Originally published Monday, 26 October 2015.
Over the last three weeks, we’ve been talking a lot about defining stillness as moving in the presence of God – taking steps according to His will and letting go of ours. However, sometimes stillness means exactly how it sounds… being still.
For me, quiet stillness before God doesn’t come easy. If my body isn’t in motion, my mind almost always is. I have a million activities going on and my life is usually summed up by tired lips speaking, “One day at a time, sweet Jesus.”
So how do we shut our minds off, pray, and meditate on His word without interruptions from the to-do list? Well, I’m no expert in this area, but I can tell you that I’m learning through practice.
We’ve all heard the saying practice makes perfect.
After I lost my daughter Courtney to stillbirth, I used to go up to the altar during worship at church and raise my hands. I didn’t want to, and my arms usually felt like dead weight, but I was practicing worship. I knew that in order to find a breakthrough in the midst of grief, I was going to need a show of action, even if my heart wasn’t in it.
The beautiful part in all this is that after I practiced worshiping, it became natural. I wanted to praise Him, my arms didn’t feel as heavy, and freedom was released.
My weakest moments have taught me how to have the greatest strength. (Tweet that)
When we practice stillness just a few minutes a day, we learn to spend quality time with God. Overtime, it becomes easier to block out the distractions.
Practice makes perfect.
Sometimes, I lie still with my eyes closed and recite a scripture I have memorized. It helps calm me. It used to be that I would only do that when I felt a major crisis occurring, and then I couldn’t understand why it didn’t fight the anxiety away quickly.
However, when I began to practice the process of reciting scripture on a regular basis, not just when panic encompassed, then when bad times came I was able to handle them better. It was as if the weapons in my arsenal were sharper because I practiced using them before the war.
Anything we want to excel at takes a consistent amount of practice, and disciplining ourselves to spend time with God in stillness is no different.
I want to encourage you to find a scripture you love, memorize it, and practice reciting it just two minutes a day in stillness. Don’t wait for panic to set in, sharpen your weapons and get to know your God.
Trust me, it’s a practice that leads us to where we all want to go: straight to the center of stillness.
Love,
Jennifer
If you’ve missed any part of my October Series, The Struggle to Live a Still Life, click here and scroll down for previous posts. When you subscribe to my blog via email, you receive my eBook, Mercy Waits, FREE.
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