Be Still

Last Updated on April 6, 2018

Do you ever find yourself struggling with the litany of to-do’s on your never-ending lists? Do you ever struggle to be still, to take a moment and rest in God’s presence?

If you’re human, and especially if you’re a mom, your answer will be, “Yes!”

I recently called into a business meeting, but since my main job was to listen, I became restless. I muted the phone and folded laundry, started the washer, and picked up messes. As the meeting wrapped up, the ladies in the conference room closed in prayer. But I had my head stuck under a chair to pick up the shreds of paper my little one had dropped all over the floor. At first, I kept grabbing paper. Then the doorbell rang. On the way back from the door, I gathered more stuff off the floor. And the table. And the couch.

And then…

The Lord whispered to my heart soothing words from the Psalms.

[verse reference=”Psalm 46:10″]Be still, and know that I am God.[/verse]

I would love to say I immediately sank to my knees and bowed my head in prayer. Or that I released my hold on getting stuff done. But like a wind-up toy that couldn’t stop until my spring ran out, I kept going. A battle waged in my will: Do I do what is best or what is immediate?

I finally sank to the ground. My body sagged in relief. I’m not sure I heard every word the ladies prayed, but my heart rested in the Lord. I prayed for a friend having a serious surgery that day. I thanked God for the opportunity to sit before Him. I was still, and my mind resonated with the thought of how big God is, and how one day, in His presence, none of the stuff I was cleaning up would matter.

And there was peace.

One version of Psalm 46:10 reads, “Cease striving, and know that I am God” (NASB). The word “strive” fits our lives so well, doesn’t it? It brings to mind someone sweating, working, climbing uphill through a jungle. We make life so hard. And life is hard, sometimes.

But sometimes the most powerful moments in our spiritual walk with the Lord are the ones where we stop straining toward more goals and opportunities and simply sit in God’s presence, standing in awe of who He is. God is rest. God is peace. God is waiting. Always.

And my soul is waiting for me to seek Him.

May you be still and know the peace of God.