Be Still
A few weeks ago I listened to Matt Lauer do an interview with Paul Ryan. During the interview Speaker of the House Ryan stated that he put aside the white noise of Washington and the headlines so that he could do his job. Now, I know that it would be odd that we would ever find anything political that would give us an insight, or be a reminder about our journey with God. However, when Ryan said he put aside the white noise, a verse came to mind – “Be still and know that I am God” – Psalm 46:10.
Many of us use white noise to drown out the sounds of life for one reason or another. Who quickly comes to mind is the one who works the night shift. They will often use a fan to block out the sounds of the day so that they can sleep. Or think of all those beautiful CDs of birds singing, ocean sounds or other nature recordings. Those of us who have tinnitus have our own constant white noise going on that we have to learn to deal with. But there is a white noise that comes from the world that is a constant attempt to keep us distracted from our Lord. It’s not a good white noise that allows us to rest, or the physical kind that we can learn to block out most days. It’s a white noise more like Speaker Ryan was talking about. The kind that works at keeping us distracted from the main thing. In this case, the main thing is listening to the Lord. Be still, set aside the barking dog, the dinging text messages, the allure of Facebook, the pile of dirty clothes that need to be washed. Lets face it, if they have been there long enough to be a “pile”, a couple more hours won’t matter one little bit. Set aside the worries of tomorrow that we listen to and often let drive our lives. Set aside the demands of our jobs and yes of even families. And most importantly we must become experts at setting aside the temptations or condemnations that Satan is always speaking in our ears. Set all of it aside to take time to know HE is God. Be still, don’t get caught up in the worries of this life, or the worries of what others are or are not doing and know that HE is God, that He is the one true God that will never fail us. Be still…… be quiet…..hush, block out the world, quiet your own inner thoughts and concerns and know. KNOW, be certain, be committed, be confident in the one you call God, because in Him and Him alone do we find real life. I know that you know that –but let that truth simmer in your spirit day by day. Call yourself into check – even as I call myself into check and let it simmer in mine. The one we call God, calls us beloved son or daughter. He is on our side, He is bringing us salvation, healing, purpose….life. And He wants to speak and is speaking to us. But we have to quiet the white noise in our life in order to hear Him. He has life affirming words to speak into our spirits, into our minds, into our emotions. He wants to share with us His heart beat so that we can live in the abundant life that Jesus came to give. But so often we are made deaf by the white noise in our lives. All of it can and will if we let it, drowned out God’s gentle, loving voice.
So be still….be quiet……HUSH, and know that HE is God!