“Be still and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.”
-Psalm 46:10
Sitting still is no small feat. However, not everybody agrees.
Take the lizard, for example. I saw a nature documentary once that showed dozens of lizards sitting so still, I did a double-take. I thought they were actual statues or small relics from our ancient history, until I saw one of them twitch or adjust their bodies. They were all just sitting as still as a rock, either facing the sun, or just absorbing its rays. It seemed as though they could just sit in that position forever.
It is fascinating to consider the ways God has intended us to move as human beings. We can walk (Psalm 23:5), leap (Luke 6:23), dance (Ecclesiastes 3:4), and run (Hebrews 12:1). Yet God also calls us to moments of stillness. As this verse suggests, we can sit still for the purpose of practicing non-reactivity, allowing God to create in us a spirit of peace, while His will and purposes are completed without our involvement. We can also sit still for the purpose of reaching out to God in prayer. We can sit still, focused only on receiving what God has to say to us (Luke 10:39). All these approaches are vital to the Christ-based way of life. In these quiet and still moments, God can speak to us, and provide opportunities for us to process what seems like the never-ending flow of sensory experience we are inundated with in our lives. The space we find in our margins is where we can possibly discover our life’s meaning, and further understand ourselves and our place in this world and beyond.
This is where we come in, as heaven-sent beings living out our lives on this plane of existence. God desires us to look toward Him, to take in all that He gives us, which for us, is plenty and abundant. May we also learn the art of sitting still in His presence, and absorbing all that He is. The promise in this verse reminds us that one day we all will experience a moment where we bask in His light, and intimately desire His love, warmth and compassion.
Though God designed lizards to be cold-blooded, even they intuitively know and understand the value the sun provides for them, just as we can comprehend the awesomeness and grandeur God is, just by being near Him. They demonstrate that as one of God’s beloved creatures, we do not need to do anything to receive His love. Just as God “gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good” (Matthew 5:45), we should expect to receive wonderful gifts as His children, no matter how imperfect we are. Created in His image, we all were designed to do great and common things for Him. May we all believe in the power that is God and that He can do wonderful things in us and through us.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for all the animals, the creatures you have made in this earth, above it, and below it. Everything You have created exists for the purpose of glorifying You and demonstrating who You are, showing us a glimpse of the nature of Your character. Show me new things about You, reveal who You are to me. Increase the desire in me to become more like You, in all ways. May Your will be done, Amen.