How To “Be Still And Know” In The Midst of Real Life

Lord, this morning I need to know
how to “be still and know”
in the midst of my real life.
The life that jerks and pummels me on a daily basis.

 

 

This seems funny to me now.

I had a hand-lettered photo frame in the bathroom

with a lovely mountain nature scene

and the partial Bible verse, “Be still, and know.”

That’s all. Not the “I am God” because in my mind, that wasn’t necessary.

To me, to be still and know means God is there.

But in the bathroom? Kinda odd, right?

(It was my sons’ bathroom and I wanted to remind them, with pictures of a place they loved, to remember who they were. You know. Go forth from here being the best you can be.)

In my defense, my friend used to put sticky notes on her teen daughters’ bathroom mirror all the time. Their bathroom mirror, their bedroom doors, the books on their bedside table, their kitchen sink backsplash. Wherever those girls’ eyes would settle for a moment, she had positive sticky notes. My teenage brain would have rebelled at the overkill.

 

Be Still and Know

is something that’s not coming easily to me today.

The view of peaceful valleys and majestic mountains isn’t something my inner self can conjure up on a day when life seems full of disappointment, heartaches and brain fatigue.

Life can be so exhausting.

Life can pull you so many different ways. Plan this menu for this church event. Decorate this cake for a birthday party. Redesign these calendars because your two tier printer can’t print three tier jobs. So now I have to go to Printing 101 class, but where do I find that? And how do I get an ambitious Chinese box maker to quit emailing, messengering, linked-in-ing me? I really don’t want a thousand boxes right now. But if I did, I’ll email him! And most important, Kim is near melt down mode and needs my full attention. Oh, and my shoulder is popping excruciatingly.

So how does God want me to be still and know Him in the midst of all that?

 

What does it mean to “be still” in the everyday?

It means consciously slowing the mind and focusing on the foundation of life.

God is the foundation.

So this morning, I sat down with no intention of planning anything, doing anything, thinking of anything

but God

for an hour.

Just an hour of reading His Word. Meditating on the lessons He shared there to help us manage life.

The words that are the Rock anchoring life, the Balm of Gilead, and the Sword that vanquishes fear.

Accepting that I can’t extend the physical “being still” beyond this hour,

but His Power will keep me through all the yanking and jerking emotions of a regular day.

 

”
…and lo,
I am with you always,
even unto the end of the world
[remaining with you perpetually—
regardless of circumstance]
”

Matthew 28:20

 

I feel better now.

Thank you, God. That was pretty basic complaining, wasn’t it?

But You do basic really well, don’t you?

I’m ready to go forth from here being the best I can be.