Be Still & Know That I Am God

It’s Friday! The weekend is almost here. Think of all of the things on your “to-do” list that you’ve accomplished this week at work, and at home. Now think of all the things you didn’t have time to do that will be pushed into next week’s agenda. We live in the year 2019 in a first world country where technology has accelerated the pace of our daily lives to the point where some days, we are booked from the time we rise in the morning to the time we sleep at night. It is any wonder we are becoming a nation of people who are increasingly stressed, anxious, and fearful.

Last weekend I had the opportunity to help lead our Confirmation Students on a retreat up in the Poconos. On Saturday, we went for a hike along a rapid running creek. I stopped our group at the bottom of a small waterfall and encouraged our students to rest, and be still. We all found a rock to our liking along the creek and did just that. Some of us were writing, some were praying, and some of us just sat and watched the water. For 20 minutes we paused, before continuing the final loop of our hike.

In stopping the speed of the rhythm of our daily lives, we find not only peace, but wonder! How beautiful it is when God reveals himself to us in the simplest of ways, like the power of falling water or the babbling of a flowing stream. This Scripture doesn’t read “be moving” or “be doing”. It says “be still”. We need to remind ourselves to pause, even if it’s only for a few minutes, so we can receive the gifts that God offers us daily. This week, busy or not, set aside 5 minutes of each day to simply be still and notice what God offers to you in your time of rest.