Quieting our Hearts

"Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10).

The Hebrew word raphah which is translated “be still” in the above text, means relax, withdraw, let drop, let go, and to be quiet.  The psalmist lived in a time before television, radio, computers, iPads, iPods, and smart phones. Yet even he understood that if one is to hear the “still small voice” of God, it is necessary to still one’s heart and deliberately separate ourselves from the distractions that surround.

One of my most prized possessions is a 1931 John Deere Hit n Miss gasoline engine. Earlier in the 20th century, before electricity had made to all of the rural areas of our nation, these single cylinder engines supplied the power to run many needed pieces of equipment and appliances on the family farm. They are called Hit n Miss engines because the spark plug only fired about once in every 10-20 revolutions. The heavy flywheels maintained the inertia of the engine between the firings of the spark plug. And when one cuts the fuel to these engines, it takes a while for the engine to come to a complete stop because of the inertia produced by the flywheel.

I often find that my heart and mind are like the flywheel of a Hit n Miss engine. I can physically separate myself from the various activities of life, take a break or go on vacation, only to find that it takes three or four days for my mind to slow to the place that I can begin to enjoy rest and relaxation.  

The overstimulation of our senses in this day is hindering us from true rest and relaxation and also from hearing the voice of God. How difficult it is to shut down all of the distractions that surround us today? 

Permit me to ask you a question, not everyone else, you, and you alone?  How often do you shut down all of your electronic gizmos with the single intent of becoming still that you might hear the “still small voice” of God?  When is the last time that you spent even an hour in stillness before God?

I constantly hear Christians expressing the desire to hear from God and yet how can He get a word in edgewise when they are distracted by buzzing cell phones or background noise that drowns out the “still small voice” (I Kings 19:12).

Do you truly want to hear the voice of God?  What price are you willing to pay?  Know this, it is in stillness that He is found. What price are you willing to pay?

“For thus the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel has said, ‘In repentance and rest you will be saved, in quietness and trust is your strength” (Isaiah 30:15).