Ready to 'join up'

Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world. (Psalm 46:10)

I have a hard time being 'still'. It is as though there has to be some 'activity' going on, even if it is thought. I spend a good deal of time thinking on things, then I usually take action after learning what I can from thinking on the subject. I think about what is for dinner, plan a menu in my head, and then execute the preparation of the meal. I think on my next woodworking project, plan the tools I will use, bits and blades needed, any finishes I will utilize, and the types of woods I will incorporate into it. Then I execute the steps to see what I envisioned created. It is never wrong to just 'be still' - for in the stillness, we often 'hear' much clearer and 'plan' much better than we do without all that thought!

To 'be still', one might imagine we need to cease all movement, but there can be movement in stillness. I have observed a creek so still that you'd think there was no movement at all, yet the water is stagnant, nor is it really 'still' - it is just moving at a very steady, but 'still' pace. Based on this observation, I might have believed being 'still' meant there was nothing to be heard, but even in the 'stillness' of that little creek, there were things to be heard. Birds sang from the treetops, wind gently moved the leaves above, and an occasional cricket chirp could be heard. Not all 'stillness' means absolute silence - it just may mean we get 'silent' enough to really listen and observe.

I have been watching how horses are tamed. It is amazing to me to see the purpose in making them 'move' around the corral time and time again until they are ready to 'join up'. Maybe being 'still' means we stop resisting. We lay down our reluctance, give up on our 'wild plans', and come close enough to the one who wants that relationship with us. The horse eventually does this - settling down, realizing they can trust the person in the corral with them, and they just 'settle'. Reluctance means we are not willing to be obedient to God's plan yet, so we might just resist 'settling down' into the stillness he asks for because we aren't quite ready to 'join up' with him. 

When we finally get 'still enough' to listen and observe, chances are we will be convicted of any place in our lives where we are a little too 'reluctant' to move into obedience to what God desires for us. This is the moment for action - conviction leading to confession and confession leading to repentance. We lay down our 'wild ways' and 'incessant circling' in order to settle into a trusting relationship with Jesus. The moment of 'joining up' comes when the horse 'stills' and just stands near the one in the corral with him. We cannot 'join up' until we trust fully the one who is asking us to come near to him. How about you? Have you been circling the corral of obedience in your life? Are you finally ready to 'join up'? Is it time to just 'be still' and know that he is God? Just askin!

Not another wait

When life is heavy and hard to take, go off by yourself. Enter the silence. Bow in prayer. Don’t ask questions: Wait for hope to appear. Don’t run from trouble. Take it full-face. The “worst” is never the worst. Why? Because the Master won’t ever walk out and fail to return. If he works severely, he also works tenderly. His stockpiles of loyal love are immense. (Lamentations 3:28-32)

Life isn't always going to go our way. In fact, we will likely face more than one hiccup in our day today. When hiccups come, how do you handle them? Do you complain like I do sometimes? Do you say life isn't fair like I do at times? Do you just want to escape it all like I do on occasion? If you didn't notice it as I asked those questions, I don't always embrace what I am going through - there are times I want to find the quickest and easiest way to be 'out of the mess'. Life is heavy and hard to take - sometimes more frequently than we might like. When we face these 'hiccups' in life our response isn't to run - but to wait. Okay, I know I just crossed the line there when I reminded each of us to wait. Waiting when trouble is abounding is definitely not the way most of us would deal with life - we want to run away, question God's goodness, or complain in bitter anger because we don't feel like things are 'fair'.

Enter the silence - in other words, get your mind, will, and emotions into times of 'prayer' - talk to God about it and then shut-up and just listen! I know, I am not supposed to tell anyone to 'shut-up', but sometimes we just need to be in a place where we can finally hear what God is about to do. Understand this - 'shutting-up' is more than us not talking. How many times can you sit in silence, all the while your mind is racing, emotions moving every which way, and your will just itching to get things underway? If you are anything like me, I can sit in silence and be 'calculating' in my mind, 'ramping up' in my emotions, and 'digging in' with my stubborn willfulness. Enter into silence - mind, will, and emotions settled, attentive, ceasing to plan and manipulate. Why is this so powerful for us to understand? It is as we 'settle into' God's presence, we find we make room for his movement within us. 

