The still point

The traditional translations remind us to “be still and know that I am God”. However we translate it, the psalmist seems intent on reminding us that we are not to be swept up into so much activity that we miss out on the deeper realities of God.

It is even more serious when our constant activity is tied up with church and the apparent ‘things of God’. We can be so frantically busy doing things for God that we never stop long enough to figure out just what things need doing. Rushing around with no free time is no recipe for hearing the still, small voice of God.

How often we complain (or boast!) about how busy we are. As if this is a mark of our worth or our fruitfulness. In fact, as far as serving our God is concerned, it is a recipe for burnout and/or pride. We do a lot without necessarily achieving a lot. As one mystic once put it, “Nothing worthwhile was ever accomplished in a stampede.”

Seeking stillness is not an excuse for laziness or passivity. It is rather the prerequisite for any fruitful activity. God is more likely found in the silence than in the stampede, in the reflection rather than the rush. As another old saying goes, only as we cease our restless doing will we find out what needs to be done.

Blessings
David Reay