31 days!

For 31 days we’ve talked about the busyness of our world, the restlessness of our hearts, and the captivity of activity. We’ve discussed why and how and what might happen if we don’t stop this frantic pace of life.

All this to get to a place where we recognize the gift God gives in stillness – in rest.  

Today there are few words.

Instead, go … find a place where you can meet your God … and be still in His presence.

Be still and know that I am God.    ~ Psalm 46:10 (NLT)

Find Him today in the stillness.

Thank you for walking with me.

There are levels of knowing.

We can know childbirth is painful, but until we experience it, we really don’t know. We can know the first couple of months with a newborn bring sleep deprivation, but until we are awakened every 2 hours for 8 weeks straight, we really don’t know what lack of sleep can do to your body and your emotions. We can know a two-year-old will try our patience, but until we’ve gone head-to-head with a toddler’s independent streak, we really don’t know.

There is an intellectual knowing. And then there is an experiential knowing – a knowing that comes only by experience.

Be still and know that I am God.   ~ Psalm 46:10 (NLT)

We can know of God and know who He is, but that’s not what this verse is talking about. The knowing in this verse goes far beyond knowing who God is.

The Hebrew word for ‘know’ in Psalm 46:10 is yada. It means:

• to learn to know
• to see
• to know by experience
• to make oneself known

Psalm 46:10 is talking about knowing God by experience. It refers to walking with Him day by day and experiencing His glorious presence on the mountaintop as well as in the valley. This is the deep knowing of spirit to Spirit.

When we cease striving – the phrase used for ‘be still’ in the NASB translation – we let go, we relax, and we take ourselves off the hook for making the world spin. Then, and only then, can we truly experience God. As we drop our driven-ness, abandon our need to be in control, and refrain from trying to make life happen, we begin to see God more clearly.

 And He, in turn, makes Himself known.

When Jesus was walking toward Jericho, He passed a blind man who was begging at the side of the road. The man was persistent and kept calling out to Jesus, even after many told him to be quiet. But Jesus stopped and asked a question we should all seriously consider, “What do you want Me to do for you?” The blind man responded in a way we all should, “I want to see!”

I want to see.

I want to see Him more visibly, to hear Him more clearly, and to know Him more deeply.

But for that I need to be still.

God always wants to take us to new depths of intimacy with Him. In fact, scripture says we have been chosen to know God.

Would you find a time to be still today, so you can get to know Him better?

Reflections for Being Still Today: Do you know God by experience? How deep is your level of knowing God? Do you know of Him, know Him through another person, or know Him intimately for yourself? How can you know Him better today? Scripture for Being Still Today: ”But you are my witnesses, O Israel!” says the LORD. “You are my servant. You have been chosen to know me, believe in me, and understand that I alone am God. There is no other God–there never has been, and there never will be. Practice Being Still Today: Be still before the Lord today –whatever form that takes – and ask Him to make Himself known to you. He has chosen you to know Him.

We all look forward to our vacations. A time to get away, to take a break from the normal demands of life, and to rest.

But we all know how it goes. You work twice as hard the week before to tie up all the loose ends so you can relax. Stress mounts as you write the lists, do the packing, and navigate all the last minute details of getting away. When you finally arrive at your destination, your blood pressure is elevated and it takes you two or three days to get into a vacation frame of mind. Then the week is over before you know it. And then you are insanely busy the week after as you try to catch up from all you missed while away.

We often need a vacation from our vacation.

Perhaps this isn’t the kind of rest God promises.

Perhaps two weeks out of fifty-two is not what God had in mind.

Maybe the rest God promises is more a state of mind and heart in the midst of the every day.

We know it is not possible, nor is it biblical, to live every day in a state of continual physical rest – there are things to do. But we can live in a state of constant spiritual rest, even in the midst of chaos.

God’s rest is a gift He offers to us, both in this life and in the next.

Rest Here and Now

If His gift of rest is for the here and now, then we want to make every effort to receive and appreciate what God has already provided.

