April 15, 2021 | Stillness
Growing up in North Dakota, I was very blessed to have a lake cabin to go to every weekend. It was my favorite place and there seemed to be no end to the places we could explore and the fun we could have.
My friends loved it too and it seemed there were different people coming out almost all the time. It was a break from the city (yes, North Dakota has cities) and it became a cherished place for many to relax.
One of my favorite ways to relax happened well after the sun went down. Where we were there was very little light pollution, and I would lay on the deck and stare into the sky at all the wonder of God. The moon would smile back as if it were saying, “pretty amazing, right?” The stars would be there blanketing the cosmos as a testimony of the greatness of the Creator.
Most of all, I appreciated the stillness. In the stillness it seemed God was palpable and some of those nights were vital to my spiritual growth. It was the stillness that made God alive to me and I remember it as if it were only yesterday.
God spoke in Psalm 46:10 giving wise advice saying, “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” In our often hectic existence, we neglect the power of silence. We fail to take advantage of being alone with God in a quiet place. We fail to, “…stop and consider the wondrous works of God,” (Job 37:14) because were too busy trying to fill our time with things that can wait.
My wife’s favorite movie is called, “The War Room.” In the movie a lady is selling her house because her husband has died and an interested young women is following her throughout the house. Eventually they come upon a room filled with notes. As they leave, the young women asks about the room. Not only did the notes intrigue her, but she felt the presence of God within the room.
The seller told her it was her war room, the room she used to be alone with God in stillness and meditation. It was where God helped her fight her battles and where she would repeat her daily surrender to His will. The secret was not that the room was any more special than any other room. The secret was in the stillness that gave her uninterrupted opportunity to communicate with her Creator. Within that room a bond was built that would last a lifetime.
Exodus 14:14 reminds us that, “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” He knows your heartaches and your struggles, and He waits for you to call on Him in your time of need. But this means we must try our best to get rid of the chaos the devil is creating in our minds and grasp the stillness of the power of God. We have only to possess a silent trust and faith in the one who has overcome even sin and death.
We need to let go and let God. “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:31).
In the stillness we can find our peace and, peace is what the Lord wishes for us to possess. In John 14:27 he tells His disciples as He also tells us, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” This is the kind of peace that can only be found in the stillness of our relationship with the Savior.
So, take a deep breath, find a quiet place where stillness is possible and reunite yourself with God. In the stillness you will hear Him clearer. In the stillness you will be able to express yourself more calmly. In the stillness, you will find God. Please pray with me:
Heavenly Father, thank you for being with us always. Help us to end our need for constant action and emotion and teach us to come to you with a calm heart. Instill in us a peace that goes beyond human understanding and help us the grasp the stillness in which You dwell. Amen.
