Slow Down Already!

Picture by Caprice Miller

 

“Be still, and know that I am God.  I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”  - Psalm 46:10

Being sick is just not fun.  You just want to sit and do as little as possible while wrapped in your favorite blanket and lay your head on a cushy pillow.  As momma says, “A blanket and pillow will cure everything.”  Unfortunately, you can’t even enjoy relaxing because of the body aches and coughing you might be experiencing.   Even popping in your favorite movie doesn’t help because you either can’t hear it over the coughing or you keep falling asleep and missing the best parts.  It’s a time we all experience at some point in our lives, but pray it passes as quickly as possible.  And when it does, it’s in those moments we appreciate the health we had taken for granted before and thank God for His healing power.

At times it seems that this is the only way many of us will slow our lives down.  It’s as though we are moving at such a fast  pace that we can’t find a way to stop and really appreciate the blessings we have.  We suddenly hit the proverbial wall, and we are then forced to slow down because our body rejects any other option.  As we begin feeling better and our minds can finally function again, we just step right back in to that same fast pace as before.  We never consider that this could have actually been one of those blessings in disguise.   Perhaps God had something to say to us, but instead, we just fell into the same fast pace as soon as the mental fog lifted.  It’s probably not that we meant to ignore what God had to say, but that we weren’t sure how to listen for it. 

Listening for God’s voice seems like a mysterious challenge.  But it’s really about being still enough to recognize His voice.  It’s not necessarily an audible voice, but more of “a whisper in your heart” accompanied by a peace that really does “surpass all understanding.” (Philippians 4:7)  You see, God is not going to force His way into our business.  It is our choice to make sure we are seeking to grow a relationship with Him.  The best way to do that is making time to slow down enough so that we can read His words to us in the Bible.  In addition, we can practice being still enough so that we can begin recognizing that “whisper in our hearts”.  As we put these things into practice and begin experiencing His peace in our lives something interesting happens.  We suddenly can’t help but to share that experience with others.  Soon we realize that because we have taken the time to be still and know that He is God, we are exalting Him in our own little world.  Imagine the ripple effect that could happen if then those you are sharing with in your world begin putting into practice and experiencing this same peace in their lives.  Then they will share that experience in their worlds and so forth and so on until He is exalted among the nations and in the earth!  Take advantage of those unexpected down times and be still so that you can hear that whisper and start a ripple effect today.