God has given us Sabbaths – a day in our week set aside for rest. Sadly, many of us use it as another day to get things done. I still remember months ago when my husband met me in the laundry room one Sunday afternoon and gently pried the laundry basket from my hands. He was right – there are six other days to do laundry. The Sabbath is a gift from God for our good, but we need to receive it as such.

Eternal Rest

God has given us work to do while on earth. But as we throw ourselves wholeheartedly into that work, we can know there is rest coming. Heaven’s rest is a promise and we can look forward to it with much anticipation.

So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labours, just as God did after creating the world.   ~ Hebrews 4:9-10 (NLT)

 

“Take anything you delight in here on earth: Your children. Your craftwork. Your hot tub. The dewed green of a fairway on a July morning. The sweet corn from your garden, butter-drenched. Enjoy them all. Find rest in them. But imagine how much more awaits you.”          ~ Mark Buchanan The Rest of God

 

Ask God to enable you to experience His rest right where you are today.

Reflections for Being Still Today: When do you feel most at rest? How can you enter the rest of God in the midst of your busy life Scripture for Being Still Today: He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.   ~ Psalm 23:3 (NLT) Practice Being Still Today: Pick of Scripture verse that has special meaning for you right now and write it down to carry with you throughout the day. Read it when you have a spare moment and let His truth lead you to rest in Him in the midst of ordinary life.

Where do you run when life gets crazy?

Do you pull up your bootstraps, dig in with sheer determination, and barrel your way through? When calendars get full and schedules leave little room to breathe, do you throw yourself into each task with all you’ve got and push through in mere survival mode?

I admit that is often my default.

When you are weary from carrying heavy burdens do you look within or look to Him?

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”    ~ Matthew 11:28-30   (NLT)

 

Come to Me.

When life gets crazy and burdens are heavy and we are weary from it all, we are to come to Him.

Because He gives rest.

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.   ~ Psalm 91:1 (NLT)

 

But How?

What does it mean – really – to come to Him? When pressures mount, how do we practically come to God and receive His rest?

I know for me, when I feel that familiar feeling rise, and I’m kicking into high gear to push my way through my days, I’ve found that stopping helps. Literally getting down on my knees, telling Him how I feel and giving Him the list of all I need to accomplish. Asking Him to enable me to do it in His strength instead of my own has helped me to move from walking in the flesh to walking in the Spirit.

When we push and rush and run around our lives, we are not walking in the Spirit. We are relying on ourselves to make life happen.

Making life happen is not being still.

Walking in the Spirit is waiting for the hand of God to move and then taking steps of obedience.

So if life is crazy for you today, go to Him.

He is telling you to come.

Reflections on Being Still Today: Have you found your default to be pushing through on your own strength? What is the result of this way of living? How can you come to God when life gets crazy? Scripture for Being Still Today: Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”    ~ Matthew 11:28-30   (NLT) Practice Being Still Today: Come to God right now, right where you are. Tell Him your plans for today. Surrender them to Him and ask Him to help you move through life in a position of rest.

 

 

My husband is from a remote community in northern Ontario. And when I say remote, I mean one-room-schoolhouse-remote. In Shining Tree you will find a smattering of half a dozen cottage-like dwellings around a lake in the middle of nowhere. (The fire hall is a small shack to house a generator and a long hose. If your house is further than hose length, you are in trouble!)

It’s beautiful.

I remember the first time he took me there. We stood out on a rock point down by the lake and what I heard was almost shocking.

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

No drone of distant traffic, no sirens blaring, no dogs barking or children squealing.

Silence.

It was the strangest sound. It made me realize how the whir of constant noise has a norm for me – for us.

Similar to waiting, silence is almost foreign in our culture. In a world filled with sights and sounds, getting quiet enough to listen to the still, small voice of God is difficult. Frankly, slowing down to really listen to anyone is difficult!

But being still involves being silent enough to listen.

My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him.    ~ Psalm 62:5 (NASB)

 

Hunting for Silence

Where can you find silence in your days? Amidst the chatter of little ones, the demands of your job, the phone ringing, and whatever hand-held device you have vibrating, are there moments of silence you can steal away for yourself and your God?

