BREAKTHROUGH THE NOISE
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. …”
Psalm 46:10 (NIV)
I find it interesting that the psalmist said the way we know that God is God is stillness. Most people, I have found, avoid stillness with everything they can. Our minds are constantly moving, and often, the moment we sit, the noise in our heads gets loud. Some of this is due to our hectic pace; some are pains in our lives that haven’t been dealt with, while others are spiritual warfare. The point remains: stillness is hard, yet it’s the way to know God. For some reason, God is in the stillness in ways that He’s not in a Mach 3 schedule. Sure, God is omnipresent, which is a fancy way of saying He’s everywhere. So, it’s unfair to say God isn’t in the busy moments, but the place we become aware of Him in supernatural ways is in the stillness.
This can create a problem for many of us because our schedules are packed from morning to evening. We have jobs to do, bills to pay, phones that never stop, and relationships that require attention. Many of these things are good but can affect our ability to slow down, hear from God and know His peace. We bring this speed to our time with Him. We can sometimes rush through our quiet time just to check a box and then get on to the next thing. For some of us, our quiet time is another thing we blitz through. The psalmist invites us to slow down and live in a way that is countercultural. I’ve recently been using the phrase we go slow to go fast. When things speed up, the first thing that usually goes is our time with God. The opposite should be true when things speed up. We should slow down and let God speak to us. I have found the irony is that I actually get more done in these times because I’m tapped into His wisdom, power and plan. God honors and multiplies our time when we seek Him first. There has to be a turning point in our lives where we stop trying to slot God in and decide to build our lives around Him. Trying to slot God in will always cause us to move so fast that we miss what He is saying, but to build our lives means we are willing to wake up a little earlier, turn off the TV or cancel a plan because we say there’s nothing more important than Jesus. Jesus should be at the center of my schedule.
APPLICATION: Take a few moments today to be still and invite God into your life.
PRAYER: Spend time listening to the Spirit. Take time to invite Him into everything you’re walking through in your head. Ask Him to specifically guide you on a time each day you can meet with Him and be faithful to do it!
“… Our Father in heaven…” Matthew 6:9b (NLT)
- What do You want to say to me today as my Father?
“… may Your name be kept holy.” Matthew 6:9c (NLT)
- What do You want to reveal to me about Your power today?
“May Your Kingdom come soon.” Matthew 6:10a (NLT)
- Help me make Your priorities my priorities today.
“Give us today the food we need,” Matthew 6:11 (NLT)
- Is there anything specific You want me to do with my time or the people I’m around today?
“and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us” Matthew 6:12 (NLT)
- Reveal to me anyone I need to forgive or ask for forgiveness.
“And don’t let us yield to temptation…” Matthew 6:13a (NLT)
- Is there anywhere I’m vulnerable to temptation?