Remember when God spoke to Elijah in the STILLNESS? (1 Kings 19:11) We've all been taught a great deal about the importance of being still to hear from God, but I was just thinking about something else regarding stillness.
In the season I am in right now, I have much more "still" time than I would like. I honestly don't remember ever having so much still time. I remember how much I used to cherish times like these and now I cherish the times I am busy! Life's funny that way, isn't it? Stillness is quite revealing. Not only does God speak to us in these times, but He reveals much about ourselves during these times as well.
For example, when you have nothing to do (I realize some of you WISH you had nothing to do--sorry about that), what DO you do? Do you watch TV, go online, read a book, talk on the phone, etc.? In our fast paced society, few know how to handle the times when they have nothing to do. Instead of sitting down and literally being still, we look for something to fill the time and stillness. It feels odd when we aren't DOING something, so we do things to keep ourselves busy. I want to present to you that these times of stillness are a gift from God! Not only does our physical body benefit from times of quiet and calm, but our spirit man is being blessed with an opportunity to go beyond itself and tap into deeper levels of awareness of the presence of the Lord and the realm around us.
When you actually have some time to yourself, where do your thoughts go? Do they begin to worry about various circumstances? Do they focus on how blessed you are? Do you immediately think about earthly things or Heavenly things? Pay attention to what you are thinking! Our wandering thoughts will reveal a lot about places that need to be fully surrendered to the Lord and/or areas that you aren't fully trusting Him.
Instead of running to the computer or whatever else you do when you have 5 mins of quiet, let me suggest you sit down and turn your thoughts, even if briefly, to the Lord. Few people realize how many of these few minutes of quiet, they have. They are a way for you to LIVE in the presence of God! If you are having a hard time getting your mind quiet to hear from God, I have a suggestion. I learned this recently and it really works. Sit and write (type) out all of the thoughts that start popping in your head. It doesn't have to be long, just any random thought, things you are concerned about, anything that is taking your attention. You can throw it away after if you'd like! It is just a simple way to help "defrag" your mind from the clutter, so that you can be still and listen.
Good stuff girl!!! I recently heard Leif Hetlamd speak on this. He says it's "the hard work of rest"! Lol! I love that because it really IS so hard to just be content in resting. But it's after the times of rest that we go on to produce more fruit. Just like after winter ( being dormant) comes SPRING! Woohoo! Get ready for much fruit! <3 Love you!
ReplyDeleteThx Jenna! Ready for spring. ; )
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