Six months after Lou and I got married, we bought our first house in Troy, Michigan. It was a cute little brick ranch on a dead-end road. Some of the people on this road were elderly and had lived on this street for years and had raised their kids there as well. I remember one conversation with a lady. She said, “Back in the day when our kids were growing up and after they went to school, the women would gather almost every day at someone’s house, drink coffee, and just chat.” She recounted to me how those days were special and that she missed them. As I thought back on that conversation this morning, I was thinking… Things were getting busy then (women didn’t have the time anymore for morning coffee with each other), but they are much busier in the day we’re living.
Think about it. If you want to get together with someone, you have to schedule it at least a few weeks in advance. Sometimes we even have to plan a day and time for a phone conversation. We are constantly adding one more thing to our calendar. We are running just as fast as the world… like chickens with their heads cut off. Somehow, we think that busyness equates into success or fruitfulness. We even boast about our busy lives. Now, don’t get me wrong… I understand that the world we live in is very different than the world my neighbor lived in, but can we go back to those peaceful, stress-free lives? I would say YES!
Here’s the thing… the Bible gives us guidance on how to find peace, joy, and security in this busy world. But we often don’t apply the principles of Scripture to our lives. We read it, we hear it, but we fail to act upon it. And that’s very true of our key verse today: “Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for him to act” (Psalm 37:7). I think that being still in the presence of the Lord has evaded many Christians. I’m also thinking that our time with God is often us talking to Him rather than Him talking to us. Being still in His presence means that we remain quiet sometimes and let Him speak. Open up God’s Word and read it out loud pondering every word. God speaks through His Word.
So, let me encourage you to do just this thing. Before you hit the floor running in the morning, be still in His presence. Before you add one more event to your calendar, be still in His presence. Before you talk to someone, be still in His presence. Before you get on social media, be still in His presence. Before you get to work, be still in His presence. Before you share your concerns with a loved one, be still in His presence and wait for Him to move.
Being still is hard to do in this fast-paced world. The world says that we need to climb, run, and use all our energy. The world says that these are the things we need to do in order to be successful. But God says the opposite. He says that the key to finding freedom, joy, peace, and success in our daily lives is to be still in His presence and wait for Him to move.
Here’s another thing worth mentioning… having a strong work ethic is always good. But don’t associate a strong work ethic with busyness. I think our work ethic gets stronger the more we choose to be still in His presence. Because then our work ethic is based on God’s will rather than on our own will. Let this encourage you today.