Can We Find Stillness in the Busy-ness of our Lives?

Many of us lead busy lives, or love to tick things off our to-do lists.  Are busyness and task lists the “way of Jesus”?...the man who said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”?  Jesus was busy, but he frequently withdrew to isolated places to pray.  Is “busy” different from the stressed feeling we get when we are hurried?

While I confess I am driven by my task list, I am very attracted to the voice that calls me:  “Be still and know that I am God.”  What if stillness is essential for transformation? 

On Sunday, Rev. Paul Beckingham will continue with his reflection on Psalm 46:

Psalm 46:5-11 (ESV) 

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

    the holy habitation of the Most High.

God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;

    God will help her when morning dawns.

The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;

    he utters his voice, the earth melts.

The Lord of hosts is with us;

    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Come, behold the works of the Lord,

    how he has brought desolations on the earth.

He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;

    he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;

    he burns the chariots with fire.

“Be still, and know that I am God.

    I will be exalted among the nations,

    I will be exalted in the earth!”

The Lord of hosts is with us;

    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

These two additional passages speak of our triune God transforming us:

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (ESV) 

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Philippians 3:20-21 (ESV)

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

I wonder if following God's advice to be still, and know that He is God, would be helpful if I want freedom, rest, and heaven?

“Busy-ness is inevitable in modern culture…By itself, busy-ness is not lethal…Being hurried is an inner condition of the soul. It means to be so preoccupied with myself and my life that I'm unable to be fully present with God, with myself, and with other people…Busy-ness migrates to hurry when we let it squeeze God out of our lives. 

I cannot live in the kingdom of God with a hurried soul. I cannot rest in God with a hurried soul.” - John Ortberg