Counting Down, Being Still, Laying Up

I’m a countdown kind of person.

If I’m looking forward to something, I’m counting down the days.

If I’m enjoying something, I’m counting down how much time is left before it has to end.

If I’m struggling, I’m counting down to when I think things will be okay again.

The benefit of this is that I’m generally on time and can fit a lot into my days. The downside is that I rarely just…am. Verses like Psalm 46:10 are challenging for me:

“Be still and know that I am God.”

I used to think that “being still” meant waiting. It was taking a pause, not learning a posture. God’s been changing my mind on this. 

Sometimes being still is:

• Laying in bed praying whatever’s on my heart, instead of always diving right into in-depth Bible study
• Talking with my guy about whatever comes up without looking at the clock to make sure we don’t “waste” the day
• Getting coffee and a pastry, not as a stop between errands but just because
• Forgetting about emails and texts and little to-do lists on lunch breaks in order to write or chat instead
• Rereading the same verse over and over again
• Focusing less on the big answer and more on asking little questions as they come up
• Writing the stories in my head behind the scenes instead of non-fiction with a little bow on the end
• Not trying to find the point in the conversation, just letting the conversation be the point

These are simple things. Many seem unrelated to anything spiritual. But they can’t happen – not in my hurried heart anyway – unless I know right there in the moment that God is God.

Rest doesn’t make sense in a world that never stops unless there’s someone who keeps going when we take a break. Peace has no place without the presence and promise of one who can guarantee all will be well in the end. 

In Psalm 46, God’s call to be still and know Him is an invitation to see what’s true whether we’re rushing or resting: He is with us.

He is mighty. He is ever-present.

Whether the earth is melting or the nations are in uproar, whatever troubles may be.

He’s a fortress we’re meant, as my friend Lesley points out, to dwell in. Not to visit from time to time. 

I forget this. Then there are sweet moments when all of a sudden I remember it again – God is with me. At any time, wherever I am, He’s there and sharing in what’s happening. He’s there, working it, whatever it is, for good according to His glorious purpose, which He’s revealed in Christ. Because I’m in Christ, I’m walking around every day in a fortress, helped and strengthened and safe in His presence. And that’s where I get to stay, for all eternity. 

So there can be less counting down and more laying up of treasures in heaven. That’s what being still seems to me more and more: laying down the urgency and demands of this world to lay up the simple and intrinsically meaningful things that will last forever: peace, joy, relationships – just being, because He is.

(Ben Rector’s new album “The Joy of Music” sums this vibe up well for me. You might like it too, though it’s not a Christian album!)

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