Spencer Clark
Be still, and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10 ESV).
Earlier this month, some of our youth attended Horizons Camp at Freed-Hardeman University. The theme, “Still” from Psalm 46:10 encouraged us to find rest in God through the busyness of life — perhaps one of the greatest threats to a faithful Christian life. We can run around doing things and feeling like we are accomplishing something, but if we fail to slow down and recognize God’s place in our life, have we really accomplished anything?
When Jesus came to the town of Bethany, Martha invited him into her home (Luke 10:38-42). Her sister Mary sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. Martha, however, was so preoccupied with serving that she was frustrated with her sister. Jesus reminded her that Mary had chosen the good portion, whereas Martha was too worried about other things.
For us to be still in our lives, we need to learn to sit at the feet of Jesus to listen, worship, and pray. This is true both in our personal lives and when we assemble as a church. We need to set down our phones, turn off the TV, and be still for study and prayer.
When we assemble for worship, stillness and focus can be hard to accomplish. Our minds are restless, there’s a project in the back we need to finish, maybe a friend grabbed us in the hallway and wants to talk, perhaps we haven’t made lunch plans yet, or your phone just went off. For us to worship in stillness, we need to eliminate distractions and sit at the feet of Jesus like Mary consciously and intentionally. We can make plans later, answer texts after worship, talk to our friends over lunch, and finish projects on our own time. But when we are at worship, we need to worship to the best of our ability with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We need to learn stillness from Mary and focus on the good things so that we are not enslaved to the busyness of life and never truly come to know our God.