be the ones that I needed to say.

In frustration, I put my head down. I was still. I heard God saying, “This is where I have wanted you for a long time, but you have been too busy for me. Even your “quiet times” have been whirlwinds of activity.”

“Yes, Lord, you are right. You’re always right.”

It took a bit, but I soon saw that God had been trying to get my attention for some time on this matter. I remember reading a chapter in a book, Christianity for the Rest of Us, how many churches were incorporating extended moments of silence into their worship services. I had read another article about pastoral Sabbaths and the need to get away to experience the presence of God. Both of those articles were duly noted and filed away as trends, something to talk to the worship committee, or novel to try on some future Sunday.

All the time God had been doing something so much greater than  giving me new ideas to try in some future context. No, God had been calling to me. “You! Hey, You there, come over here and experience my divine presence.” So, before I wrote this I sat down with God. I got no new talking points, no sermon revelations, no soul shaking instructions. I simply experienced the presence of my Savior in a calm and comforting way.

So, on this Advent Sunday of Hope, get rid of the hustle, don’t rush anywhere, turn off all the media and all the electronics, and enjoy the Hope of the Gospel as your Savior sits with you.      

 

  Pastor Craig