Being Still...

Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10a
In this day and age, finding a moment of peace can be very difficult. Between our busy work schedules, kids activities, meetings, church, Bible studies, homework, get togethers, etc… It is extremely difficult to find time to be still. Do you find it as hard as I do to not only take time for yourself, but to take time to be still before God? Everything inside of us tells us to keep moving… physically, mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually.

When we look at some verses in Luke Chapter 10, we read the story of Mary and Martha. Martha was very busy preparing and planning, and was rather irritated with her sister who was not helping her. She was in fact, just sitting at the feet of Jesus, absorbing every word. Let’s take a look at their story from God’s Word…

Luke 10:38-42 (NIV)  38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to Him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

   41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “You are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.a]'> Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

You see,  like Martha, sometimes we get so busy with everyday things that consume so much of our time and energy. In reality, when we look at the response that Jesus gives, these things have little consequence in the grand scheme of life. It seems we need to prioritize our lives a little and consider more than today or tomorrow. We need to be focused on ETERNITY. God has some wonderful plans for our lives, plans to prosper us… (Jeremiah 29:11) Are we too busy to just slow down enough to find out what those plans are?

The following story by Steven R. Covey really made an impact on me the first time I heard it. It reflects on the need of renewal in our lives.

Suppose you come upon a man in the woods feverishly sawing down a tree. “You look exhausted!” you exclaim. “How long have you been at it?”, “Over 5 hours, and I am beat. This is hard!” “Maybe you could take a break for a few minutes and sharpen your saw. Then the work will go faster.” “No time,” says the man emphatically, “I am too busy sawing!”

Like the saw that the man was using, we may have become dull in our own lives by simple going with the continual motion of our busy schedules.  This can lead to exhaustion… physically, mentally spiritually and emotionally.

You may be thinking, I don’t even know how to be still for 5 minutes. That’s exactly why you need to do it. Take some time today to renew yourself by being still before your Heavenly Father.  He longs to spend time with you and you will find that the more time you are still before the Lord, the less your busy life will be spinning out of control! God bless you my friends!