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and know that I am God.”
-Psalm 46:10 (NASB and
margin note)
Divine
stillness waits for us. It beckons us to come. From a distance it welcomes our
weary heart and mind to receive rest. How often we hear that invitation, and we
desire to come. But, before we do so, we want to finish one more project. As
soon as our responsibilities are fulfilled, we tell ourselves, we will take
time to be still.
Of
course once one obligation is met or one problem is solved, two more raise
their heads, and we never quite get to that much-needed pause. That place of
stillness eludes us. Like Martha in the Gospels, we are concerned about so many
things—too anxious to join Mary in Jesus’ presence.
“Come
to me,” says our Lord. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I
am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew
11:28-29). Jesus continues to extend the offer of inner rest. We somehow think
that we cannot come to him until we have first unloaded our own burdens.
However, it is precisely while those burdens weigh on us that we need to come.
Entering
the place of stillness necessitates that we pause from our frenetic activity,
even for five or ten minutes. Often we are afraid to do so. We are fearful of
releasing our grip.
If
we relinquish those fears and concerns to our loving God, however, we can find
rest for our souls. Such a pause can make the difference for our whole day. Our
hearts are renewed, our souls refreshed. The whole momentum of our day becomes
refocused, and we reenter our responsibilities on the right foot.
Stillness
awaits. I don’t want to ignore the Good Shepherd’s invitation.
©
2018 Glenn E. Myers
