Be Still

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

I wake up in the morning with music from my iPad. Once I manage to get it turned off, I wake the kids up, then turn on the morning news. As I get ready for the day, I listen to what's happened overnight, what celebrities are upset that their privacy has been violated (do we really care?), and what the weather will be. I get in the car, turn on the iPod for music or to listen to sermons and podcasts while driving to my local coffee shop, where music and conversation fills the air.

"Be still, and know that I am God."

Once I get to the office, the iPod goes on the dock, where music plays most of the day as a background "soundtrack" to the deeds of the day. If I have to go somewhere, so does my music. The only time, pretty much, it gets turned off is when there are conversations going on. Sometimes, when I'm reading, I do switch to classical or instrumental music, just so I'm not distracted by too many words. But still the noise remains.

"Be still, and know that I am God."

When I go home, I'm surrounded by differing noises. Christopher's got his—well, he says it's music—playing as he studies. Rachel is dancing to something from YouTube downstairs. And then, after dinner, I'll go exercise, where I listen to a podcast or some music that we might use in worship. Meetings often fill my evenings, with lots of talking, and then home to the television and bed.

"Be still, and know that I am God."

I don't think my days are atypical. The question for all of us, in this noisy world, is where do we find the silence? God is found over and over again in the Scriptures in silence. Do we ever get still enough to know God? And I'm not just talking about music, podcasts or newscasts. For some people, the "noise" in our lives is endless activity, action, doing things. We believe we have to be busy. Silence scares us. We don't know what to do with it. And yet, still God says...

"Be still, and know that I am God."