FRIEND OF SILENCE

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

“Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me…”

-         Psalm 46:10 MSG

Many of us know this passage as “BE STILL and know that I am GOD.”

But as Peterson often does he uses language to help us rethink the familiar.  He often offers a new thread to the thread-worn.

And He does here.

“Step out of the traffic…” he interprets.

He could have said, “Sift out the noise” or “Lay down the distractions”.  He could have said “Turn off the devices” or “Disconnect and chill”. 

I believe what GOD is saying to us, whether it is BE STILL or someone offering a twist with "STEP OUT OF THE TRAFFIC", the suggestion is the same.

Sift out the distractions and acknowledge GOD.

Take a LONG look at Him.

Do it first thing.

GOD wants us to PONDER Him before pondering anything else. 

Yet when life’s chaotic noise is bearing down or our attention is so diverted in so many different directions and priorities, we often don’t have time to BE STILL or STEP out do we?

And that is unfortunate for the next verse tells us WHY we should be still.

The Lord All-Powerful is with us. – Psalm 46:11 (ERV)

Far too often our attention gets so drawn to and occupied with the noise and the traffic that WE fail to acknowledge or remember that GOD is with us today to DEAL WITH the traffic and noise, that GOD is ALL powerful enough to sift through OUR noise or to navigate OUR traffic.

“The irony is that while God doesn’t need us but still wants us, we desperately need God but don’t really want Him most of the time.”

― Francis Chan

I think we could look at Francis’ quote a little differently and instead of saying we DON’T want Him most of the time we could probably better say we DON’T have TIME for GOD most of the TIME.

Ann Voskamp says it this way…

“Time is life. And if I want the fullest life, I need to find the FULLEST time...

(and is) the busyness of your life leaving little room for the source of your life...God gives us time. 

And who has time for God?

Which makes no sense.”

It doesn’t make much sense does it?

But it is true nonetheless.

Too much traffic.

Too much noise.

Too many others “things” commanding our time.

So the encouragement today is a simple one.

Pause. Step out of the traffic.

Turn off the distractions.

Be still and remember.

GOD is ENGAGED.  GOD has WHAT you need for this day ahead.

“…find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence.” ― Mother Teresa

I love you ALL!

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