Give me a word, Lord: PEACE, BE STILL

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

John 16:33 “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Yesterday afternoon, I went for a two mile hike into the woods. The last few weeks have been a continual rollercoaster of activities. Between working, farming, and family responsibilities, we have not stopped. But I decided to take a vacation day. I was long past due for a day to just be still and spend some time with my sweet husband, nature, and the good Lord.

As we began our hike, we were immediately greeted by a juvenile raccoon. He scampered through the woods without even giving us a second glance. I think we probably saw about a hundred squirrels. They were running about merrily, up and down trees, and barking over our heads. There must have been about 200 birds flying around, and at one point the birds were singing so loudly it sounded like we were in the jungles of the rain forest.

After about two miles of walking, I found the perfect spot. I made a make shift seat under a big pine tree, and I just sat there for a couple of hours taking in the fresh air and the beauty of God’s creations. The leaves are just starting to turn here, and as I sat quietly, I caught a glimpse of a golden yellow leaf turning loose and flittering gently to the ground. I even watched one squirrel race about 20 yards in front of me. He dove into a pile of pine straw and a little golden leaf flew over his head as he landed on the pine straw. I’m sure he was in squirrel heaven as there were white oak acorns covering the ground.

As the sun began to set, a different type of orchestra began. The locusts began their soothing buzzing sound as the tree frogs quietly croaked. Every once in a while, the sounds would get louder, almost deafening, yet extremely peaceful. Yes, this was definitely the most peaceful day I have had it what seems like an eternity.

Twelve hours a day, three days a week doesn’t sound like a tough work schedule. However, when you couple that with four days of working even harder at home, you can bet that a body can get warn down. It’s not the work that wears me down. I enjoy hard work. It’s the busyness that makes it tough. It’s the noise, the chatter, the constant running here and there. It’s the absolute, total lack of “peace, be still.” The distractions of everyday life can be overwhelming, especially when those distractions are distracting us from Christ.

I don’t think that God designed us to be this busy, and my hike confirmed this. I love nature because I can see God in all of it. We have to take the time to slow down and look around and see God’s handiwork. He designed all of the animals, birds, and even the 9000 mosquitoes that I saw. I’m still not sure why God thought we needed those suckers, but I’m sure He had a reason. Nonetheless, when we take time to truly be still, we find peace, and that peace really does transcend all understanding.

If you are feeling lost, overwhelmed, or maybe just tired of all the racket and noise of the day, how about taking some time today for peace? Be still, and know God. We can feel His presence and see Him a whole lot more clearly when we turn off all of the distractions and just be still with God for a bit!