-Jared Brock
“Inner stillness is key to outer strength.”
Have you ever felt like life was going at a million miles per hour? If so, what did you do to slow down? What do you do during life’s busyness to find peace? With so many responsibilities, and pressures constantly tugging you in so many directions, how do you make time to sit back, reflect, and be still? It is in stillness and taking a step back where true peace and clarity is found. God speaks the most when we are still.
Sometimes you never know what you need until life forces you to take a step back and listen. The weight of everyday life and responsibilities can begin to take a toll on you if you don’t take time to be still, so that you can truly discern what you need. Taking a step back from the busyness of life can help you gain clarity and feel more in tune with the season of life you are in. As you understand your life season you can navigate change better.
There is nothing like going through life feeling overwhelmed and stressed, and at any moment feeling like you want to give up. We’ve all been to that place at some point in our lives and the roller coaster of emotions you experience, makes it impossible to think clearly. It is in those moments where you are often reminded of the need to step back and breathe. But, making time to be still as natural part of your routine can help better prepare you to respond to the overwhelming things that come with life. This doesn’t mean that life will be perfect and you will never be stressed it just means that you will be better prepared to respond to the stressors of life.
I remember last year around this time how stressful and overwhelming everything was. Around this time I was traveling to another state and preparing for a hurricane. You can only imagine the different emotions and fears I had during this time. Although the stress was overwhelming I found so much peace in being still, and knowing that God was in control. I found peace in allowing myself to breathe and understand the different emotions I was experiencing. As I took time to step back to reflect I found peace in knowing that God was with me through it all and that He would give me the wisdom to make it through. Looking back He did all that and more. I constantly made time throughout my days just to sit and be still and I noticed the difference it made in how I responded to the things sent to disturb my peace.
On my trip to Tennessee last year I experienced one of the scariest moments of my life. Turbulence! I don’t ride planes often but this was like nothing I have ever experience. Even my husband who rides planes often said it was like nothing he ever experienced. I literally thought we were going to die, it was so bad. One thing you can believe is that I prayed through it all. And one thing I realized is that even though I was scared I was at peace. I just closed my eyes and I said, “God I trust you.” Life can be so much like that. You sometimes experience turbulence and disruption that tries to get you off course and keep you from moving forward. But, it is in the stillness and taking a step back where you find true peace and direction that can keep you on the path to life and moving forward in the right direction. Stillness means silence, absence of noise or disturbance, tranquility, quietness and absence of movement.
These are three things I have learned through my experience about stillness:
1.) Helps to reduce stress
Being still and allowing yourself to process your emotions helps to reduce stress. Being able to think clearly really helps you to discover the best way to respond to stressors. I noticed that the more still I was during the flight and when my mind was focused I was able to better relax through it.
2.) Gives you clarity
Stillness gives you clarity. It helps you to process what you are experiencing and discover what you need to move forward. It helps you to think about things from different angles.
3.) Shifts your attention to the things that matter
Stillness helps you to recognize the things that really matter. Life can be so noisy and chaotic at time. When we take a step back to be still and focus It helps us to recognize the things that are the most important.
I just want to encourage you to make time in your daily life to be still and reflect on life. Sometimes taking a step back can give you the opportunity to move forward with better insight and knowledge. It is in the stillness where true peace is found. Don’t allow yourself to just go through the busyness of life. Make time to stop and focus on the things that you need to help you better negative through life. I pray this encourages you. Thank you so much for reading!
What is something you have learned from being still? Comment below. I would love to hear your story.
Intentional Hope 