Skip to main content

Still

 “Be still, and know that I am God! 
I am exalted among the nations,
 I am exalted in the earth.” - Psalm 46:10



In discussing this verse with a friend today, it occurs to me how undervalued stillness is in many Christian traditions. In my experience, stillness can be a struggle because people find it difficult to quiet their minds from racing thoughts, pressing needs, and clamoring desires. The inability to be still or have a quiet mind then becomes a source of shame or guilt, instead of its own reflection point. 

In the Lutheran tradition, we value the tension that plays between positive and negative construction. This is most clearly evident in our interpretation of the 10 Commandments. While the written word is in the negative construction, "do not do this", the interpretation includes a positive construction, "Instead, do this".

Is there a way to put both positive and negative construction on stillness? 

Positive: Being still will help me draw closer to God. 

Negative: Being still will help me recognize the things that are not God. 

In that second construction, it is easier to realize stillness will help us reject the things that are not God. 

My to-do list- not God. 
My negative self-talk- not God
My stresses about things I cannot control- not God
My guilt over things done and left undone- not God
My frustrations with others- not God

As each of these things appears in my mind, I have the chance to acknowledge them and to note that they are not God. They do not get the space or the honor that I have chosen to give to my Creator. If they want time, they have to wait. They are not God. 

In acknowledging what is not God, we have the opportunity to sink into stillness and be present to God's presence in and around us. If God is neither all those things, nor in them, where is God? How is God speaking to us? How does stillness lead us more deeply into God's truth? 

In the days ahead, there are likely to be many things that wish to assert their dominance in our minds and lives. Be still for a moment. Do they bring life? Do they offer wholeness? Do they contain hope and true justice? If not, they are not God. Let them go. 

Continue in stillness that you may better recognize what is not God and embrace the One who is. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Religious Holidays in Anchorage

You may have read in the Anchorage Daily News about a new policy regarding certain religious holidays and the scheduling of school activities. If not, a link to the article is here . The new rules do not mean that school will be out on these new holiday inclusions, but that the Anchorage School District will avoid scheduling activities, like sporting events, on these days. The new list includes Passover, Rosh Hashanah , Yom Kippur , Eid al - Fitr and Eid al - Adha . They are added to a list which includes New Year's, Orthodox Christmas and Easter, Good Friday, Easter, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas. The new holidays may be unfamiliar to some: Passover is a Jewish celebration, in the springtime, that commemorates the events in Egypt that led up to the Exodus. The name of the holiday comes specifically from the fact that the angel of death "passed over" the houses of the Israelites during the plague which killed the eldest sons of the Egyptians. Passover is a holiday

Latibule

I like words and I recently discovered Save the Words , a website which allows you to adopt words that have faded from the English lexicon and are endanger of being dropped from the Oxford English Dictionary. When you adopt a word, you agree to use it in conversation and writing in an attempt to re-introduce said word back into regular usage. It is exactly as geeky as it sounds. And I love it. A latibule is a hiding place. Use it in a sentence, please. After my son goes to bed, I pull out the good chocolate from my latibule and have a "mommy moment". The perfect latibule was just behind the northwest corner of the barn, where one had a clear view during "Kick the Can". She tucked the movie stub into an old chocolate box, her latibule for sentimental souvenirs. I like the sound of latibule, though I think I would spend more time defining it and defending myself than actually using it. Come to think of it, I'm not really sure how often I use the

A Litany for Mother's Day

A: Loving God, You are everywhere the Lord and Giver of life. We praise You for the gift of mothers through whom You give us life. C: We thank You for their willingness to nurture life, for their trust in You to guide them through the labor of childbirth, the uncertainties of youth, the letting go of young adulthood. A: We thank You for all those women, who did not give us birth, but through whom You give us abundant life: C: We thank You for school teachers, aunts, grandmothers, sisters, pastors, elders, Sunday School teachers, supervisors, co-workers, neighbors and friends who share wisdom. A: We ask Your tender mercies on all those whose mothers now sing with the heavenly chorus, especially for those whose tears are not yet dry. C: Grant them Your peace, which passes all our understanding. A: We ask Your comforting presence on those mothers who have buried sons and daughters. C: Comfort them with the knowledge of their children in Your eternal care. A: We pray for those w