I find the hour before the rest of my house wakes up to be the time that works best for me. Curling up beneath a blanket on the sofa with my Bible in my lap, I’m able to be silent before Him and listen with my spiritual ears.

Maybe you are not a morning person. Maybe the evening works best for you, when the rest of your house is tucked in for the night. Maybe you find silence in the afternoon while little ones are napping.  Or maybe you have to literally lock yourself in your bathroom for a few moments of peace.

Whatever you have to do to get quiet enough to listen, it’s worth it. Because He is speaking.

“The heavens declare the glory of God,” Psalm 19 says. “Day after day they pour forth speech” (vv.1-2).But who’s listening? Prayer, before it’s talking, ought to be listening. Before it’s petition, it should be audition. Before it calls for eloquence, it requires attention. God speaks. We listen. Prayer’s best posture is ears cupped, head tilted toward that Voice…And what does the Voice speak? More often than not, a question… What does God need or need to know? He lacks nothing: not light, not insight, not knowledge, not power, not love, not the cows on a thousand hills. He has no need for personal growth, anyone’s favour, fresh information. He possesses all things in all fullness. God, strictly speaking, has nothing to ask. But he asks anyhow. And this, I think, is why: nothing hooks us and pries us open quite like a question. You can talk all day at me, yet it obliges me nothing. I can listen or not, respond or not. But ask me one question, and I must answer or rupture our fellowship. God’s inquisitiveness, his seeming curiosity, is a measure of his intimate nature. He desires relationship. He wants to talk with us, not just at us, or we at him.   ~ March Buchanan  The Rest of God

 

Be still … listen.

Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.  ~1 Samuel 3:10 (NASB)

 

Reflections for Being Still Today: Where do you find silence in your noisy life? How can you more intentionally and effectively listen for the still, small voice of God? Scripture for Being Still Today: Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.   ~ 1 Samuel 3:10 (NASB) Practice Being Still Today: Find silence in your day and resist the urge to talk to God. Instead listen for His voice.

 

We’ve been talking about how to resist the captivity of activity in our bustling culture and instead practice the art of being still.Because God says:Be still and know that I am God.   Psalm 46:10If we want to reach new heights and depths with our Creator, we need to learn how to be still. This week we are going to focus on the practices of being still. Because it is a learned response. And when everything in our cultures screams, “Do, do, do!” we need to learn simply how to be. Be still.

 

I vividly remember the days of the terrible two’s, especially with our daughter.

She had (and still does!) more of an independent streak than her brother. She insisted on doing everything herself. She wanted to get dressed herself, put on her shoes by herself, and zip up her coat all by herself. They were all tasks she needed to learn; however when we were running late and trying to get out the door, it would have been much quicker for me to do all those things for her. Standing aside and waiting while she struggled into her shirt and tried again and again to master the zipper of her coat was not easy for me.

Waiting generally does not come naturally for most of us.

In our world of instant everything, waiting seems almost beneath us. We shouldn’t have to wait!

And yet God says:

Those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.    ~ Isaiah 40:31 (NASB)

 

I’d like a little of the inexhaustible energy this verse promises! But the condition for receiving it is the difficult part: waiting for the Lord.

What Does Waiting for the Lord Mean?

Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord.   ~ Psalm 27:14 (NASB)

 

We gain insight when we look to the Hebrew meaning for the word ‘wait.’

Wait = ‘qavah’

• to wait, look for, hope, expect
• to wait or look eagerly for
• to lie in wait for

 

I often tell my children that patience means having a good attitude while you wait. Here we see waiting on God is more than simply a good attitude. It means having a spirit of expectation that God will do exceedingly abundantly more than all we could ask or imagine.

When we wait expectantly, we are eagerly looking for God to show up in our lives. We are scanning the horizon for His answer and expecting Him to meet us in our request. This doesn’t mean we expect Him to give us the answer we desire every time, but it does mean we fully expect Him to answer and trust wholeheartedly in His goodness.

Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.   ~ Psalm 5:3

 

But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.   ~ Micah 7:7

 

Waiting does not necessarily equal inactivity. We can wait on the Lord for direction in a decision we need to make, while still pursing various avenues, praying all the while that God would close and open doors according to His will. Digging into scripture for direction while we wait is another thing we can do in the meantime.

