Good morning…
In the middle of our ordinary days, the three of us text or email regularly. Two from Atlanta, Georgia; one from Jacksonville, Florida. Yesterday a devotional page was generously shared with important insights. All three of us could totally relate. Too often we let our own thoughts interfere with God’s intimate invitation, to listen to the quiet, still voice and know that God is God. Our daily dilemma reminds me of the funky photo I took last weekend (see above). The Bible verse, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10) is too often overshadowed by the inner chaos we embody.
“What a good reminder this is!” texted our wise friend. “We are our own worst enemy at times not allowing God’s comfort and peace. Sue, thank you for your vulnerability with your readers. We all need to heed your example. You connect with God in the wee hours of the night when I think your bed would be wooing you to climb back in for sleep. But you are a faithful servant who does lots of hard work during those hours. When/how can we really force ourselves to be quiet with God & ignore the sounds of the world pulling us away from our Heavenly Father? It is a unique answer for everyone.”
“This is so beautiful,” I replied. “Such an important reminder. You are so right, we all need to find our own way to God’s peace and comfort. Our unique conversational relationship with God coaxes us to try different times, places, habits until we find our favorite ways to be still with God, to wait quietly for the Lord to speak. We are so easily distracted by conflicting thoughts, pesky fleas, and chilly winds. We let God’s peace be stolen, the peace we are created to enjoy.”
“Be still and know that I am God,” comes a bit more into focus, as our inner noise and clutter is subtly transformed by sustaining silence. The more we are still, the more we want to be still. The more we know God, the more we want to know the God of peace and comfort.
…Sue…
