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

“This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: ‘In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.’ ” (Isaiah 30:15)

That definitely seems to be true of our current culture – we will “have none of it.” We want nothing to do with being still or being quiet. We are in perpetual motion – always in a hurry to go somewhere in order to do some urgent thing. We don’t stop. Maybe that’s because our surroundings don’t stop. Our culture is awake twenty-four/seven now. Some places are open twenty-four hours, they never close. TV doesn’t shut off anymore and social media is always awake. FOMO is more prevalent than ever before.

We are never still and we are never quiet. We complain that we can’t connect with God, meanwhile we are perpetually in motion pursuing many other things. We lament that we don’t hear God speaking to us even while our ears are occupied with whatever is coming through our EarPods or our headphones, continuous music or continuous conversation and comment about something. All of it a constant distraction from what really matters. Of course, you and I can become distracted without the aid of EarPods, TV, social media and all the various kinds of screen time. Jesus’s encounter with sisters Mary and Martha, which occurred centuries in the past, reminds me that distractions have always existed, long before technology provided us with new ones. Mary and Martha’s story unfolded like this –

“As Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to Him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to Him and asked, ‘Lord, don’t You care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!’ ‘Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.’ ” (Luke 10:38-42)

Did you catch that? Martha was distracted – not by screen time, not by her social media, but simply by the task of preparing a meal for a guest in their home. You see, there have always been plenty of distractions to derail us, long before the advent of TV or of computers or of smart phones. That day, Martha was in perpetual motion, trying to get everything she thought necessary for a proper meal completed. However, Mary “was sitting” and not just anywhere. We are told “Mary sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said.” “Sitting” didn’t mean that Mary was idle or that she was wasting her time. Mary was listening to every word that Jesus spoke. But in order for her to hear Jesus, Mary had to draw near to Him and then she had to be still in order to hear what Jesus was saying.

When I’m in perpetual motion, it’s harder, if not impossible, for me to hear the voice of my Savior. Like Martha, I am too often distracted by many other things. This must be why King David wrote these words describing how God helps you and me to get to a place where we can hear His voice and we can spend time with Him.

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul.” (Psalm 23:1-3)

I know I often long to have my frazzled soul restored but I am unwilling to stop, to be still and to take the time to listen for God’s voice. God wants to restore me, the Psalm says so. That’s why God “makes me lie down” in a peaceful place for rest, in a “green” place, implying lots of food to refresh and to restore my hungry body and my hungry soul. Green plants are food for my body. God’s words are food for my soul.

“Jesus answered, ‘It is written: Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” (Matthew 4:4)

God leads me by those “quiet waters” so that without all the noise surrounding me, I will have a chance to hear His voice. God invites me to “be still and know.” His call is an open invitation. Today is as good a day as any for me to cease my perpetual motion and to instead experience my Creator’s rest and restoration. Then I can say with the psalmist –

“My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him.” (Psalm 62:1)

sincerely, Grace Day