Have you ever entered into silence and felt the conviction of God? Yup, been there, done that, got the shirt, and worn out the shirt more than once! As we 'settle into' God's presence, we might soon find ourselves sharing our doubts and fears - nothing is too superficial to share with God. As we share those doubts, he can bring us into a place of trust. As we share our fears, he can bring us into a place of understanding his power. As we share our wrong responses, he can share his mercy and grace - forgiving us, creating his peace within. When conviction comes, don't run from it - embrace it. Whenever conviction comes, grace is God's response. Silence may just bring the hope we so eagerly desire, but before it comes, we must 'settle ourselves', lay down our fears and doubts, and just embrace his love. In the time it takes us to 'settle in', we are learning to 'wait'. Don't resist the wait - embrace it - grace is on the other side of that 'wait'. Just sayin'.

Stilled and Ready

I’ve kept my feet on the ground, I’ve cultivated a quiet heart. Like a baby content in its mother’s arms, my soul is a baby content. (Psalm 131:2)

Quietness of heart comes as a bit of a hard thing because we are so used to "noise" in our lives. We are a little bit too inundated with all kinds of things adding background and foreground noise. Background noise is there, almost unnoticed, until it is gone. Foreground noise is evident, with it even getting our attention in the here and now. Yet noise is just that - noise everywhere. Noise is really something which just confuses the clarity of that which is really trying to come through! Think about the things that are "just there", but intently creating confusion in our lives - things when removed might just give us a little more clarity on what it is God may be trying to show us. Quietness is the opposite of noise - it is not the total absence of it, but it is the clarifying and eliminating of all which lends confusion. 

As this 'eliminating' and 'clarifying' process happens, the "disturbance" created by the noise settles and you are often free to begin to hear and see the reality of what is ahead of you. For most, we'd say the place of quietness was the total absence of noise, but I have to ask just how many of us actually can achieve a place of comfort in the total absence of noise? Most of us would say it kind of freaks us out. We have a hard time remaining absolutely still, no one talking, no earbuds plugged in, no fan creating some background noise, no TV drowning out other sounds. This is probably why so many people just cannot abide with silence when they are together with each other - silence makes us uncomfortable. Why? Maybe it is because we begin to imagine all the things that might be "wrong" when one is totally silent. Perhaps it is the intensity of focus it requires to be truly still. It really doesn't matter - silence is difficult.

God desires a purposefully quieted heart. Remembering the heart is made up of our mind, will, and emotions, it might just make sense why this is so important. When there is a clarifying and eliminating of thoughts that only create confusion, lend distraction, or impede our truly concentrating, God is pleased. When the desires of our heart are toward that which doesn't create more chaos in our lives, God is pleased. When our emotions are not in a tumultuous churning, God is pleased. How many of us actually achieve this place of "quietness" or "stillness" - I mean really? Here's something you need to keep in mind - it is not the absence of emotion, the absence of decisiveness, or the absence of thinking God desires, it is the centering of our emotions, thoughts, and desires on him! Some of us just need to slow down long enough to actually get quiet before God. 

We allow our minds to spin at hundreds of continuous revolutions per minute and wonder why we don't feel fulfilled, whole, and like we have made a difference today. The quietness God desires is not the total absence of activity, but the choice to engage in the "RIGHT" activity. What are you spending your time, talent, and resources on today which could be done by another? When you spend your resources like that, you are not pursuing what only you can do. We often spend our precious resources doing what someone else could very easily do - all the while neglecting the very thing NO ONE ELSE can do! It is God's intention for us to be quiet enough to get clarity on matters of the soul such as this. When we begin to ask the right questions, we might just get the right answers! Quietness is difficult, but it is necessary. If we aren't regularly "settling" our hearts long enough to actually begin to see the "confusion" around and within us settle as well, we are just "settling for" life in a confused, chaotic state. 

