Psalm 46:10
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

I sometimes struggle to be still.

It’s not that I don’t value stillness or see its importance, but in a busy world with so much going on I find it tricky. I wonder if that is something you find too.

I know that stillness matters, it allows things to settle, it allows me to hear and see God, but often there is always something else to do – the drive to be productive and use time wisely means stillness can get pushed out – and in pushing out stillness there is a danger I limit those times when I hear and see God.

To counter this for the last month or so I have been trying something new. I get up early, make myself a coffee and simply go and sit in the garden for 5-10 minutes before I do anything else. I don’t take my phone, or a book and I try not to take a list of jobs to do in my head. I simply allow myself to be present before God, and to listen and watch.

As I listen, I hear sounds beyond the sounds that are front and centre. It’s easy to just hear the pigeons and sea-gulls but as I am still I hear other birdsong too, a quieter more subtle melody – one that feels worth the stillness. I notice changes in the garden – weeds popping up try to call me to action, but I attempt to remain still, because in the stillness I allow myself to notice. I allow myself to be present before God without an agenda but simply to be with Him.

I shared something of this a few weeks back on a Wednesday communion, and asked people to ask me how it was getting on. Thank you to all who asked me how its going.

Chris