Finding time to be still

Regular Network Ipswich and Network Norwich columnist James Knight considers how sometimes God just wants us to be still and know that we are loved.

I was interested to read an article on Network Norwich and Norfolk earlier in the week in which attention was brought to the importance of silence and stillness in an increasingly busy, hurried and frenetic world; for I can certainly concur with the author that an important precept of Christianity is so often lost in a world of pressure and tumult. [Click here to view the article]

It was Einstein who said that relativity is sitting with a pretty girl for an hour and it feels like a minute, yet sit on a hot stove for a minute and it feels longer than any hour. Out temporal perceptions are what we use to make sense of reality as we move through our daily living, but sometimes God calls us to just get away from it all and ‘be still’ in order that we can receive Him in ways that require a special kind of stillness and an especial focus on Him. Jesus Christ became what we are for the purpose of making us more like He is, and there are times in that lengthy process (particularly in times of pain and distress) where there is nothing we can do but be still and know that He is God; for whatever He has to say to us may be some time along the line in the future, therefore sometimes we have no choice, being still is our only option. 

I once received these words below via email, and I could hear God’s voice speaking to me, saying be still and listen to who I am…

For you are my offspring. (Acts 17:28); I knew you even before you were conceived (Jeremiah 1:4-5); I chose you when I planned creation (Ephesians 1:11-12); all your days are written in my book (Psalm:139:15-16); I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live (Acts 17:26); you are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14); I am the complete expression of love (1 John 4:16) - and it is my desire to lavish my love on you, simply because you are my child and I am your Father. (1 John 3:1); I offer you more than your earthly father ever could (Matthew 7:11); for I am the perfect Father. (Mathew 5:48). Because I love you with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3); and I rejoice over you with singing (Zephaniah 3:17); I will never stop doing good to you (Jeremiah 32:40); for you are my treasured possession (Exodus 19:5); I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul (Jeremiah 32:41).

If you seek me with all your heart you will find me (Deuteronomy 4:29); for it is I who gave you those desires (Philippians 2:13); I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles (2 Corinthians 1:3-4); when you are broken hearted, I am close to you.(Psalm 34:18); as a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart. (Isaiah 40:11); one day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes. (Revelation 21:3-4), and I’ll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth. (Revelation 21:3-4).

I am your Father and I love you even as I love my Son, Jesus (John 17:23); for in Jesus, my love for you is revealed (John 17:26); He is the exact representation of my being (Hebrews 1:3); He came to demonstrate that I am for you not against you (Romans 8:31), and to tell you that I am not counting your sins (2 Corinthians 5:18-19), but thatJesus died so that you and I could be reconciled. (2 Corinthians 5:18-19); His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you (1 John 4:10); I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love (Romans 8:31-32); therefore if you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me.(1 John 2:23), and nothing will ever separate you from my love again. (Romans 8:38-39). I have always been your Father and will always be your Father (Ephesians 3:14-15).

This expression of God’s love is something that all Christians know, but it is good to be reminded every now and then what the full context means – after all, a husband and wife will say ‘I love you’ on a daily basis, not to tell their beloved something they do not already know but to express the delight they have in sharing their feelings. And as I said, sometimes God just wants us to be still and know that we are loved – and know that no attempted solution to any of our earthly problems will be as powerful as knowing that our stillness and especial focus gives us a clear head to receive His love.

I like Thomas Edison’s account of trying to find the right combination of elements to make a light bulb – he had many failed attempts, yet expressed the view that if he had been unsuccessful ninety nine times only to get it right on the hundredth, he did not see it as ninety nine failings, but ninety nine positive ways of how not to make a light bulb. I think that is a good way to approach our own situations sometimes – out attempts at working through the issues that life brings us are good for edifying us and for building us up, but sometimes there is a logical hiatus beyond which our own abilities will not suffice, and we must be still and just know that God is who He says He is. Perhaps the 99 times we were working out things for ourselves were not failures, but ways that God was positively showing us how not to do something. That being so, we must not forget those odd times when God just wants us to be still, and do nothing more than just absorb His Heavenly presence and know that He is God. I like the words of St Augustine on this matter, he said this about the people who witnessed Jesus’ death and resurrection in Palestine and what they might be feeling:

You ascended from before our eyes, and we turned back grieving, only to find you in our hearts.

And that is what we must do sometimes; for there will be moments when He does not want us to focus on anything other than the stillness that receives Him from our own heart – and those are the times when we really must ‘be still’ and listen to what He is saying through the power of a worshipful state that is solely focused on receiving Him. 

The views carried here are those of the author, not of Network Ipswich, and are intended to stimulate constructive debate between website users. We welcome your thoughts and comments, posted below, upon the ideas expressed here. You can also contact the author direct at james.knight@norfolk.gov.uk  

James is a Norwich local government officer, author and Proclaimers church member in Norwich.
Meanwhile, if you want to find out more about Christianity, visit: www.rejesus.co.uk