...being still

I don’t think it can be ‘normal’ for us to be still.

As children we are told to sit still, by parents and teachers. Child hood games even exist to challenge and reward children to be still in the physical sense. The assumption in Being Still, or in being quiet, that we will be less distracting, distracted and more focused.

I can recall an instance where I have been required to be still. The life-model at Art College was absent and so as students we each took it in turns to model for the rest of the class. Our usual model normally took up a pose for around an hour at least, with maybe one break. The pose was often twisted or contorted to ensure our life drawing skills were put to the test. On the day I modelled I simply had to sit in a comfortable armchair for 10 minutes. I became aware of all the elements without and within myself. Blinking, breathing, skin tingling, nose twitching, heart pumping, hair moving, feet wiggling, muscles aching and the list went on and on.

Being Still was excruciatingly difficult for me.

But Being Still at least did make me feel and be aware of all sensations without and within.

“Be still and know that I am God”    Psalm 46:10

Finding time to truly be still and experience God’s desire for my life is as difficult for me as physically being still. Yet I know it is within this space that I hear, feel and sense who God is and who I am really called to be. Even more, this becomes a place where I can relax assured that God is holding and protecting me.

Life can sometimes feel like a hurricane. It’s fast, furious and uncontrollable. We can be confronted at any moment by flying debris but at the eye of the storm everything is calm.

When everything around us is unpredictable God is God. He is the calm of our storms and calls us to Be Still trusting and knowing that He is in control.