God says, “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)
My lack of stillness comes from trying to be God. I multi-task, stay digitally connected, keep up with news/sports/entertainment, track my steps and sleep hours — it’s like I’m trying not to disappoint my cell phone. But God reminds me the position of ‘Lord of My Life’ has been filled. I used the familiar translation of “Be still”, but I guess there are other ways to render the Hebrew words. Stop fighting. Be calm. Let go of your concerns. Cease striving. One paraphrase even says, ‘Step out of the traffic.’ This psalm is true: it’s very hard and maybe even impossible to “know… God” when our brains and hearts are racing around from this to that and back again. Even the walkers, runners, strollers and park-bench-sitters I see have the ubiquitous little white wires connecting their ears and brains to streaming noise. Instead I think God wants us to seek out a single flower, the face or laugh of a child, a star — or maybe even a real stream. All those say, ‘God made me… and you didn’t.’ Modern life is manic and insane, so we need to take steps to “be still” so we can access a quiet, peaceful, loving God.
Lord, when it comes to all the noise of my life, I’m not a victim but a perpetrator. I do it to myself. Help me get into stillness, where I can know who you are and how your love works. Amen.
