Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God….”
Do you have trouble being present in the present?
I appreciate multi-tasking. Although a recently added word to our lexicon, the feat of being able to do several things at one time didn’t begin with this generation. Millennials who text, type and talk at the same time have nothing over on the mother who balances a baby on her hip, puts in a load of wash, and instructs her 3-year old not to run on the just-mopped floor, all while consuming a half-eaten sandwich.
Although efficiency comprises a necessary part of life, I’m afraid all the multi-tasking is making it harder to appreciate the beauty found in a singular accomplishment. It’s getting difficult to focus on the moment. The other morning I found myself behind a very slow-moving truck. Instantly, I felt the Lord checking my frustration. Enjoy the ride. Not long after that, I was preparing to go out of town for a week-long teaching seminar. I began thinking about how I could best use my free time when I wasn’t teaching. I could work on this project, on that upcoming class. The Lord interrupted my thoughts again. Don’t plan on accomplishing anything else.
How often does our flurry of activity lock us into the shallow lands of life? I wonder what might happen if we took the time to dig a little deeper, examine a little closer. Not just hear what someone says, but pause to listen. Not methodically check items off our to-do list, but engage them. Not rush through obligatory morning devotions, but wait upon the Lord.
No one accomplished more in his brief span on earth than Jesus. And no one was more fully present. Jesus said he did nothing but what he saw his Father doing (John 5:19). Constant communication with God taught him how to value every single moment. He experienced no conflict between the stillness of knowing God and the efficiency of working his plan.
If we hope to be more present in the present, I don’t know a better place to start than through emulating Jesus’ ongoing communion with God—of letting his presence infuse our present, whether our present be mundane or spectacular.
So right now…let’s pause…be still…know he is God…and savor it….