be still

Be still and know that I am God.

--Psalm 46:10

question for you: when was the last time you were still? no, i mean really still. the last time you put your body in a state of total stasis, completely motionless. when was the last time you sat and listened to your own breath--the complex movement of air into and out of your lungs, the movement that keeps you alive? when?

for me, it had been too long. wayyy too long. it had been months probably, since the last time i was still. i'd gotten too caught up, too busy to notice the simply obvious fact that i was still breathing.

seems kind of silly when you really think about it...silly to sit in one place and listen to yourself breathe, see the opacity of light on the other side of your eyelids, and feel your stomach working.

but it isn't silly--not at all. because its in the stasis that i am reminded to appreciate the immense complexity of God's workmanship. it's in the quiet that i am reminded to be thankful for the gas exchange that happens every few seconds to keep me alive. it's in the tranqility that i am reminded that my body is a complex machine hand-crafted by time's greatest Inventor. it's in the stillness that i know without a doubt that God is God--it's where i find peace. it's in this place--this physical quiet--that i can hear God. i can hear Him through my heartbeat, my breath, my blood. i can hear Him with my senses.

you should try it, being still i mean. you might be surprised at the sweet sound of your own breath.

"speak Lord, for your servants are listening." --Pastor Joe Wittwer @ LifeCenter Foursquare Church, January 22, 2006