In the midst of the chaos, the swirling events of each day, and the uncertainty that the thoughts of tomorrow bring, remember to take time to BE STILL.
One reason that we so often become overwhelmed, flustered, and beaten down is our great lack to take time to just be still and hear God’s voice. To take a real, physical break to sit, listen, pray, and read the Word. To recharge for whatever may lay ahead, but now with our hand gripped firmly in the infinite One’s.
Jesus promised He would give us a water that will quench our thirst. We are constantly struggling, striving, pushing to meet the demands of this world and our society. We are thirsting for fulfillment, for approval, for acknowledgement. All along Jesus is by our side with the one thing which will quench us and satisfy our soul-hunger.
Being still in a world that is never still is something that is near impossible. The world constantly moves, changes, morphs into new trends and ideals - life is a struggle to keep up, to never fall behind. But for the Christian, taking time to be still is something that must happen, and not just once a week in Church - no, daily.
When we lose our way and we don’t remember who we are because we are chasing the dreams, the aspirations, the goals that we have set for our own feet based on a worldly measurement of success or greatness, we realize something very fast. Our chase is never ending, always exhausting, and forever draining. As our dreams fade into the distance, we wonder where we went wrong. What we did that created this pain.
Have you ever thought that it was because of our lack of communication with the one who wrote our life-story in the first place!
It's like building a home and not looking at the builder's blueprint. We say, "I got this, leave me be!" We don't consult the builder and instead try to pick up random pieces and stick them together to "make them work". Of course, this fails miserably, and we end up with a mess with all the pieces jumbled and falling apart.
That is why we must turn to God for for the heart-quenching answers that He can only give.
Remember this, you are a child of God. God knew your name before you were born. He formed you. He loves you unconditionally. And He never gives up on you. He sees your brokenness and through it tries to speak.
Yet, how often we are so caught up in either only seeing our troubles and becoming full of self-pity, ignoring our troubles (and also ignoring anything to do with fixing them), or trying to pretend nothing is wrong, and we are “fine, thank-you very much”. Inside though, our heart does not lie about the real situation. We want to be heard. We want to find our life-purpose, our mission. We want the pieces to fit together.
If we would SIT STILL and just take time to listen. To really listen to that still small voice, we would realize what the problem is. We’ve been relying on our own strength rather than God’s mighty power in our life - grace. We’ve been filled with self-pity in some cases and loathing in others, instead of seeing who we are through God’s eyes - a wonderful creation, formed for a reason. A reason far beyond breathing each day, just “getting by”, and finishing each week of work.
My friend, we are here for much more. God has a purpose for YOU! And He wants to talk to you. Will you take a moment to listen and spend time with Him? Just as a friend wants to spend time with you, because they want to get to know you more, so Jesus wants you to spend time with Him too so that you can get to know HIM more.
In the chaos and uncertainly of this world, we will only find our strength and courage in Christ. We can only find it if we go to HIM asking, learning, and soaking it all in.
In a world that focuses on being constantly busy to cover up the heart-cry for something more fulfilling, let us take a few moments to be still. And wait for the still small whisper in each of our hearts.
Life is not easy, yet it is not impossible with God by our side. He will make a way when no way is seen and He will open doors when we see only a wall of discouragement.
But we must first ask, and to ask we must take a moment to be still and know that “HE IS GOD”.
PRAYER:
Lord, I know that in a world of hurry and rush, I can get so caught up in it that I forget to seek your face. So, Father, help me to make time to hear your whisper in my heart and come away from the all of the busyness of life, to spend time with YOU. I gain my strength from YOU. I gain courage from YOU. And my hope is found in Your Son’s sacrifice for my sins. I pray that I will tune my ear to hear your voice in my heart and that I will become spiritually strong in Your name. I pray this in Jesus Name, Amen.
