Be Still and Know

If you ask most people today, “How are you?”, you will often hear, “Busy!” Do you hear people say, “I’m having a relaxing, stress-free day with more time on my hands that I know what to do with?” We live in a day when there are so many demands on our time. In many households, the husband and wife both work. Many children are involved in so many activities that parents can meet themselves coming and going. Music lessons, gymnastics, sports activities, cheerleading, band practice, and the list goes on. If you’re a single parent, it may be even harder because of not having someone to help share the load.

You would think with all our modern conveniences that our lives would be easier, calmer, and more stress-free. But think about this. Have you ever watched Little House on the Prairie, Andy Griffith, or The Waltons? They didn’t have all the things we have now to make life easier, but they always found time for family. They had time to sit out on the front porch and talk. It seemed to be about family and spending time with those you love.

I can remember growing up and spending many hours sitting around with family and extended family relaxing and visiting. My Mom’s side of the family is very musical, so I grew up listening to my uncles and cousins playing bluegrass and country music at family gatherings. I am one of the 24 grandchildren on that side of the family so there were many of us! No one was in a hurry. We enjoyed being with each other.

In those days we didn’t own a dishwasher, microwave, or many of the other conveniences we have today, yet our lives were more peaceful. The pace of the typical American family has increased dramatically. Even the terms we use say something about our culture. Rat race. Rush hour. People used to have to wait for the next train, but now if we miss an opening in a revolving door, we can get stressed. Do you long for a slower pace?

Oh, and let’s talk about stress. Does anyone feel stressed because there just doesn’t seem to be enough time to do everything required? Do you find yourself saying, “I didn’t have time.” God has given us all different gifts, talents and abilities, but one way every person is the same is that we all have 24 hours in a day. It’s up to us how we use them.

It’s normal for some people to hit the ground running every morning and collapse in bed at night. Is this the way God intended for us to live? There is a small book called, “The Tyranny of the Urgent.” In it, the author writes that we often replace the important things with the urgent things. Sometimes the important things get set aside while we deal with the urgent. In order to make sure we are focusing on what is important, we need to stop and be still.

Psalm 46:10 (NKJV) says, “Be still, and know that I am God.” The first thing we need to do is be still and remember He is God, In the midst of our busy lives, God wants to stop and be still. Psalm 23:2 (NKJV) says, “He leads me beside the still waters.” Picture a lake or a pond on a day with no wind. It’s such a peaceful sight. God wants us to be still in the midst of our daily lives and remember He is God. He is on His throne and He is in control.

We must focus on the fact that He is God and we are not! The New American Standard Version of Psalm 46:10 is, “Cease striving, and know that I am God.” How often are we trying to do things in our own strength or rushing around like a chicken with our head cut off and Jesus is calling us to be still? Psalm 131:2-3 (NASB) says, “Surely I have composed and quieted my soul; Like a weaned child rests against his mother, My soul is like a weaned child within me.” David says in Psalm 62:5 (NASB) , “My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him.”

Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 11:28-29 (MSG), “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me – watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.” Keeping a bow always tight will eventually break it or cause it to lose its strength. We must take time to relax, regroup, and spend time in God’s presence or we will break. As the saying goes, “Come apart before you come apart!”

Listen to this prayer of Wilferd Alan Peterson or possibly Orin Crain (There is some disagreement of the authorship.) – “Slow me down, Lord. Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind. Steady my hurried pace with a vision of the eternal reach of time. Give me, amidst the confusion of my day, the calmness of the everlasting hills. Break the tensions of my nerves and muscles with the soothing music of the singing streams that live in my memory. Help me to know the magical restoring power of sleep. Teach me the art of taking minute vacations – of slowing down to look at a flower, to chat with a friend, to pat a dog, to read a few lines from a good book. Remind me each day of the fable of the hare and the tortoise that I may know that the race is not always to be swift. That there is more to life than measuring speed. Let me look upward to the towering oak and know that it grew great and strong because it grew slowly and well. Slow me down, Lord, and inspire me to send my roots deep into the soil of life’s enduing values that I may grow towards the stars of my enduring destiny.”

Can you picture Jesus rushed or hurried? I can’t. But when He was getting ready to die at 33 years of age, He was able to say to His Father, “I glorified Thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which Thou hast given Me to do.” (John 17:4) There were times Jesus even went away to be alone with His Father and pray. If the Son of God needed to do this, how much more do we? I challenge you to take some time today to reflect on what the most important use of your time is. Not the most urgent – but the most important. Be still and know that He is God.