Stillness
Stillness is the long-lost spiritual practice.
It won’t take much time of reflection to realize just how true that statement is. Think about all the noise – sometimes literally! – that fills up your life. TV programming, live sports, podcasts, and, yes, even radio stations. Advertisements, appointments, school, work, friends, family, responsibilities, volunteering . . . the list goes on!
You’ll also notice that most, if not all, of these things are good things. Or at least can be! But when our lives are filled to the brim with noise and our calendars are overflowing with appointments, there is no time left to simply be. Stillness isn’t an option. Even in our quieter moments, we tend to fill with noise; our morning cup of coffee is supplemented with scrolling our phone, for example.
(Okay. I debated writing this next paragraph. But I’m going to do it anyway.
Please direct all complaints to River Dog).
Our churches aren’t good at this, either. Most of our worship services have a rocking band and light show that looks AWESOME. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that. But I wonder if – in all the awesomeness – we’ve lost the ability to sit quietly before God and worship. You know: the whole thing the Church is supposed to be about.
I firmly believe that we don’t know how to be still.
So what do we do about it?
I think the first step is to simply try. That’s the example we see from Jesus. Mark 1:35 says that Jesus went off to a quiet place to pray. Now, before we go further, this seems like a good time to mention that my wife and I have two small children. Maybe you’re in a similar situation! If so, then you know the idea of finding ANY sort of quiet place is nearly impossible. Don’t be discouraged by that: Jesus is well-aware of the limitations of your season. But is there a few moments somewhere in your day where you could just be still? I think it’s worth a shot.
The other step is to limit the noise. Again, this is way easier said than done. But what would it look like to cultivate a life that’s more still? This could be no phones at dinner or having a moment of silent prayer along with spoken prayers and bedtime stories. The beautiful thing about life with Jesus is that it isn’t a set of rules that you have to get right. He’s inviting you – in your real life, in this real season – into deeper fellowship with Him through practicing stillness.
Here’s a couple questions to get you started!
1. Psalm 46:10 says “Be still and know that I am God.” What is a moment in your day that you could form a habit of being still before God?
2. What is one way in this season of life where you could limit the noise in your life?
