Practice Stillness

When we do not do the one thing we ought to do, we have no time for anything else--we are the busiest people in the world. ---Eric Hoffer

Have you ever tried to dig a hole in dry sand? One shovelful comes out, another slides in from the edges. You dig and dig and keep finding more and more sand in the hole. It’s tempting to say, “That’s enough; I quit!” Chances are (if you are like most) you find yourself busily attempting to dig yourself out after the tasks of life slide in upon you. As a matter of fact, you might be reading this on a break, or have had to put off reading this until later because you are so busy. The responsibilities of career, family, a social life and church can seem never-ending. The “to-do” list grows to multiple pages. Each hour of each day of the calendar fills. Someone asks, “What do you do in your spare time?” You respond, “Spare time? What’s that?”
When is the last time that you took time to be still? Do you remember? I remember times in my own life when I’ve experienced true stillness: standing alone in a humid Costa Rican rainforest at dusk, intense times of prayer when all distractions seemed far removed from me, a moment in the National Cathedral in Washington, and some other instances come to mind. In each case, the busyness of life was overridden in the stillness by the presence of God. But then, I had to be still first. I wonder how many times I was so busy making and carrying out my plans, that I missed God in the process. He’s there, and I shuffle about under my load, head down, and miss that moment with Him. Since every worthwhile relationship takes time, could it be said that your relationship with Him is being shown as worthwhile by the time you spend with Him? You say, “But there’s the hole, and the sand, the growing ‘to-do’ list and the day planner. There is no time!” Yes, life is busy, there is no mistaking that. But there is time for God, assuming you make time. Martin Luther once said, “I have so much business to do today that I shall not be able to get through it with less than three hours’ prayer.” You must make time before God to be still.

Ps. 46:10a reads, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Be still, quit grasping, stop trying to do it alone, wait quietly upon Him…Be still and you will know that He is God.

Dustin C. George
Minister to Single Adults
www.sevierheights.org