Have you ever tried to keep a 2 year old still? I mean truly still? It's nigh impossible, at least with my little girl. She likes to be moving. She likes to go.
It's amazing to me how much my theology has grown since becoming a father. Some of the verses have really started to stick out to me in a different way than ever they had before. The one that came to mind this evening was Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God..." How hard is it for me to remain still? I, like my girl, have a hard being still. I like going. I like doing. I like moving. Not as much as my brother-in-law or other brothers in Christ that I have met, but I still would rather be active than not. But God tells us to be still. He is our heavenly Father. He knows that until we sit still for a second we won't take time to think things through. He knows us so much better than I will ever know my daughter. Taking time to actually sit and think is a past time that has been largely lost in the West. In general, people don't just sit. We're on our phones, we're on our computers (ironic I know), we're reading a book, we're chatting with friends. I'm not saying that any of those things is inherently wrong, just that they are distractions from introspection. They distract us from Him.
Thinking back through my life, the times that I've felt closest to my Father are the times I've spent off by myself. At Lakeside Bible Camp during TCL and during the summer I was on staff I had opportunities to get away. No computers, no people, just me in His creation. I might be biased but I think He did an especially good job on Whidbey Island. I so enjoyed the times I spent on the bench by the lake or walking through the woods. I found it much easier to focus, much easier to ignore, for a moment, the pressures of the day. I was so grateful to my boss on my first internship for encouraging time away as well. Midland, Texas has a different kind of beauty, but I really enjoyed walking around the Triple L Ranch before I truly started my internship. I was encouraged to take some time walking, reading and praying. God is so good.
I might be alone in this, but I kind of doubt it from conversations I've had. God tells us to "be still" because He knows us. He wants our attention as a father wants attention from his kids. He longs for us to talk to Him. He wants to know our troubles, our successes, our days. He is the perfect Father. May I seek Him out and rest in His arms.
1 John 3:1 "Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God."
