Be still and chill

Like many of you, I’m sure, I’ve been suffering from exhaustion lately. It’s so easy to get bogged down in the mundane tasks with life and forget our life's purpose. I wanted to share with you what I learned this morning from our conference devotional speaker, Tim Elmore. The profound statements are his; the less sophisticated ones are mine.

A company that makes drill bits hired a new president who challenged the management team to realize that people aren’t paying for the drill bit… they’re paying for the holes. In other words, they were a solution to a problem until a better solution came along.

We must be diligent not to mistake the method for the mission.

When Elisha proclaimed God’s message in 2 Kings 3:16-19, he said, “…Thus says the LORD, ‘Make this valley full of trenches.’ For thus says the LORD, ‘You shall not see wind nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you shall drink, both you and your cattle and your beasts. And this is but a slight thing in the sight of the LORD; He shall also give the Moabites into your hand. Then you shall strike every fortified city and every choice city, and fell every good tree and stop all springs of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones.’ ”

So the challenge for me this morning is, am I asking God for water, or am I asking Him for victory in the battle? We spend so much time as Christians praying for the immediate and not enough time asking for the ultimate. Let us not just been concerned with the logistical, but with the strategic. After all, great Generals don’t spend a lot of time asking how they’re going to win a battle; they spend a lot of time planning how to win a war.

What we ask God for reflects our heart. Are we asking for the right things? We are called to seek first the Kingdom of God and all its righteousness, and all the other things will be added unto us…

God has laid upon my heart and challenged me with this these past few days: am I spending enough time “being still” before Him and seeking His will, or am I going headstrong into my own plans? How arrogant am I that I think I can do anything on my own! Yet, I spend my days plotting and planning and making spreadsheets instead of making time for spending quiet time with Him.

Life is full of the do vs. be challenge. We’re overscheduled, over planned, and overextended. Am I planning time to rest in Him? Am I being still and knowing, really knowing, that He is God?

How big is our God? How I pray that we’re asking God for hearts like His… that what breaks His heart would break ours.. I don’t think He cares if we make a million dollars or are great at our jobs and get accolades. He cares if we’re seeking Him first. He cares if others are being impacted for the Kingdom.

Christy Nockels has been our worship leader this week and we’ve been singing a song she wrote called “A Mighty Fortress.” I am humbled and challenged by its lyrics. When you have time, listen to it if you haven’t heard it.

Have a great weekend. Find time to rest in God and be still…