Being still is harder than it sounds.
Don’t believe me? Try asking a toddler to sit still. Better yet, try it yourself!
I’ve started doing this recently in my garden. I’m trying to relax a bit more so that I’m more aware of what God is doing in my life. So I make myself sit still and try to count four animals in my yard before I let myself get up. They can’t just be four birds (too easy!) or four flies (that would only take a second!). They have to be slightly unique, like a dragonfly or a chipmunk or (if I time it right) a hummingbird. Before long, I’ve relaxed and begun to pray. By the time I really get rolling, it’s been several minutes, and I’m refreshed after my conversation with God.
Why is it so hard to be still? We’re wired for movement. We were created to dance and move and run, and stillness feels like inaction—laziness.
But Christ himself urges us to be still.
When we’re still, we remember who to be grateful to (God) and what to be grateful for (everything we have!).
Best of all, stillness brings us to a place where we can acknowledge our dependence on our great Father and be mindful of everything he has done for us—and continues to do for us—every day!
“The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still” (Exodus 14:14).
