How to Be Still
My middle child, Sadie, used to have the hardest time going to sleep. When she was a toddler it was difficult to get her still. There were so many other things she wanted to do other than rest. She would toss and turn to keep herself awake. The only way I could get her to finally rest is to literally put my hands on her and apply some slight slight pressure. I don’t know why, but this would immediately still her so she could go to sleep. Do any of you have a child like that?
This was how I got her to relax and truly rest. God wants rest for us too. I have recently been reading Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Numbers. They are some of the harder books of the Bible to digest, but there is one thing that keeps coming up! It was God’s command for Sabbath and rest. It was (and still is) so important to Him that His people rested. He mentions it over and over again throughout these books of the Bible. I think we struggle to rest because we struggle to be still. And I don’t know about you, but this time of year is filled with busyness. Who has time to rest or be still??? I want to challenge you to be still this week. We need to allow God to place His hands on us so that we find rest for our soul.
For some, they have an innate ability to shut their mind off and enjoy stillness and peace. I do not fall into this category. Stillness is totally a struggle of mine (so I guess Sadie gets this from me?). Unfortunately, I haven’t found anyone that can pull the same trick that worked for Sadie all those years ago…. But what if we ask God to lay His hands on us so that we can be still in His presence? I’ve set out to find a few things that create an environment of stillness. This has helped me and maybe it will help you!
Start your stillness with thankfulness. Through thankfulness we get in a spirit of exalting God for who He is and what He has done for us. Approaching your stillness with a thankful heart will allow your mind to ease into a state of reverence.
Approach God with humility. We talk about having humility with one another, but what about with God? One mistake I made in approaching stillness with God, was a “me” type attitude. I was praying things like “Lord, show ME something today” and “Who do I need to encourage?” There was nothing wrong with what I was asking God in those moments. But my questions for God all had to do with expecting something in return… not truly approaching Him with humility and a servant heart. Come to God with a humble spirit and focus on Him. We don’t need to have an agenda for God while trying to create an environment for stillness.
Approach Him with weakness. Yep weakness. One of my favorite verses is Exodus 14:10, “The Lord will fight for you, you only need to be still.” Part of being still is realizing our human flesh is weak and that we can’t do it all ourselves. The act of becoming weak is realizing that for that moment we are not the strong one - God is. Stillness involves letting go and letting God fight for you.
Start a timer. This is super practice and I almost didn’t include this because it seems so simple. But just like any other spiritual discipline, this needs to be practiced. Set a timer for 5 minutes. See if you can be still and focus on God for just 5 minutes. Then, you can work your way up to 10. We aren’t going to get it right the first time or probably the second time. Don’t give up on it, even if it feels awkward!
If none of this works…. Just worship Him. That’s truly all He wants from us. It’s one of the very reasons we were created (Psalm 150). Turn on your favorite worship song, blast it in your ears and close your eyes.
Remember, we are creating an environment for stillness and rest. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to get it right. There is no “right” way of being still. You find what works for you, and then you practice. I’m practicing with you this week!