No self-help class or book will ever change things for us. No retreat to the mountain tops will ever make up for the lost times when we could have just settled down right there on our own couches and let God speak to us in the stillness of our time with him. Maybe this is why Christians have coined the phrase "Quiet Time" as the time we take each day to be alone with God, get perspective on his Word for us, and then share from our hearts with him. Let be and be still, and know (recognize and understand) that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth! (Psalm 46:10 AMP) God tells us to "LET BE" and "BE STILL". In other words, let things go and then be still. It isn't until we learn to let go that we come into the place of stillness. Just sayin!

Get still

 “If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met." (Matthew 6:33)

The more we 'strive' the less we 'rest'. The more we seek attention, the less we feel appreciated. The more we worry, the less peaceful we become. I guess the lesson here is that we reap as we sow - sow the good seed and reap the good harvest; sow the 'so-so' seed and the harvest will be less than stellar. As I drove through the countryside a few weeks back, I was taken aback by the many wildflowers filling our desert floor once again. Why did this amaze me? It was the dead of summer and hotter than Hades out there! The over-abundance of summer rains had turned the desert floor into a thing of beauty once again. Do you know what happens when the wildflowers start to bloom in the desert? The butterflies come out! As beautiful as it was to see all the desert in bloom, the gentle flitting of those many colored butterflies made it even more beautiful. To just take in the beauty was a great 'rest' to my soul - God-prepared wonders, delightful in every way.

More often than not, we get caught up in the 'hurry, hurry, hurry' of life and forget how much God is working to prepare the things of beauty that will pass us by unnoticed if we are not careful. We worry about the silliest things and wonder why we lack peace that allows us to enjoy a deep night's sleep. We 'go, go, go' until the wheels are about to fall off and wonder why we never 'get ahead'. Maybe it is time for us to sit back a bit and just be still. I will be the first to admit there is a great deal of 'things that need to be done' that come to mind every time I attempt to just 'be still'. I will also admit that I have to purposefully make my life 'still' from time to time to achieve this listening and attentive spirit God desires me to have. How about you? Have you been missing the butterflies because your world has been too hectic and the chaos has kept you from even noticing there is life all around? It isn't too late to just be 'still' in the presence of God - but you will have to stop if you are to ever notice!

All our striving puts us front and center - all that stillness puts HIM front and center. We move from the attitude of having to 'get', to understanding there is someone all around us just waiting for us to be in the frame where he can finally 'give' what we so desperately need. We don't 'get' as much as he 'gives', but if we bring our lives to a place of stillness on a regular basis, we are likely to understand the Giver as much as we appreciate the gifts he gives. Just sayin!

Strength in stillness

“Be still, and know that I am God!  I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.”  (Psalm 46:10 NLT)

I believe man looks at how much he wants, but God looks intently on what it is that man needs - peace and a stillness of spirit. The only path to a still spirit is for the God of Peace to dwell in the midst of that place designed only for him - our own spirit. Man is a tri-part being made up of body, soul, and spirit. To leave that "spirit" place open to any old influence that wants to invade it is to leave one's self open to some pretty crazy, mixed up stuff that can leave us a mess in the long run. 

Stillness is more than the absence of noise, as I have often said. It is the actual ability to stand secure, firmly anchored, and without the need to "do" anything simply because there is a deep trust and confident assurance in the PEACE that indwells us. WE don't DO - we wait in confident assurance and allow the God of Peace to move upon us, showing us what it is he is doing and what it is we are to do as he moves us. Part of stillness is just resting - it is also moving, not in haste, but in confident and steadfast assurance.

