Be Still

Lately I've been trying to learn what it truly means to "be still." Kids hear that a lot. I know mine do, but I feel as though God has been saying it to me too. And not just recently, for a long time now.

I struggle with it because I don't know what to do. Does it mean to be inactive, to stop doing all the projects and ministries I'm a part of? Or is it to sit in a silent room away from all distractions, focusing only on God?

I decided to pull out my trusty dictionary that's been around since my elementary school days. There I found a proven definition of the word "still":

(Adj) 1. Without sound; silent. 2. Soft or low in sound. 3. Calm; tranquil. 5. Not effervescent (meaning to give off gas bubbles or to be lively and high spirited).

(Noun) 1. Silence; quiet. 2. A still photograph.

(Adverb) 1. At or up to the time indicated. 2. Even; yet. 3. Nevertheless; yet.

So being "still" is not one of my strong suites. Not because of my effervescent personality, but more because I'm a Martha -- as in Mary and Martha. I'm a worker and a volunteer-for-everything, can't say "No" type of person. But yet the tug at my heart has been to be still.
As I read through the Book of Psalms, David speaks of it repeatedly. Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still, and now that I am God..." That's no small thing. According to The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, those words carry "the idea of refraining from vain strivings and lack of confidence." That goes a long way toward describing me. What good were my actions if my soul was never at rest, when in the end it is not my actions that will save me but my relationship with God. And lack of confidence? Behind all my work that's exactly what I was left with. That was it! For me I had some how come to to a misunderstanding. I had mistook my busyness for the Lord and all the work I did for Him as a close relationship with Christ.

The idea truly hit me when I was recently reading Joanna Weaver's book Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World. Joanna writes, "I don't like loneliness, so I fill the space with phone calls and social events and trips to the mall -- but loneliness, as my friend Jeanne Mayo puts it, can be "God's call to fellowship with him." I don't like quietness, so I fill up the silence with sitcoms and talk shows, Christian music and CNN -- but it was in the quiet of the night that Samuel heard God's voice."

I can see so much more clearly now that the desire for stillness is also a desire for a deeper more personal relationship with God. He wants not only to be my King, Lord, and Saviour, but to truly be my friend. That means a resolved approach to Bible study and daily devotions and prayer. A renewed interest, not in simply being involved in church but in going to learn, grow, and meet with God.

For so much of my life, church days were the busiest of the week. There were classes to be taught, praise and worship songs to sing, missions to build up, and youth trips to organize. And don't even get me started on the weeks of preparation before vacation Bible school each summer. In looking back, I have certainly worked for the Kingdom, but I can't say that any of it brought me closer to Christ.

Weaver says that "We were designed to be close to God." I'm learning that more and more now. The more time I have been saving for him lately -- in personal prayer and Bible study as well as corporate through the church -- the more and more I want. Now multiply that infinitely and that is how God feels about spending time with me (and you) as well. It's a little like that old chip commercial that says you can't eat just one. The more of God you get, the more you hunger for him. The more time you sacrifice to give him in your life, the more you want to give up for him.
In the few short months I've renewed my resolve to pursue Him, I've been amazed at the miracles around me. I can hear His voice so much more clearly and my life has completely changed. I'm happier than I've been in ages and have truly began to let go of years of stress and worry. It's amazing what a little prayer in your day can accomplish.