Skip to main content

Follow Me on Facebook

Gretchen Mure Rodriguez

Chill Out!

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.


Labels:

Comments

  1. Jenna Carter2/29/2012

    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!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Unknown3/01/2012

    Thx Jenna! Ready for spring. ; )

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Predicament of Desire

This has been such a beautiful season with the Lord for me personally. I've been so aware of the burning desire in my heart for Him, so grateful that He has fanned the flames of longing. There has been a fresh grace over me this year - a consistent desire to remain aware of the Lord's presence at all times.  Yet in my longing to hear more accurately, see more clearly, and encounter His Kingdom more profoundly, I was actually losing focus. It wasn't that I was getting distracted from this overwhelming desire to know Him more, but the desire itself was becoming larger than the Object of my desire. As I encountered Him more deeply, I also felt the frustration of wanting to be closer. The desire has been so deep, that the Lord finally revealed to me that the desire itself was distracting me. Focusing on what we aren't experiencing, causes us to come to Him with frustration instead of expectation. No matter how much we have experienced His love and have encountered His gl...
Post a Comment
Read more

When Love Sweeps In (Day 22)

Today we celebrate the day Love took on human form and was birthed into the earth; Christmas day! Love comes and sweeps me off of my feet at times when I least expect it! At times Love comes and overwhelms me and at other times it feels as though my senses have dulled. In fact lately, the times which are usually the most amazing, have felt the driest. Recently, the times I feel Him the most is when I'm just thinking about Him and not making any effort of my own. He comes and initiates conversations with me, or just surprises me with overwhelming love for me that hasn't been earned by anything I have done;  it is a gift.   I now long for Him to come and reveal Himself to me in ways I have nothing to do with.  Such beauty in the absence of striving! Though He is in me, I cannot force a manifestation of His glory. Though I am FILLED with Him, I find myself craving greater consciousness of my holy union with Christ. I realize that I am as close as any human can...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Saturation Point

To be ravished by His love is an honor too few have experienced. Fewer live in this proximity to God on a daily basis. I love the words to a song I heard today, sung by Steffany Frizzell:  "Your love has ravished my heart and taken me over, taken me over. And all I want is to be with You forever, with You forever. So pull me a little closer, take me a little deeper, I want to know Your heart, I want to know Your heart. Cause your love is so much sweeter than anything I've tasted, I want to know Your heart." I've been praying a great deal recently for Wisdom. (see Proverbs 2:2-5) There was something that resonated within me that if we can stay tapped into His Wisdom, everything else in our lives will fall into place. We have the mind of Christ, yet we don't engage it to the point that all of our thoughts are consumed by His.  Today I saw it so clearly: Many times we pray for Wisdom, or even for His presence to come and we imagine it as if we are on the outside,...
Post a Comment
Read more