Be Still
by Francine Taylor-Thirus, former staff, General Board of Discipleship

"Be still, and know that I am God!
I am exalted among the nations,
I am exalted in the earth." (Psalm 46:10, NRSV)

"Hold still! Be still!" I can still hear those words from my mother as I was growing up. She might have said them as she was helping me to dress, or maybe she said them at church. But certainly I remember them as she was trying to comb my hair. I would have been still if I could have, but it was impossible as she was jerking my head and body, pulling the comb and brush through my very thick hair.

"Hold still! Be still!" This command was uncomfortable to me as I was growing up, and it still is to this day. But, if I endured, if I were attentive, it meant I would be better for it. As she washed my hair and dried it, my mother had to untangle it. That meant pulling my hair through the regular comb and the straightening (hot comb) comb. It was painful for me as my head was jerked about, and it felt as if my hair were being pulled from the scalp. No matter how sensitive my mother was to the process or how she tried to be gentle, it was painful. But it was part of the process I had to go through to look good and to get the job finished.

Today, I can appreciate the times that I do "hold still" or make myself "be still" because doing so helps me to be attentive. When I am attentive to spiritual and biblical instructions, I benefit greatly. However, if your life is like mine, I am very seldom still. Life today demands a busy, hustle, bustle, running, dashing, multitasking and tension-filled schedule.

How many of us practice attentiveness in our daily life? We really don't know what it means to be attentive; for, attentiveness means "holding still" and "being still." I practice centering prayer each day; and it demands attentiveness, being still, holding still. It is the kind of attentiveness that requires discipline, control, letting go, relaxing, absorbing and being absorbed. It is an active type of being still.

When we lack wisdom, the storms of life can be devastating. When we find our life is in pieces, we may realize that we have acted unwisely and want to change. But where do we start?

Turning our life over to God is a wise move! As with most aspects of changing, growing and getting closer to God, we must be attentive to walking in wisdom. Being attentive is a process that we must work at continually and grow into. The three elements that make up the groundwork for attentiveness are:

• Reverence to God
• Listening to God's instructions
• Following God's instructions

God has given us clear instructions for our life in God's word. When we have reverence for God and are willing to accept God's instructions as the basis for all our decisions, we have a good starting point.

Jesus said, "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock" (Matthew 7:24-25, NRSV). Listening to what the Bible says is a step toward walking in wisdom.

Filling our mind with God's instructions will help lead us to follow them. This will also help us turn away from the things forbidden by God. The book of Job tells us, "Truly, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding" (Job 28:28, NRSV).

We should pay constant attention to the wise move of turning our lives over to God.

Posted 12-04-03.