I saw a post the other day saying WE cannot brag about our love for God because our love has a tendency to rise and fall, but we can brag about his never-ending love for US. Our love ebbs and flows, being really hot at times, and then being almost ice cold at others. We don't have an adequate amount of "consistency" in our lives to say our peace never fails - because our closeness to Jesus often isn't as great as it should be. We "get distanced" from him sometimes without even realizing we have drifted away from that intense place of peace and assurance we had counted on so much at some point. It is as though we just forgot about the "intensity" of peace as it was meant to be enjoyed.

All God asks of us is to BE still - to allow his peace to have access to those areas of our lives where "doing" has become the norm. God love isn't about us "doing", but about us "trusting", "resting", and "discovering". The more God's Word finds a place into our hearts and spirit, the more our body and mind experience the "thing" we refer to as the "peace of God". The worry and anxiety of life seems to pale in comparison to God's grace and love when we allow more of God's Word an opportunity to impact our lives. That opportunity does not exist unless we make that opportunity - we have to still our minds, settle into times of discovery with him, and just allow him to speak to us - to our spirit and our mind. Just sayin!

Quiet isn't the absence of noise

I bet you could almost guess what my "Q" List would hold this morning.  There were a variety of possibilities, such as quickness to respond to God's voice and leading, or possibly the quality of time and energies you expend toward the things God desires.  I chose just one word to focus on this morning:  Quietness.  For most of us, this comes as a bit of a hard thing because we are used to "noise" in our lives.  We are inundated with all kinds of things which add background and foreground noise.  Background noise is there, almost unnoticed, until it is gone.  Foreground noise is evident, with it even getting our attention in the here and now.  Yet noise is just that - noise.  Noise is really something which just confuses the clarity of that which is really trying to come through!  So, as we focus this morning on our Q-List, let's begin by thinking about the things which are really "just there" creating confusion in our lives - things which once removed might just give us a little more clarity on what it is God may just be trying to show us.

I’ve kept my feet on the ground, I’ve cultivated a quiet heart.  Like a baby content in its mother’s arms, my soul is a baby content.  (Psalm 131:2 MSG)

Quietness is the opposite of noise - it is not the total absence of it, but it is the clarifying and eliminating of all which lends confusion.  As this process occurs, the "disturbance" created by the noise settles and you are often free to begin to hear / see the reality of what is ahead of you.  For most, we'd say the place of quietness was the total absence of noise, but I have to ask this - how many of us actually can achieve a place of comfort in the total absence of noise?  Most of us would say it kind of freaks us out.  We have a hard time remaining absolutely still, no one talking, no I-Pod plugged in, no fan creating some background noise.  This is probably why so many people just cannot abide with silence when they are together with each other - silence makes us uncomfortable.  Why?  Maybe it is because we begin to imagine all the things which might be "wrong" when one is silent.  Or perhaps it is the intensity of focus it requires to be truly still.  It really doesn't matter - silence is difficult.

Our psalmist reminds us of what it is God desires - a quiet heart.  Remembering the heart is made up of our mind, will, and emotions, it might just make sense why this is so important.  When there is a clarifying and eliminating of thoughts which only create confusion, lend distraction, or impede our truly concentrating, God is pleased.  When the desires of our heart are toward that which doesn't create more chaos in our lives, God is pleased.  When our emotions are not in a tumultuous churning, God is pleased.  How many of us actually achieve this place of "quietness" or "stillness" - I mean really?  Here's something you need to keep in mind - it is not the absence of emotion, the absence of decisiveness, or the absence of thinking God desires, it is the centering of our emotions, thoughts, and desires on him!

