Sitting Still

This post was originally published in April of 2015.

“He says, ‘Be still and know that I am God…’” (Psalm 46:10 NIV)

“The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still.” (Exodus 14:14 NIV)

“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him…” (Psalm 37:7 NIV)

Sometimes I feel like a two-year-old. I am a fidgeter; I don’t sit still very well. Lectures were always the worst. Lots of the time, I tend to overthink and overanalyze. I feel unproductive when I’m sitting still. And I know patience is not my strong suit, no matter how hard I try sometimes!

On the flip side, when I am busy, stillness is something that I crave! We say, “I just want a moment to myself.” I sit here typing, thinking about what I was doing a year ago. I think I was somewhere in the middle of a 50-to-70-hour work week. I didn’t have time to sit. I didn’t have time to sleep. I didn’t have time to think. And I still probably had issues with being patient. (After all, July and New Zealand couldn’t come soon enough!)

A couple weeks ago I was kind-of forced to keep still: I’d sprained my ankle. I couldn’t go for job interviews, couldn’t take classes that I wanted to when I thought it was the best time for me, and had to cancel a bunch of meetings with friends I hadn’t seen since I’d gotten back. For at least a week straight I had to sit around with my foot propped up.

At first, I lounged around with Netflix, but I slowly realized that it was the perfect time to catch up on some God time. Actually, it was more like I felt convicted to do more God time and less TV time. I hadn’t realized that it had been awhile since I’d had a solid “quiet time.” By the end of the week, I was so much more at peace with what God was doing at that point in my life and more secure in what He had been working in me.

You see, when you keep still and focus on Him, that’s when He has room to move. Jesus can come alongside you, but as long as you’re still doing everything and all the talking, you haven’t left much room for God to move and speak. I once again have to keep quiet in order to listen and let go of the reins continually.

Miel can be reached by email here.