Learning How to "Cease Striving"
Gosh this is a hard one for me... I'm always "striving". Striving to get more work done, check more things off my list, be more focussed, more present, more lively, more connected, more in-touch, more healthy, more in-shape, spend more time in the Word. MORE MORE MORE. I am always striving... But In Psalm 46:10 I am commanded to "Be STILL and know that [He] is God". Be still is also translated as "cease striving" in the NASB version. I like this translation almost better than the others. The command to be still is to do something new, being still. But the command to cease striving is to STOP. Stop everything; all the reaching and stretching and pursuing, to just be still. Only when you STOP can you truly BE STILL.
The other night I tried something new. I turned off my phone, got on the floor, and knelt before the throne of Jesus. I ceased striving for seven whole minutes (a ground-breaking record for me) and sat fully still in His Presence. I experienced flood of peace, mental clarity, and comfort (some of the many blessings that are promised to those who bask quietly in God's Presence). Despite this incredible feeling I did not repeat this for at least a week... WHY?! how on earth could I forget to be still with my God? Life got in the way and I forgot to fight for my time with Him, and purposefully cease striving for a few quiet moments.
This complete stillness is quickly vanishing in our "GO" driven society. We must seek out the quiet, the still, the peaceful and bask in God's glorious Presence! There are so many blessings to reap from this time. My challenge to you is to try it. Be still and undistracted for just 5 minutes sometime during your day.
I knew that my mind would wander–often I start praying and then suddenly find myself planning what to eat next or thinking about what homework I have left to do... So I apologize to Jesus and thank him for his infinite grace and patience with me and try to refocus. Because of this, I looked up some ways stay focused. Here are the things that helped me the most:
1) turn off your phone and put it aside
2) go to a place where you will not be interrupted like your car, your room, or the bathroom
3) keep a notepad nearby in case you think of something that needs to get done. Write it down and put it aside so that you can refocus on your quiet time.
4) when "being still" try to picture God on his throne in Heaven and yourself bowing before it, or imagine yourself crawling up into His loving embrace
6) laugh with God when you get distracted! It is simply a human thing to do and sometimes cannot be helped! Just refocus and move on.
7) set yourself up for success. You know what might distract you, so do your best to avoid whatever those things might be!
I want to work so much more on this myself! I sometimes feel that I have the attention span of a goldfish though... SO I'm working on it! Let's work on it together!
