Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer

Last week we looked at what it means to “be still.” Quite a challenge for busy lives that don’t have much quiet time to reflect, listen, or simply breathe.

Things always press in, demanding our attention, whether they are as fleeting as the news and social media, or as important as a spouse or child.

But being still—quiet and undistracted—is critical to our spiritual survival in this world so full of noise. So we have to make time.

Not an easy assignment, but doable.

Here are three ways to be still, though I know there must be more:

• Take a quiet moment in the early morning.

Even Jesus sometimes got up before everyone else and went off by himself to pray. He was always surrounded by people, yet He made the effort to be alone with His Father.

• Go for a walk outside.

One of my favorite verses says Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. I don’t have a sea near my house, but I have a place I walk where I can be quiet and listen.

• Steal away while the kids are napping.

Seventeenth-century mother of 19 (not all survived infancy) Susanna Wesley found it difficult to get a moment to herself, so she made an “apron escape.” When she sat down and pulled her large apron up over her head, her children knew Mother was praying – leave her alone! An unusual tactic, but it worked for Susanna.

These three suggestions go hand-in-hand with three mandatory requirements for our modern world:

• Turn off the television/radio.
• Silence the phone.
• Shut down the Internet.

When the Old Testament prophet, Elijah, sought God, he found the Creator not in wind, quake, or fire.

God was in the whisper. I once asked a pastor why God would whisper and he said, “Because He’s that close.”

As we prepare for the busiest time of year in the next couple of months, may we

• Let the silence in.
• Wait for God.
• Listen for His whisper.

Maybe He won’t say anything earth-trembling.

Maybe He won’t say anything more than, “I am here.”

But isn’t that what we need the most? To know that He is God-Near-Us.

If you have found a way to be still in your day-to-day life, please share it with others in the comments below.

On Monday morning, every scrap of peace Mary had cobbled together scattered like crumbs. Up well before dawn, dressed and ready, she trimmed the bedside lamp and sat with Aunt Bertie’s Bible clutched hard against her chest.

“I know You hear my prayer, Lord. Please, help me today.”

Turning to Psalm 37, she lifted the locket’s thin chain, fastened it around her neck, and read the now-familiar words: Do not fret.

The wicked would be stopped, the psalm said.

“Trust in the Lord and do good,” she whispered as she fingered the locket, willing the words to sink down into her very core. “Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.”

God had certainly been faithful, delivering her from violent death and ensconcing her in the generosity of the Hutton family. Continuing in silence, she read to verse 34, where she closed the Bible. The verse was imprinted on her soul, and she prayed it would apply to the ordeal she faced today at the auction.

Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land. ~ Hope Is Built

~

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