"It’s Hard to Be Still" - Crosswalk the Devotional - July 7, 2011
July 7, 2011
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It’s Hard to Be Still
Laura MacCorkle, Crosswalk.com Senior Editor
"Be still and know that I am God." - Psalms 46:10-11, NIV
I’m one of those people who likes going 90 mph—not in my car, of course, but in my day-to-day living.
I enjoy moving fast, juggling multiple tasks and having a full schedule with lots of things to do, people to see and places to go. Variety is definitely the spice of my life, and without it everything starts feeling a little “vanilla.”
Thus, I guess you could say I’m having what feels like a bland kind of summer—and definitely not “jamocha almond fudge,” if you will. All of my extracurricular activities that keep me busy during the school year are on break until sometime in August. And so that leaves me with a lot of undefined time each week, and a lot of stillness.
I was complaining about this to my sister the other day and had expressed that I was bored with temporarily not having an “exciting” schedule. But I had also been wondering if the Lord wanted me to use this time to rest or think about things that I don’t usually focus on when I’m so busy in the fall, winter and spring.
So I had been trying to think about what I was supposed to be thinking about. So I could then write down what I was supposed to be thinking about on my to-do list. So I could then be thinking about what I was supposed to be thinking about. So I could then cross off that I had been thinking about what I was supposed to be thinking about. And be done thinking about it.
See how that great logic has been working out for me?
My sister first probably had a good chuckle to herself. And then she thoughtfully responded with the lyrics to Watermark’s poignant song, “Still” …
Still, let me be still
Let me be okay
With the quiet in my heart
Still, I want to be still
I’m so quick to move
Instead of listening to you
Shut my mouth
Crush my pride
Give me the tears
Of a broken life
Still …
Oh. I get it. When I become still before the Lord, it’s more about God and less about me. Or my “exciting” activities or the control I think I have over my life. When I become still, I can see more clearly what God is trying to show me. And I can either respond or fill up my time with something else while I wait for my “vanilla” summer to end.
By and large, there’s nothing wrong with having a full life. But it is very easy to tip the scale and land on the side of too much, where worship of a heavenly Father gets lost in the wrongful worship of earthly things that a very busy schedule can certainly bring.
That’s what I’ve learned so far about stillness this summer. Perhaps you, too, have a need for speed and are prone to going 90 mph on the freeway of your life. Why not spend some time at a rest stop with me in the coming months, and be still for a little while? The Lord is waiting and ready to meet us both there.
Intersecting Faith & Life:
Some people schedule regular personal retreats with the Lord. Whether you can get away to a cabin in the woods or just set up a hammock between two backyard trees, see how you can schedule some time for stillness with the Lord before summer’s end.
Further Reading:
1 Kings 19:11-12, NIV
Proverbs 20:27, NIV
Isaiah 32:17, NIV
