In The Quiet Place

I'm gonna paraphrase God for just a minute.

"Sit down, shut up, and recognize who I am."

If I was better at memorizing scripture I would tell you what Psalm that's from...but I'm not. I have seen it rendered, "Be still and know that I am God." I've also seen one of the newer translations put it this way, "Cease striving and know I am your God." No matter how you want to put it, it's a good way to live your life. I'm kind of partial to my paraphrase because that's the language that's easy for me to understand. But...I also like Eugene Peterson's take on it.

Psalm 46:10 (The Message)

10"Step out of the traffic! Take a long,
loving look at me, your High God,
above politics, above everything."

Yeah...I cheated. I stopped and looked it up. I had to, it was driving me crazy not knowing what Psalm it came from. I guess if I were to actually sit still and mediatate on God a little more than I would be able to recall more of His words...eh? But it can be so hard. Some of us work jobs and raise families. Some of us go to school and raise families. Heck...the raising family thing is enough to keep a person busy 24/7, work and school are just extra things to consume our time with.

I do like to get away from everything from time to time and just chill out. I had the opportunity to that a few days ago. I, along with my Mom and sister, took my two sons to the beach. There's just something about sitting on the sand and watching the waves roll in. I took some video on my camera and watched it when I got home. The sound of the waves came wooshing out of my speakers and it was like I was there all over again. I feel very close to God when I am there. I can see His handiwork all around and I KNOW He is there.

I feel similar things when I go to the mountains. They are my second favorite place to go and be with God. I like to sit high above the valley and just breathe in the air as the world goes on below me. It's so amazing to look out for miles and see God's creation painted before your eyes. Everything is so still and peaceful and perfect. I can only imagine what it must be like to look out over the Grand Canyon and witness that. God willing, I will find out one day.

But those are the easy ways to be still. No Psalm is needed to stir our minds towards God when we are in those places. It's when we get back home and have the stack of bills and backed-up work staring us in the face that we need God to shout out, "Hey you! Sit down! Be quiet! Chill!"

I confess...I need to hear it more and more as I get older. I'm just thankful that He loves me enough to keep shouting after me.