Some of us need to slow down long enough to actually get quiet before God.  We just spin at hundreds of revolutions per minute continuously and wonder why we don't feel fulfilled, whole, and like we have made a difference today.  The quietness David exemplified in his life was not the total absence of activity, but the choice to engage in the "RIGHT" activity.  A few week's ago, my pastor posed a question which actually provided an assurance about a decision I had made earlier that week.  Here's what he asked:  What are you spending your time, talent, and resources on today which could be done by another, while not pursuing what only you can do?  Now, let that one sink in.  We often spend ourselves on doing what someone else could very easily do - all the while neglecting the very thing NO ONE ELSE can do!  It is God's intention for us to be quiet enough to get clarity on matters of the soul such as this.  When we begin to ask the right questions, we might just get the right answers!

Here's the down and dirty, friends:  Quietness is difficult, but it is necessary.  If we aren't regularly "settling" our hearts long enough to actually begin to see the "confusion" settle as well, we are just "settling for" life in a confused, chaotic state.  No amount of self-help classes or books will ever change things for us.  No amount of retreats to the mountain tops will ever make up for the lost times when we could have just settled down right there on our own couches and let God speak to us in the stillness of our time with him.  Maybe this is why Christians have coined the phrase "Quiet Time" as the time we take each day to be alone with God, get perspective on his Word for us, and then share from our hearts with him.  

David also penned these words:  Let be and be still, and know (recognize and understand) that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth!  (Psalm 46:10 AMP)  Don't miss it - he tells us to "LET BE" and "BE STILL".  In other words, let things go and then be still.  It isn't until we learn to let go we come into the place of stillness.  Just sayin!

Noticed by a lack of commotion

Do we expect God to "appear" one way (the way we imagine in our minds)?  Do we expect him to "perform" in a certain manner (the plans we have so carefully calculated)?  When he doesn't "appear" or "perform" as we imagined, how do we handle it?  For some of us, we get mad at God for a while - because he did not "fit" our "mold" of how he should act.  The Jewish Pharisees probably had this same kind of "mental argument" with Jesus as he walked this earth - simply because he didn't "fit the mold" of how they envisioned the arrival of their Messiah!  They missed out on so much of what Jesus wanted to do in and through them simply because they refused to believe Jesus could "operate" outside of their mind's conceived "box".

^15-21 A lot of people followed him, and he healed them all. He also cautioned them to keep it quiet, following guidelines set down by Isaiah:  Look well at my handpicked servant; I love him so much, take such delight in him.  I've placed my Spirit on him; he'll decree justice to the nations.  But he won't yell, won't raise his voice; there'll be no commotion in the streets.  He won't walk over anyone's feelings, won't push you into a corner.  Before you know it, his justice will triumph; the mere sound of his name will signal hope, even among far-off unbelievers.  

(Matthew 12:15-21 The Message)

Yep, Jesus had accumulated quite a group of followers - some more curious than dedicated to his service - but all following with the hope of his touch.  He never asked them to get "rowdy" or have a revolution against the leaders of the time. Instead, he went about his work, healing those who came to him, teaching those with open hearts, and spreading hope to the hopeless.

Why did Jesus caution the crowds to keep quiet?  He knew the cross would come, but he knew the time was NOT NOW.  He had much to do before that day - and each thing he did fulfilled scripture's recorded prophesies of him.  

Look at how Jesus worked:

- He was led by the Spirit of God.  Even Jesus took his lead from the Holy Spirit as he walked this earth!  Is it any wonder God asks the same of us?  Certainly not!  There is not only guidance in taking our lead from the Holy Spirit, but their is protection and great wisdom!

- He was not boisterous or loud in his action.  Jesus does more in the quietness of a single touch than we could ever hope to accomplish in the many activities of our own effort!  He doesn't need to yell to get noticed - he is all around us - we simply need to look hard enough to see him!

- He respected the feelings of others.  Jesus never needed to back a soul into the corner to touch his life!  We may feel a little "backed into the corner" sometimes - but it usually our doing which gets us into the corner!  Jesus simply waits for us to discover the limits of our own attempts at "saving ourselves", respectfully waiting for our surrender.