For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.   ~ Romans 8:24-25 (NASB)

 

It takes perseverance to wait. In most cases, it is easier to push ahead and make decisions on our own. It is much more difficult to wait and trust.

Yet the promises are for those who wait.

But those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land.   ~ Psalm 37:9 (NASB)

 

Waiting patiently for my daughter to learn to put on her socks has paid off! Full of independence, she is now able to get ready on her own in the morning, saving me much time. Similarly waiting on God for His direction saves us much trouble and heartache in the end.

What are you waiting on God for today?

Be still … and wait.

Reflections for Being Still Today:  How easy is it for you to wait on God? When have you defiantly rushed past Him and made decisions on your own? What was the result? Do you fully expect God to answer your prayers and fill your life with good things?   Scripture for Being Still Today: The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him.  ~ Lamentations 3:25   Practice Being Still Today: What are you waiting for? What is the position of your heart while you wait? Decide today that you will wait with an expectant heart, then awaken each morning in the week to come with an eagerness to see what God is going to do.

 

 

There are two things that will last for all of eternity: the Word of God and people.

If these are eternal, it makes sense that we would focus our lives around these two priorities.

We’ve been talking about how to resist the whirlwind of activity in our culture – how to be set free from the addiction to busyness. Those of us who are driven and goal-oriented, often find ourselves in a heap of exhaustion from over-scheduling. If that weren’t reason enough to change, God’s Word tells us to be still.

In the stillness we come to know Him in a deeper way.

So we want to know how to slow down and be still amidst the chaos.

Another way to intentionally slow the pace of our lives is to shift your focus from tasks to people.

Although Christ had an enormous ministry from the Father to fulfill when He walked the earth and could have easily been caught up in all He had to do, His focus was always people. His ministry was with people, not tasks.

Similarly our ministry is with people. Whether you are called to teach Sunday School, raise little ones, work behind a desk, cut hair, or any other number of other roles, our ministry is always with people.

We’ve already discussed what happens when tasks are the priority: relationships suffer. In addition, when we are focussed on tasks, our calendars can quickly become full with all we have to do. But when we are focussed on people, we naturally slow to talk and connect and truly listen to them.

Making the Shift

We would all agree that family and those we love are much more important than mundane tasks. But then how often do we choose ‘getting the job done’ before we sit to talk with our family? How often do you find yourself elbow deep in a task when another person is trying to talk to you?

One way to begin making the shift from tasks to people is to intentionally stop what you are doing when another person is talking to you. This is a demonstration of how important they are to you. I need to remind myself of this when I’m flying around the kitchen trying to get dinner on the table, and my children want to tell me about their day at school.

Another way is to purposefully pencil people into your schedule just as you would a task or an appointment. It’s often the things we don’t write down that get forgotten.

Regardless of how you make the shift, focussing on the relationships that matter most in your life will not only deepen them, but will help you to slow as well.

Who is the Lord leading you to connect with today?

Reflections for Being Still Today: Are you primarily focussed on tasks or people? How can you make sure the people closest to you feel like a priority in your life? How will meaningful connections with those around you help you to slow the pace of your life? Scripture for Being Still Today: Children are a gift from the Lord’ they are a reward from him.  ~ Psalm 127:3 (NLT) Practice Being Still Today: Make a meaningful connection with someone today. Take that person out for coffee, give them a phone call, or spend time with them in another way. The tasks can wait.

 

God’s Calendar for Your Life

This is an intriguing thought. What if God is keeping a calendar for each one of us? Let’s imagine that His plans for our lives actually take the form of a physical calendar. What would He have marked on it? We write down things that we don’t want to forget: appointments, errands and tasks to be completed. I wonder if God’s schedule for us looks different than the one we keep? Does He have things like this written down? 

• build relationship with neighbour
• spend quality time with children
• call friend
• tell husband you love him
• be still in My presence

These things rarely make our list. And because of this, do we often make plans that are contrary to His?

