I’M BUSY! Maybe you have found yourself shouting this (at least in your head) on more than one occasion in recent days. Maybe you have felt overloaded, overworked, over tired, over stressed, and many other bad “over’s.” If so, you are not alone.
We live busy busy lives. I do not want to imply that this is always a bad thing. Most of our busyness comes from things that are important, or things we enjoy. In truth, we are busy with a lot of good things. So please do not misinterpret me as saying we must eliminate all busyness from our lives. However, I do believe that it is important to be “still.”
We know the verse…
Psalm 46:10-“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” – ESV
If you are like me, you have heard this verse, and sang the song most of your life. I went through I would say at least the first 20 years of my life not seeing any value in being still. Sometimes my wife would still say I haven’t learned the value very well. There are sometimes that being still is exactly what the soul needs.
Here is my recent story:
In the last couple of weeks my world has changed.
.I have a new Job.
.I have a new Church family.
.I have a new house.
.I have a new bank.
.I transferred all of our automatic withdrawals for bill pay to our new accounts.
.My son turned 1. We had a party.
.I begun teaching Bible classes, driving the church van, and doing youth devotionals.
Along with many other things. I could continue a very lengthy list of changes just in the last 2 weeks, but I would bore you.
In other words, my family has been busy!
One blessing of living in Lawton is that I am just 30 mins away from a place that is very near to my heart. The Wichita mountains (yes, I know, they are mere hills compared to some places) but this does not take away from the beauty found at this place.
Last week after I left the office I loaded up the family and we drove to the refuge. We drove around and looked at the animals, we drove up Mt. Scott, we had a great time. As we were out driving about, an amazing thing happened… I lost cell phone service. I wasn’t worried about any texts, phone calls, Facebook notifications, or fantasy football updates. I was simply there, enjoying the time I had with my wife and two children in a beautiful place that God created.
On one hand I was thankful for the time, on the other, I felt ashamed that I don’t do it more often.
You do not have to go to the refuge to be “still” you do not even have to be outside enjoying nature (although that is my favorite) but let me ask you, when is the last time that you made it a point to be still?
When the political condition of our country is depressing… Be still.
When your family is having relationship issues… Be still.
When you are feeling stressed at work… Be still.
When you are finding it hard to be joyful… Be still.
When you feel far from God… Be still.
We would do well to remember that being “still” as the Bible describes is not about sitting on the couch and and watching our favorite TV show. It is about remembering that He is God. Remembering that no matter how crazy our lives get, or how scary an outlook is for something in our lives, we remember, that He is God. He is in control.
Applying Scripture 
Good post, Troy. I totally agree. Being still is something very difficult for us today, especially in our fast-paced society. In counseling, this seems to be terrifying for many of my clients, often because they are uncomfortable their self. I think to be still and know God will ultimately lead to us having a better understanding of ourselves. That is good therapy my friend. Thanks for sharing.
Good post. Back when Josh and I lived in Stillwater, the college group did a several-day fast. Fast from a lot of things, including all media. It is incredible how “noisy” our lives are all the time. Cutting things out from time to time help you to be still with God.
I loved this post. I don’t remember the last time I was still. I’m with you that if I’m going to be still and think about God and how amazing he is, it will be outside. I was just thinking driving home from a “crazy” day at work I needed to spend more time getting closer to God. So I’m going to add being still to my list of weekly, ok maybe monthly to start off with, things to do. Thanks for this great suggestion!
GREAT post!!! I saw this yesterday and didn’t have time to read it. I’m sure glad I MADE the time today. Being still is something I used to practice often, but have somehow managed to forget its importance–thanks for the reminder.
Even our Savior needed to go to the mountains, his refuge, alone, to be still, to be quiet and to have His Father to Himself. We all need a place where we can disengage from the world. I’m so glad you have the Refuge close enough to go to in person and even just to gaze upon. Makes me sigh. Thank you for giving me a moment to unbusy myself.