- He knew the power and hope in his name.  He was never afraid to have his name spoken.  Have you ever overheard someone speaking your name in a conversation and wondered just what they were saying about you?  In a moment, you may run several scenarios through your head - considering if you said, did, or overlooked something for which you were now the topic of discussion.  We call this "paranoia"!  Jesus never worried about his name being spoken - simply because it was backed up with his power and his hope (grace).

The various ways we "imagine" God may not always align with the image we should have of him!  He is a quiet God - yet his name carries such "weight" (power).  He is a caring God - yet his "delay" may give us the fear he is not aware of our need.  He is a compassionate God - respecting us enough to give us time to yield to his touch.  Maybe today is your day to meet God in the stillness of this moment!  He won't yell to be noticed.  In fact...we may just have to get a little quieter to actually hear him speak!

Silence speaks volumes

Let praise cascade off my lips; after all, you've taught me the truth about life! 
   And let your promises ring from my tongue; every order you've given is right.  Put your hand out and steady me since I've chosen to live by your counsel. 

(Psalm 119:171-173 The Message)

Have you heard the term, "Talk is cheap"?  It means it is easier to talk ABOUT something than to do it!  Another meaning would be it is easier to talk ABOUT someone than to do something for them.  We could say talk is "cheap" in many respects - - if our words aren't a sincere revelation of our motives (inner heart), they are simply have no real "force" behind them.

I have friends who speak continuously when we are together.  Other simply are happy to sit and enjoy times of quiet with me, occasionally bringing some discussion into the quiet, but it is not the main "theme" of our time together.  I was once told we could "gauge" the "comfort" of an individual in our relationship by their need to continually make "small talk" in our time together.  As my relationships have matured, the need to always be engaged in conversation has decreased.  So, I think this observation may be true.

How do you find your time with the Lord?  Is it a continual conversation, barely pausing for a breath?  Is there a sense of "filling" space with conversation?  If so, you might find you are a little concerned about the "silence"!  Why?  It may be the silence frightens you because you have never learned the value of just spending "time" with each other.  Whenever I have paused my talking TO God long enough, I begin to "take in" things around me purposefully revealed by his hand.  

For example, when sitting quietly on a recent trip, enjoying the mild weather and gentle breezes of Virginia, I began to just "take in" what was around me.  In just a short time, I began to look at the "floor" of the small creek bed and forest just behind the timeshare.  The fallen branches created little havens for the creatures scurrying around.  Squirrels perches atop them, birds pecked underneath them, and if I had looked a little further, I bet I would have found that insects mad a home there, too.

In short order, God began to show me the purpose God has for the "broken".  The trees were filled with turning leaves, gently whispering the ebbs and flow of the breezes.  The floor of the forest was lined with colorful fallen leaves, broken branches, and fallen acorns.  In terms of looking at the trees or the forest floor, one might quickly say the trees still served a purpose - - they were full of the evidence of life!  Yet, when we really consider the floor, guess what we see?  You got it!  Life!

Even in what appeared to have been 'discarded' by the trees (those fallen leaves, the broken branches, and the drying acorns), there was an immense purpose!  The leaves provide protection to the roots during the coming winter chill.  The fallen branches acted as resting spots for the creatures scurrying about.  The drying acorns would be laid up for the leaner times little forest critters would face later in the year.  Each held a purpose far greater than evident by just a cursory glance.

The same is true of each of us - - we serve a purpose not always evident on the surface.  In the quiet of discovery, our purpose becomes apparent.  What impressed me most in my time of listening to God, being open to his teaching, was the truth that in death God produces the basis for life!  It was in death his Son provided the basis for eternal life with God.  It is in death our hope begins!  

Praise cascades from the lips of one who realizes this truth to be true in their lives!  In the quietness of praise, the truths of God become true in our lives.  Did you ever think there was a purpose in "quiet" praise?  Yep!  Not every moment with God needs to be filled with words!  Sometimes the greatest message is in the quiet we enjoy together!  So, speak on God!  We are quiet now.