Recently, a friend of mine and I jumped in the car and drove 22 hours to get from Florida to her family’s home in Nebraska. Twenty-two hours on the road. We were blessed with good music, great conversation, and a passenger seat that reclined. She was taking advantage of that reclining seat about 4 a.m. as we drove north on I-75. The road was dark with the exception of a lone set of headlights every few minutes, and the moon did little to light our way as an approaching storm provided extensive cloud cover.
The rhythmic beat of the tires on the pavement was the only sound as the car sped northward. I took advantage of the time to say yet another prayer for protection as we traveled, knowing that if the storm did not skirt us, we would be driving in less than ideal conditions. Water ponding on the dark asphalt would be difficult to see, and hitting that at 70mph could easily cause us to lose traction and spin out of control.
As the miles passed and the raindrops began to kiss the windshield, I slowed my speed and thought about how something as simple as water could turn into a hazard. Water is essential, yet if it is allowed to get between the tire and the road, it causes a loss of traction. Traction is defined as how well something grips onto something and moves ahead without slipping. Water, oil, sand and gravel are all enemies of good traction, because they allow the wheels to spin without gripping the ground and producing the friction necessary to move the car forward. Allowing an enemy to get between the tire and the road could literally drive you to distraction.
Which is exactly what the enemy of our soul does to us; he will use anything he can to get between us and God. What is he using to distract you? What takes up your time so much that it lessens or altogether eliminates your time with God? It could be something obvious like TV or social media. Or he could be more subtle, using your job or your kids to pull you away from your devo time.
One of his favorite tools is busyness, and we play into his hands very nicely. Society today tells us that we have to have the nice house, and the new car to drive us to the two jobs that we need to pay for the nice house, which we never enjoy because we are always working. The kids need to be involved in various activities, which lead to fast food stains on the new car seats because we are so busy driving them to practices that we don’t have time to sit at the new table in the nice house for a family dinner.
Even when we do find time to plant ourselves in front of the flat screen, the networks cannot let you enjoy the show without having some distracting little advertisements on the bottom of the screen telling you what is coming up next or showing you live tweets during a reality TV show. Web pages have ads constantly scrolling along the side of the screen. And smart phones have become so essential that we feel we must check them constantly, including while driving, having lunch with a friend, or while in church. Multi-tasking has become the new norm, and if you are not being inundated with a barrage of information at all times, you feel something is off. The world tells us to keep moving, keep working, keep tweeting, and don’t slow down. But what does God say?
Be still and know that I am God—Ps. 46:10
God tells us to be still. Why? Why must we stop in order to listen?
In 1Kings 19, God instructs Elijah to come out of the cave and stand on the mountain, “for the Lord is going to pass by.” Elijah did so, and a great and mighty wind blew. But God was not in the wind. Then came a large earthquake, followed by a fire. But God was not in the earthquake, and He was not in the fire.
And after the fire came a gentle whisper.
God is so close, that He whispers. And in the midst of the noise and chaos of busyness, we can’t hear that still, small voice. The enemy of your soul knows this, and he is happy when you are busy and distracted. His goal is to put something between you and God so that you lose traction. And although your wheels may be spinning, you will not be moving forward.
It is in stillness, not busyness, that we can tune our spiritual ears to hear the voice of God.
Be still.
And know.
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