I am not the kind of girl who likes to be still. However, there’s a song on Christian radio called, “Breathe” by Jonny Diaz that penetrates deeply every time I hear it come on. It hits me tenderly. It wrecks my world. I find the words incredibly relatable. I wonder how Jonny saw so perfectly into my little ole’ world.
The first verse and chorus go like this…
Alarm clock screaming bare feet hit the floor
It’s off to the races everybody out the door
I’m feeling like I’m falling behind, it’s a crazy life
Ninety miles an hour going fast as I can
Trying to push a little harder trying to get the upper hand
So much to do in so little time, it’s a crazy life
It’s ready, set, go it’s another wild day
When the stress is on the rise in my heart I feel You say just
(chorus)
Breathe, just breathe
Come and rest at My feet
And be, just be
Chaos calls but all you need
Is to just breathe
This song reminds me of my sinful tendency to run out the door without first taking a moment to just breathe. To sit at the feet of Jesus and be still.
You see, my days run wicked fast. I know you know what I mean. I hit the floor running every single day. Rush around like crazy to get the kids fed and out the door.
I try to spend a few minutes with Jesus before my day begins, but more often than not, I find my mind rushing on ahead. Sadly, I find it difficult to sit quietly. And I find it hard to wrangle my straggling thoughts in.
Well, to be honest, I find myself distracted by many things.
“Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving.” Luke 10:38-42
Martha missed out on sitting at Jesus’ feet and gleaning wisdom from Him. Rather than savoring in the presence of Jesus, she was distracted by mopping, dusting, cooking a meal, and other temporary things. Oh, if we are not careful we will find ourselves wearing her shoes. Being distracted. Staying busy. Neglecting Jesus as He sits and waits in our living room asking us to be still.
But maybe there’s something bigger going on that we don’t readily see. Maybe we take comfort in our busyness because we don’t want to Just Be.
Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10
It’s painful just to be and willingly admit you are not in control.
Scary just to be and utter the words, “Your will be done.”
Unnerving just to be and let your soul be wrecked by your very own sin.
And a battle just to be and sit and patiently wait at His feet.
A piece of all of us struggles just to be because we know the Holy Spirit will expose our waywardness. The ugly things that we don’t want to face or admit that remains a problem for us each day. We don’t want to be left bare…feeling exposed to our uttermost extremities.
Oh Lord, you know it. And yet, we don’t know it ourselves.
Repeatedly, God instructs us to come to Him and be still. He has something to tell us. Do you know why?
“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” Acts 3:19
Our Lord and Savior is beckoning us to come, repent, and turn from our sin so that our sins may be wiped out. Done away with. Utterly destroyed. But it doesn’t end there…there is still more. He tells us to come so that times of refreshing may come.
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welcome or stimulating because new or different.
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“It makes a refreshing change to be able to write about something nice”
synonyms: welcome, stimulating, fresh, imaginative, innovative, innovatory “a refreshing change of direction”
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Let that sink in. God has some freshening up to do. He wants to give you a new start. Help you change directions and shine in His image. To do a new work in you…if you let Him.
Where do you see the Lord working in your life? Is He asking you to just be still?
Well written truth that touches my reality.
This is such a good word. I find that I have to be so intentional about being still with God. Life does hold many distractions but how sweet it is to come to the feet of the lover of our souls. Being still can be hard emotionally because we do seem to enjoy our busyness. I pray God helps me continue to grow in withdrawing from distractions to spend time with Him.
VERY true – He wants to do a great work in us
Thank you for sharing your struggle with being still! I thought I was reading my own story! He is teaching me to rest and to be still in Him. I am a work in progress but, praise God there is progress! Enjoyed visiting you today. Have a great weekend!!!
I wrote about the beauty and significance of being still myself. It is hard to do when you think you’ve got a million things you’d rather do, but the other million things usually make us more sick, tired, and restless. The Sabbath definitely is a reminder to be still for a WHOLE day!