Be Still and Know God

Be still … words that rarely make it onto our list of things to do. We rush through one thing to tackle the next and add in another. It’s how we’ve been conditioned by the world to believe we should live. There’s a tragic reason for this misconception.

The enemy of our souls doesn’t want us to get still because when we do, we might spend time with God. We might actually come to know Him.

And the more we know Him, the more we will worship Him.

I had this epiphany one day while maneuvering my shopping cart through a crowded store like I was competing in the Indianapolis 500. No time to consider the new variety of apple glistening in the produce display or appreciate the vibrant colors of floral arrangements or allow the aroma of freshly baked cookies to carry me back to sweet childhood memories. Just hurry, hurry, hurry.

But what was I hurrying to?

Another nonessential errand? A pile of laundry that wasn’t going anywhere? An inbox full of emails that weren’t urgent or important?

So I stopped … because nothing really seemed worth the all that hurry. 

Hurrying ramps up our anxiety and kicks us into a perpetually tense state of being. (Note: It can also garner nasty looks from the other shoppers who don’t recognize a shopping cart that identifies as an indie race car when it cuts them off or blows past them in the grocery store aisle.)

That day I circled back around to the produce section and gave my attention to admiring God’s creativity in nourishing us physically through so many delicious options and the gift of taste that allows us to enjoy them. I took a stroll through the bakery and wafted in warm childhood memories. I literally stopped to smell the roses on my way to the checkout line.

I left the store not tense, but relaxed. Even more than that, I left the store with a deeper appreciate for my status as a child of a loving Father. Sounds silly I know. But God showed up in the shopping cart as I meandered around the store.

Since that day I have fought against the urge to hurry. I’ve moved at a slower pace and let things go that really didn’t need to be on my list of things to do.

And in the stillness of my unrushed days, I’ve come to know God with a new level of intimacy and a deeper appreciation for all that He is.

The Hebrew word translated be still in the verse above means to refrain, while and know carries the idea of to perceive, acknowledge, understand, or consider.

When we refrain from the things that don’t matter, we have time to know.

After all, we can’t truly worship what we don’t know.

And we can’t truly know God unless we take time to perceive, acknowledge, understand, and consider who He is.

We’re surrounded by the goodness of God, but we miss it in our race to do more.

Unfortunately, our hurry does more to serve Satan than it does to glorify God.

Slow down and get to know God by reading His Word, praying, and spending time contemplating the wonder of His creation.

Questions for Reflection:

1. What drives you to hurry? How does it make you feel?

2. Do you find it difficult to be still? Why might that be?

3. Set aside some time today to be still. Pray for the desire to know God above all else.