Here we are entering the season of back to school, extracurricular activities, an end to daylight savings time, a change in the cycle of the year with church activities and services. At our church we have enjoyed a summer of outdoor activities and times of community on Wednesday nights, but within the next few weeks, we will begin having small group gatherings inside. At the Capitol, we will have Veto/ Special session in September and begin drafting legislation at the beginning of October to gear up for the next legislative session.
Do you find that moments of stillness are unattainable? I feel fortunate to have time in the car when I can sit in the quiet, but since I am still alert to what is going on around me, I’m not sure that it actually counts as “stillness.”
To me stillness is a time of quiet, non-distracted, seeking, surrendering, and listening.
In Psalm 46:10a we are encouraged to Be Still and Know that I am God.
It is hard though, with just the noise of life in general and sharing a house with other humans. The TV is playing in one room, a video game or music coming from another room, your phone blowing up with texts and notifications, the dogs barking at anything that moves. (Sally and Laney keep us on high alert!) When do we find stillness?
For me, it happens most if I plan it. I would like for it to be more often, but it’s a starting point. When I need to be somewhere at a certain time, I leave 10- 15 minutes early and sit in my car for a few minutes. (This works better if you aren’t meeting someone or at church or a place where you know everyone, because inevitably someone will want to come to your car and talk or stand waiting for you to get out of the car.) Trust me. It’s good to visit, but when I am seeking some time with God, it is a priority, I would pull into a park or a larger parking lot where I can be undisturbed.
If you are fortunate to have a quiet room in your house where you can shut the door and find your stillness. I like to sit like I would for any sort of meditation and release any thoughts that are weighing on me or overwhelming me, I take a moment and ask that God take those and allow me to focus and open my heart to what He would like to say (communicate) to me. There are times that in my listening and release that I find myself dozing. I don’t necessarily think that is what I want to happen, but it is a comfort to know that I have let go of everything to the point that I go to sleep.
At times I have a scripture that I have read recently and it has stuck with me or there is something about it that I don’t understand or I need clarification. I might begin my stillness with reading over the passage again and spending a couple of minutes reading a few verses before and after it to get a more contextual understanding. I will take a couple of minutes to ask God to help me understand it. Then I will sit in silence again, surrendering, and listening.
I find that after I stay in the habit of finding 10 or 15 minutes of stillness every day or every other day, my spirit is more open to listening even when I am not in complete stillness. I might be in line at the grocery store and God might share something with me, a thought, or something visual, or instruct me to do something and because we have spent this time together, it easier to act because I feel an intimacy and trust with Him, that makes me follow rather than question.
They speak of the glorious splendor of Your majesty- and I will meditate on Your wonderful works. Psalm 145:5
I know this is a hard one, but those nights when you can’t sleep, great opportunity for stillness.
I was part of a Bible study once and the presenter shared that she felt like her life was so busy with ministry, a husband and two school aged children that she had a hard time during the day to actually spend time growing her relationship with God. She starting waking up during the night and was unable to go back to sleep. She felt God nudging her to get her Bible and eventually she got up and read her Bible and spent some time in the stillness. This wasn’t something that happened every night, but she shared that she got in the habit when it did, of getting up right away and reading her Bible.
We all need our sleep and I’m not suggesting that you get up in the middle of the night, but I am saying that perhaps when you are unable to sleep, it is an opportunity to have the stillness that seems beyond your reach during the activities and demands that are part of your day.
[Blessed are those] whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on His law day and night. Psalm 1:2
For great is Your love, higher than the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Psalm 108:4
Lord
I am still
And I open my heart to You
I release my worries
And my concerns
I lift my heart
And offer it to You
Grateful and honored
To be loved by You
Listening
Deep inside
Searching for a word
Or message
Steeping in it
Completely absorbing
Rising to re-engage
With life
Yielding
To Your path