He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10

I remember vividly hearing a now very old song by Steven Curtis Chapman, called King of the Jungle. He talked about how if he could get one hand free, he’d be pulling out his hair. At the time, I was a college junior, taking fifteen credits, working three part time jobs and was on two worship teams. The song resonated at a deep level. 

But I stayed busy. 

Post-graduation, I had one full time job, still served on two worship teams, volunteered with Young Life (youth ministry) and joined a band. My pastor talked about the differences between human being and human doing. 

But I stayed busy.

Twenty-five years later, with a husband, teenagers and just one small part time job, I’m trying to build a writing career, volunteering with Ukrainian refugees, making new friends after move #8 in 24 years, and yes, still on a worship team.

I’m trying hard to be unbusy. (Who knew that was a word!)

Playing Favorites

Do you have favorite theologians? Teachers who inspire you to open your Bible a little more often and dig a little deeper? I do. My friend Michele Wrigley of Holy Trinity Church in McLean, VA is one of them, nineteenth century preacher Charles Spurgeon another, and Dallas Willard is a third. Willard said that hurry is the great enemy of our spiritual life today. 

I think busy is the slightly less obvious and therefore more dangerous cousin of hurry. 

When you look at the definition of hurry, it talks about moving or acting more quickly than normal and in some dictionaries, it describes the need to move or act more quickly than normal. But the Lord calls us to the opposite. He commands us to be still. 

When I’m hurrying, because I’m busy, I don’t always do things as well as I would like. They get done, but perhaps details are overlooked, or extra special touches not included. The laundry might be done, but it isn’t folded into neat piles according to ownership. Bad example, but you get the drift. 

Then consider spiritual lives. How does it feel when you rush through devotions, skim rather than immerse in a passage of scripture or spend your prayer time firing off one liners, arrow prayers, instead of having a heart to heart with the Lord?

Our souls wither. 

True story – research in 2021 suggested people with smart phones touch them over 2600 times a day. Imagine if even for every 100 touches you spent one minute in prayer, that’s almost half an hour a day. For most of us, that would be transformational. 

In the Psalm, we are commanded to be still and know that He is God. In a different translation, it says cease striving. 

Biblical Stillness

If we do what the Psalmist suggests, the rewards are many. First of all, that God will be exalted among the nations, and in the earth. And then let’s think about another extremely powerful verse, Exodus 14:14: The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.

Exalt the Lord and have Him fight for us? This seems like a no brainer. 

Three things to contemplate:

• Where do you feel still? Is it in a certain chair, sitting with a particular view?
• When can you be still? Is there a time of day that naturally lends itself to this practice?
• What does being still look like for you? For some it’s physical stillness, but for others, perhaps a quiet walk so your mind can rest is better.

Can you commit with me to expanding your time of stillness with the Lord?