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”    ~ Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)

 

Psalm 32:8 is reassuring. God tenderly speaks to us, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.” I can rest assured that God’s calendar for me is far better than my own.

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than you ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”   ~ Isaiah 55:8-9 (NLT)

 

I’d like a sneak peak.

And if God was keeping a calendar for our lives, we can bet it’s not one with every minute of every day filled to capacity. God doesn’t lead us down paths of busyness. He leads us beside still waters.

Are there things in your life that are draining you? Things that give you a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach when you face them? Some of what God has called us to do is difficult –  yes, but not draining. If we are drained, chances are we are trying to do more than God has planned for us. 

Would we be bold enough to ask God what He has marked on the calendar He is keeping for us? What if we began to align our daily calendar with His? What kind of kingdom impact would we have?

How to Measure Time

God measures time from one significant moment to the next. He measures time in steps of spiritual growth.

A conversation between two people that opens the door to share Jesus …

An insight into a portion of scripture …

A step of obedience in a person’s life …

A move toward victory in an area of bondage …

This is how He measures time.

We, on the other hand, mark time by days, months and years. We measure time by another day’s work completed. A task crossed off our list. A project finished.

And herein lies the problem. Busy people are often unwilling to stop their daily tasks when faced with a unexpected and unplanned situation. Busy people often miss the meaningful conversations with a neighbour, the opportunity to answer spiritual questions from children, or the still, small voice of their Creator. Instead they are fooled into thinking that days, weeks, and years mark the passage of time, and they miss those journey posts that mark important steps in the spiritual realm.

Who’s Plan Are You Following?

 We all have plans. But God has plans too. And God’s plans are the ones that are guaranteed to come to pass.

You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purposes will prevail.   ~ Proverbs 19:21 (NLT)

 

And we know that His plans are good.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.   ~ Romans 8:28 (NLT)

 

 Dare to move towards rest in Him. Follow His plans for your life.

Reflections for Being Still Today:  What are some things you feel God has on His calendar for you in the next week? How might they differ from your own plans? How can you align your plans for next week, next month, and next year with God’s?   Scripture for Being Still Today: ”For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”    ~ Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)   Practice Being Still Today: Take some time now to approach the throne and consult Him before you plan another day.

 

 

If you are just joining us now, we are in the midst of a 31 day blog series about Being Still. We’ve talked about the addiction to activity, the outcomes of busyness, and some possible sin issues in the lives of we who are driven to constant activity. And now we are focussing on how to overcome busyness.

 

Joy – or rather lack of joy – is one of the inevitable outcomes of busyness.

When life is crowded and hectic and rushed, there is very little room for joy. Simply going through the motions of getting things done, causes us to miss the beauty in each moment.

One of the ways to slow and be still is to reinstate moments of joy into our lives.

Simple Joy

What does slowing to restore joy look like for you? It may look different for each of us. For me, photography is one of the ways I slow and notice the small joys already present around me. Behind the lens of a camera, I am able to see details I would otherwise rush past. The way raindrops form on leaves, the beauty of a flower, the shades of fall, and the splendour of a sunset.

Reinstating joy involves purposefully scheduling activities you enjoy into your days. A bubble bath, a long walk, worship music while driving, a mug of hot coffee in a comfortable chair when the house is quiet. Maybe it’s a blank canvas and a new brush or your running shoes and a wide open road. Perhaps a good book or a refreshing swim or a long talk with a friend is what you need to infuse joy into your life. Whatever it is for you, slowing to take part in those activities brings joy.

God has given us these things to enjoy that we might praise Him for His goodness.

His purpose is to give us a rich and satisfying life. It is the enemy who is seeking to steal joy.

Consider it All Joy

Although there are many many moments in life to enjoy, we can’t pretend life is all roses. There are times – difficult times – when joy seems almost impossible.

That is, if our definition of joy is as narrow as happiness.

However, when joy to us as Christians is expressed as a fruit of the Spirit, joy is possible in every situation. We are to consider it all joy – even those times that are exceedingly hard – because when our faith is tested, our endurance has a chance to grow.

