Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God”
Advent is a time of renewal and preparation for Christ’s coming and this best happens as we each create space in our lives for God to move. However, in our hurried, fast paced and often out of control lives, especially this time of the year.
We here in the U.S. want what we want and we want it yesterday. Sadly, for Christians this same thinking applies to our spiritual lives. We have a microwave mentality when it comes to growth and a deeper life with Christ. We often think our relationships with Jesus should happen at hyper speed and our lives blessed accordingly. But, the Lord in His wisdom doesn’t often work like that (at least not in my life!).
Real authentic growth only happens as we take the take to be still and silent with God. For me this season of late fall and winter has always been a great time of quiet. Even amongst the hustle and bustle of gearing up for Christmas there is a stillness that is there if we take a moment to experience it.
I love long quiet walks in the snow through the woods where no one has been in a while. It is as we finally get a little quiet that God can speak to us about all those prayers we’ve been sending up and help us make sense of the journey we’ve been on. My prayer for all of us is that we would all find times to be still and silent with God, so that He might speak to our hearts. What a great chance to experience Christmas in a new way because we’ve been listening to the Lord speak to our hearts.
The second half of this verse often gets left off “I will be exalted in all the nations, I will be exalted in all the earth.” Wow, what an amazing promise. As we are still before Him and grow in our personal relationships he uses us to touch the world. So if you want to be a world changer for Jesus stop striving so hard and be still.
Check out our Advent Devotion book available online.
John Morley is a long time friend of the camp who lives in Kentucky and works at Asbury University.
You da man, John Morley