Momentum: bare toes encountering table legs discover its existence. So do shoppers who attempt to pass through closed, all-glass doorways. So do vehicles failing to cede right-of-way to a tree. We live with this thing called momentum every day of our lives, more often than not, paying little to no attention. Until, that is, an event presents itself that requires less momentum. It is then that we recognize how quickly and easily we pass by some things.
Psalm 46:10 says: ‘Be still, and know that I am God.’ How often we may have heard that exhortation when we were children! And it was so hard to manage! Stillness doesn’t resonate with little kids (or with many older kids, for that matter!). It was so frustrating to hear those punishing-sounding words. We may have stilled ourselves on the outside but we were still acting on the inside.
But God requires stillness of us that we might know Him. Less momentum. More quiet. More taming the thought-hordes running through our minds. Less clock-watching. More paying attention to what we’re paying attention to. Less multi-tasking. More settling in, more choosing to get comfortable, more clearing our schedule, more cultivating ‘no need to go anywhere, see anyone’ mindset. This just may be the key to knowing our Savior.
But we live in a world where ‘to go’ options abound, instant meals are the thing, microwaves are de rigueur, same- or next-day delivery is absolutely necessary. The bane of our existence manifests itself in things long checkout lines, no whole milk to foam for our cappuccino, a buffering internet connection, lags when gaming, traffic tie-ups, someone ‘stealing’ our parking spot, waiting rooms, plus a few dozen more (could these be the very troubles Jesus warned we would have in this world?).
In this fast-paced world, then, slowing down, breathing deeply, choosing the countercultural posture of stillness, all seems too big an ask. It leaves us wondering if this is just something out of a bygone era and no longer applicable to us in our day. But there’s Psalm 46:10 staring at us from our Bibles, unflinchingly clear. Eugene Peterson, in his MESSAGE translation, puts this verse like this: ‘Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything.’ If/when we obey this curt order, what we will uncover in our knowing of God, is the peace we’ve most longed for. I think that’s worth a bit of ‘slow.’ PD