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.   ~ James 1:2-4 (NLT)

 

You may have noticed it’s in difficult circumstances we tend to lean on God the most. The times of testing are when He is transforming us more and more into the image of His Son. So we can experience joy because of the work He’s doing in us.

Perhaps not easy, but possible when you view your situation from a heavenly perspective.

Hunting for joy in life – the small moments and the great – helps to slow. Will you go on a joy hunt with me?

Reflections for Being Still Today: What brings you joy? How can you enjoy those activities more often? When do you find it difficult to find joy? How can you rejoice in difficulty? Scripture for Being Still Today: For the joy of the Lord is your strength.   ~ Nehemiah 8:10 (NASB) Practice Being Still Today: Choose one simple thing you can do today that would bring you joy. Take time to enjoy moments God so graciously gives.

My son’s fifth birthday was fast approaching and I was planning his first ever school party. He had chosen five friends to invite and was so excited to have them over to play.

I wanted the perfect party.

The invitations matched the theme. The cake was carefully chosen and professionally decorated. I had activities planned and scheduled throughout the duration of the party. Party favours were purchased and organized into bags for the little guests to take home. The house was spotless and decorated with birthday flair.  

Soon our home was filled with five loud, rambunctious, kindergarten boys. I quickly learned my attention to detail and carefully planned activities were lost on them. All they wanted to do was play castles and knights. I hauled our son’s castle out to the living room floor and they spent most of the party crowded around it’s turrets saving princesses and fighting dragons. There was a small break  when cake was announced, which was quickly devoured with little acknowledgment to the design, then back to castle playing.

And my son? He was thrilled!

To have his friends over to play was enough for him. He didn’t need a spotless, well-decorated house. He didn’t need the invitations to match the cake which matched the theme.

He would have been happy with a simple party.

I had made it much more complex than it needed to be.

Sometimes We Make Things Far Too Complicated

Don’t we tend to do this in many areas of our lives? Make it much more complicated than it needs to be? Sometimes we plan and organize and worry and fret over details that wouldn’t need to be.

Extravagant events.

Crazy-busy Christmas celebrations.

Elaborate meals.

And often our desire for creating perfect events prevents us from doing the very things we love. We are hesitant to invite a family over for Sunday lunch because we’ve placed an unrealistic expectation on ourselves that it has to be for a five-course meal. We choose not to open our home to unexpected guests because we have it in our heads that it needs to be immaculate.

Combine our love for planning, our attention to detail, and our desire for perfection, and the result is we only add to the busyness of our lives.

Simplify

What would happen if we consciously decided to simplify our approach to life? Would our busyness decrease? Would be closer to finding rest in God?

Choose soup and grilled cheese over roast beef and mashed potatoes for Sunday lunch and invite that family.

Make simple birthday party plans over elaborate ones.

Invite a friend over for coffee in the midst of the reality of a home that is lived in.  

A Perfect Heart Despite an Imperfect Life

I’m learning perfection is more of a heart attitude than a reality. I can have a perfect heart towards God even when my performance isn’t perfect.  

When the house is chaos and the piles of dishes match the laundry, my heart can still be in a place of rest before my Father. I can still be fully committed to Him when my performance isn’t perfect.

The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.    ~ 2 Chronicles 16:9 (NLT)

 

Look Up

There is much hustle and bustle on planet earth. But when we raise our eyes and look up, what do we see? Lazy clouds floating across a summer sky. The deep blue of the heavens.

When we focus on the realities of heaven, not on the things of the earth, we are calmed. When we think about the things of heaven, a perfectly planned five-year-old-birthday party may not seem as important. The things that are unnecessary are stripped away and what remains is of kingdom importance: Relationships. People.

Will you determine to simplify some areas of your life with me? Resist the urge to contribute to the complexities of life. Look up instead. Simplify and slow to experience the rest He offers.

Reflections for Being Still Today:  How do you make life more complicated than it needs to be? How can you simplify your approach to life? How can your heart be perfect towards God when your performance isn’t?   Scripture for Being Still Today: Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.   ~ Colossians 3:1-3 (NLT)   Practice Being Still Today: Plan simple meals today. Use the extra time to be still before God.