To Do or to Be?
Be still and know that I am God.
Psalm 46:10, NRSV
To do or to be? That is the question. Well, at least, that is my question. You see, this virus-imposed change of pace, this change of routine, this s-l-o-w-d-o-w-n has messed with the speedometer in my brain. My basic tendency in life is to go non-stop, pedal to the metal and full speed ahead. Maybe you can relate! Like a gerbil on a wheel, I function and feel best about life when I’m “doing something tactile,” when I’m moving from A to B or when I’m moving something, anything from A to... well… anywhere. To my great surprise, as I looked over my notes for this edition of the Daily Word, I discovered that the devotional that was forming in my head is not only by me, but it is for me. It is something I need to hear. To put it another way, I find that I’m preaching to the choir and it is my day for a solo.
Over and over while praying, I kept hearing Psalm 46:10 echo through my head: “Be still and know that I am God.” Yes, Lord, but... then Isaiah 40:31 “they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint.” Yes, Lord, but I need to do something, create something or write something! It is just so hard to wait and to listen. Then, again echoing in my brain, those words… be still... and wait upon the Lord.
I’ll admit that sometimes I’m kind of slow to get it. After the same experience multiple times over a two-day period, I finally gave up and I shut up. I began to pray that God would help me to “be still and to wait.” My mind began to slow down and my breathing soon followed suit. In fairly short order, the cares and occupations of the world began to drift away and I found myself in a peaceful, holy place. Much to my surprise, when I “resurfaced,” almost an hour had passed. For me, my attitude of “this is so hard” had been transformed into “this is such a blessing.” So, if you are feeling like a gerbil on a wheel, take some time to “be still and wait upon the Lord.” Perhaps you too will find yourself in a peaceful, holy place. Amen.
