Be still! Only 2 words yet they can be so powerful when spoken by an authoritative command to a restless toddler, a noisy teenager or a misbehaving child at church. Sometimes they listen right away and obey, other times they ignore it and go right on doing what they shouldn't be doing. We have 7 people living here in Storeyland and believe me it can get pretty noisy at times. The children often try to overpower each other and when one starts to get loud it isn't long before the other 4 are trying to add more volume and next thing you know you can't hear what anyone is saying because it's just babble. Eventually, one of us has to say "Be still!" or "Be quiet" reminding them to use their manners and wait for their turn to talk. Sometimes, I just want to run away from all the noise and I'm sure Hubby feels that way at times too. We treasure those quiet moments with our children when we can really get to know them in a deeper way. It is something we do not want to take for granted. You know we are often like our children when it comes to our relationship with our heavenly Father. We don't always listen and often have a hard time being still.One warm wintry morning recently, I was watching the children wait for the bus. For some reason, they were being very quiet. The photo you see with this post was one I took later that day. I couldn't resist adding the scripture on it that God spoke to me. The sun was rising up casting it's golden glow over our front yard and I begin to reflect on the goodness of God. I was thinking about how much I wanted to get to know him more. I've been serving God for over 20 years now yet I still want to go deeper in my relationship with him. Psalms 46: 10 immediately came to mind! "Be still and know that I am God!" I realized in my busy life I needed to find more time to just be still and allow God to work on some area's of my life that I had been neglecting. I needed to shut out the noise of the world and all the other distractions around me so I could hear that still small voice speaking to my heart. It's so easy in this day and age to be distracted. It makes me wonder, does God ever get lonely for us? Just to give him our undivided attention.
With technology today, the whole world is at our fingertips robbing us of the time we once had just to fellowship face to face with God and with other people. I am a people person, and I love Facebook. I usually leave it running all day, checking periodically for messages. I book my photography appointments through it and rely on it a lot for communication. It's a great way to connect with long lost relatives and friends. I have a lot of family and friends that live far away and I truly believe that if God were here on earth. He'd join Facebook just so he could communicate with some of us! It's so easy to get caught up in catching up with everyone on that site. This year, I am trying also to have a balance to not only catch up with them there but actually invite them over for a meal, or go out for a coffee with them, visiting them or doing a fun activity with them. I don't want to loose that 'old fashioned' fellowship with people I hold close. Personally, I refuse to go on Facebook while I am in the house of God to worship him and be fed by his word. I've often wondered what I would do if I were on Facebook during a church service and God actually wrote on my wall like he did on the wall of the kings palace in the old testament! "Hey, I miss my time with you. I love you so much! Can't you even set aside a couple of hours for me? After all, YOU came to MY house to visit ME! Get off of Facebook and worship me! Then you can go home, update your status and tell of the miracles I performed in your life today, or the prayers that I answered. Maybe you can also share the blessing you got or the healing I gave you with your friends online!" Wow, I think I would probably feel bad that I was choosing to catch up with my friends instead of catching up with God. It certainly makes you think doesn't it? Please don't be offended if your reading this blog and you use Facebook in church. This is a personal conviction I have and I just felt to share it because it goes along with this post. God's been dealing with me on a personal level when it comes to being still and knowing that he is God.
I am reminded of a story I heard one time about a young lady who God woke up out of a deep sleep at the crack of dawn and compelled her to go outside. She obeyed but wondered why God would want her to do that. She just couldn't see any purpose in it. The sun begin to rise and as she watched the sky explode in to gorgeous colors, she heard a still small voice say, "Thank you for watching the sunrise with me today, I may be God but I still get lonely to spend time with my children." I really do believe that God hungers for us to give him our undivided attention. I have learned that when I do that, I am amazed by the things I learn from his word and even at times I can hear him speak to me with so much love. If it's been a while since you've shut in with God in a secret place, I encourage you to do that. Don't allow the cares of this life to become so loud that they drown out his voice. He loves you and he misses you! He is waiting with arms opened wide for you to come to him. All he wants is for you to be still and to know that he truly is your God!
"Let all those that seek thee, rejoice and be glad in thee;
and let such as love thy salvation say continually,
Let God be Magnified!"
Psalm 70:4
