This year, we’re focusing on one word a month. In January, we focused on being PRESENT. In February, we talked about saying YES. And in March, we’re going to focus on a word that makes me struggle, squirm, and even gives me pain: STILL.
I’m not very good at staying still. I can work, take care of kids, exercise, and juggle a pretty full social schedule. But I can’t sit still.
Can anyone relate?
Just try sitting still for 5 minutes. Allow yourself to do nothing. Pretty tough, isn’t it? If you’re like me, your mind races to everything you should be doing. You remember what you forgot to do yesterday. You think about what you need to do tomorrow. You feel like you are missing out on emails and texts. Maybe you even experience a disease that plagues me when I’m still: FOMO (“Fear of Missing Out!”).
Why do we have such a hard time being still?
I’m not sure. Maybe we have an inflated view of what we accomplish with our time. Maybe we forget that, while time is precious, eternity is forever. Maybe we’re control freaks with a serious case of FOMO. Or we are just stressed-out and unable to relax.
In any event, being still is necessary. Being still is healthy. Being still ordained by God. Even a Harvard Business Blog talks about the benefits of doing nothing.
In the Psalms, God clearly tells us, “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10) (emphasis mine)
God obviously knows us better than we know ourselves. When we recharge — when we let go of our time and stay STILL – we affirm that He is in charge, not us.
But for most of us, it doesn’t come easy. Will you join me in praying for the strength to stay STILL this week?
*************
God, please help me to put aside my own agenda and be still. I want to be intentional. I know that I need to set aside time to rest. I know that I need to listen to the quiet voice in my soul. Please help me to recharge and know that you are God.
