There is a well known verse in the book of Psalms, the first part says, Be still and know that I am God. Not for the first time thinking about it has led me down a rabbit hole.

How often do I complain that I don’t hear from God, but I am not really listening? I am not quieting my mind, putting aside all distractions, and just waiting on him. The phrase “be still” comes from the Hebrew word Rapha. It means to be weak, to let go, to release. Am I letting go of everything and trusting it to God? Am I releasing everything that is weighing me down and just waiting on him?

We live in a constantly connected world. It’s not a bad thing necessarily, but we have lost the art of being both alone and still. I catch myself sitting on the couch at night watching TV and scrolling my phone. We live in a culture where we feel guilty for setting time aside to just be still. We feel like we must be doing something or something is wrong. Even when I am attempting to take some downtime, my mind is busy.

One of the definitions of the noun form of still is deep silence and calm. One of the places that I can find it is on my back porch watching the birds in the bird bath. It’s where all the competing noises are gone and I can just breathe. There is no chaos, no to-do list, no deadline, no phone. I am trying to be intentional about taking time in the stillness, even if it is only five minutes. Do you have a place that you can practice stillness?