THE PROBLEM WITH STILLNESS
"Be still and know that I am God"...Pretty clear. God says, you wanna know me? You wanna know I exist? You wanna hear my voice? No problem...just be still.
Great. No problem. But, what does He mean? What exactly does it mean to "be still"? I used to tell my kids that all the time. Daily. Hourly. Sometimes minute by minute. They wiggled and squirmed and usually caused a disturbance. All I wanted was for them to STOP MOVING and BE QUIET. Simple. Well, not so simple for them. After all, they were kids.
So, is that what God is saying here? Quit wiggling and be quiet and you'll know me in ways you never could if you kept wiggling. Just sit down and be motionless.
I think that may be a start, but I'm pretty sure He's saying more than that. I will admit that just being motionless for for than 30 seconds is quite the challenge for me. But, here's the REAL challenge. Being still INSIDE. Whoa, that's really, really, really tough. I am by nature a do-er, not a be-er. It comes very natural for me to do. It comes very natural for me to think. My mind races. It's always going 100 miles an hour. And that's where God's challenge becomes almost too much to wrap my mind around. BE STILL.
I think that's a problem for our culture. We are much better adapted as HUMAN DOINGS than we are as HUMAN BEINGS. Give me an assignment. Give me some rules. Give me a list. Give me the "5 STEPS TO...". I'm ready for that. Just BEING? That's another story. Bottom line is, most of us don't know how to BE. We're totally stumped.
In fact, for me, it's even worse. When I'm not doing, I feel guilty! Why aren't you doing anything? Why are you just sitting there? What are you producing? Seriously, you have absolutely nothing to show for your day? No productivity at all? Seriously? What a loser?
Several people have asked me "How's the sabbatical coming?" I'm stumped. What do I answer? "I sat really still today and didn't do anything"? What I want to say is, "Let me show you all the things I've accomplished already...and only 2 days in!!!" But, if I was being truly honest, my answer would be something more along the lines of, "I was still for several hours and felt guilty about it for all but about 4 minutes". Pretty pathetic.
I'm a do-er at heart, but God says to know him I have to be what's required of me to be from time to time...a be-er. I'm not talking about sitting cross-legged on the floor, chanting and contemplating my naval. I think it's more about giving myself permission to STOP for a while and just hang with God. Talk to Him. Read his words to me. Be a person rather than a pastor for a while. Tell Him what I'm struggling with, what I'm afraid of, where I've failed and ask Him to do in me what I'm incapable of doing for myself. Ask Him to speak and to give me ears to hear.
That doesn't fit on a calendar, a To-Do List or a Day-Planner. There is no box to check off that says, BE STILL. DONE. CHECK. On to the next item.
I don't have this down yet, but I do know one thing...I gotta get it down.
Great. No problem. But, what does He mean? What exactly does it mean to "be still"? I used to tell my kids that all the time. Daily. Hourly. Sometimes minute by minute. They wiggled and squirmed and usually caused a disturbance. All I wanted was for them to STOP MOVING and BE QUIET. Simple. Well, not so simple for them. After all, they were kids.
So, is that what God is saying here? Quit wiggling and be quiet and you'll know me in ways you never could if you kept wiggling. Just sit down and be motionless.
I think that may be a start, but I'm pretty sure He's saying more than that. I will admit that just being motionless for for than 30 seconds is quite the challenge for me. But, here's the REAL challenge. Being still INSIDE. Whoa, that's really, really, really tough. I am by nature a do-er, not a be-er. It comes very natural for me to do. It comes very natural for me to think. My mind races. It's always going 100 miles an hour. And that's where God's challenge becomes almost too much to wrap my mind around. BE STILL.
I think that's a problem for our culture. We are much better adapted as HUMAN DOINGS than we are as HUMAN BEINGS. Give me an assignment. Give me some rules. Give me a list. Give me the "5 STEPS TO...". I'm ready for that. Just BEING? That's another story. Bottom line is, most of us don't know how to BE. We're totally stumped.
In fact, for me, it's even worse. When I'm not doing, I feel guilty! Why aren't you doing anything? Why are you just sitting there? What are you producing? Seriously, you have absolutely nothing to show for your day? No productivity at all? Seriously? What a loser?
Several people have asked me "How's the sabbatical coming?" I'm stumped. What do I answer? "I sat really still today and didn't do anything"? What I want to say is, "Let me show you all the things I've accomplished already...and only 2 days in!!!" But, if I was being truly honest, my answer would be something more along the lines of, "I was still for several hours and felt guilty about it for all but about 4 minutes". Pretty pathetic.
I'm a do-er at heart, but God says to know him I have to be what's required of me to be from time to time...a be-er. I'm not talking about sitting cross-legged on the floor, chanting and contemplating my naval. I think it's more about giving myself permission to STOP for a while and just hang with God. Talk to Him. Read his words to me. Be a person rather than a pastor for a while. Tell Him what I'm struggling with, what I'm afraid of, where I've failed and ask Him to do in me what I'm incapable of doing for myself. Ask Him to speak and to give me ears to hear.
That doesn't fit on a calendar, a To-Do List or a Day-Planner. There is no box to check off that says, BE STILL. DONE. CHECK. On to the next item.
I don't have this down yet, but I do know one thing...I gotta get it down.
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