Be Still

When was the last time you took the time to be still? Unfortunately, most of us are going to have to think pretty hard to answer that question. With our busy schedules, commitments, and daily responsibilities, we find that what we’re dealing with is practically more than we can handle.

Maybe you don’t have an overwhelmingly busy schedule, but nevertheless, you find yourself asking, When WAS the last time I took to be still? I’ve found that sometimes it doesn’t take a chaotic schedule to keep us from taking moments of rest. Sometimes, the constant distractions during the day are enough to keep us from finding rest in God.

By definition, being distracted is “being unable to concentrate because one’s mind is preoccupied.”

If I’m honest with myself, I’ve been feeling pretty distracted recently. And I don’t have to think very hard to figure out some of the main reasons WHY I’m distracted. From school, to dance and countless rehearsals, to spending time with family, to going to church and to church functions, to the little things like watching a TV show with my family, or playing a game with my siblings, or reading a good book, I find that I’m distracted most of the time. Are these distractions necessarily bad? No! But they keep me preoccupied for much of the day. And honestly, I try my best to keep myself preoccupied by them.

Because I know that if I’m preoccupied, I won’t have to face my doubts, questions, fears, insecurities, and pride. If I’m busy doing other things, I won’t have time to address those tough issues, right?

I’ve found out the hard way that distracting myself doesn’t let me avoid those tough issues.

In fact, embracing distractions only leaves me incredibly vulnerable to even more of the enemy’s schemes. Because when I’m distracted, when I’m preoccupied by worldly thoughts, I am unable to concentrate on God’s goodness and truth.

This is a dangerous place. I’ve only just recently noticed that I’ve found myself in this situation more often than I would like to admit. Whenever I start to feel empty, whenever I start shutting down, I tend to turn to things like obsessively checking my phone, or switching on the TV, or ANYTHING to keep me preoccupied!

And I’m going to tell you, filling your mind and heart with that kind of stuff doesn’t work. It doesn’t silence the fear. It doesn’t answer your questions. It doesn’t make you feel any more secure than you felt before. It only makes you more desperate. Believe me. I’ve been there.

But that’s not the end of the story. That emptiness you feel after you’ve checked your phone or finished watching a TV show doesn’t have to stay with you.

Jesus can take it. He wants you to lay it all down at His feet, trusting Him to fill that emptiness in your heart, trusting Him to fulfill your deepest longings and desires. He’s there, longing for you to stop clinging desperately to those distractions. He’s there, with arms open wide, with no judgment and no condemnation standing in the way of His love.

He’s there, waiting for you to find rest in Him.

The definition of rest is to “cease work or movement in order to relax, refresh oneself, or recover strength.” True rest is only found in Jesus. When you cease striving and preoccupying yourself with other things and intentionally seek Jesus, the pressures of the world fall away, you get a new perspective on a certain situation, and you find strength that only comes from God.

In this world, with its heavy expectations and countless distractions, letting ourselves rest is sometimes the hardest thing to do. But it’s often what we need the most.

One of my favorite Bible verses is Psalm 46:10 which says, “Be still and know that I am God.”

Being still means finding rest in Jesus. Being still means giving Him everything that’s occupying your mind, the good and the bad. Being still means letting Him quiet your distracted heart and fill all that emptiness with His joy and strength and love.

We must know that He is God. He who created the heavens and the earth in all their majestic glory, He is God. He who spoke into being the mountains and seas and stars and planets, He is God. Amazingly, this very same God loves each of us individually. He cares about every single detail in our lives. He knows each distraction that vies for our attention, each distraction that we embrace -- and He loves us through it all.

This world throws distractions in our faces 24/7. But we don’t have to let them preoccupy our hearts. We can win the battle against distractions by taking the time to be still and trust that God is everything He says He is.