I can be busy for God all day and still miss Him.
I noticed it on a sunrise walk at the lake. My family was along. The sun was coming up over the water, and I was thankful, taking in everything God made. I wanted to be with Him right there in that moment.
And I realized I was outrunning Him.
Not running from Him. Outrunning Him. Doing His will, serving Him, and moving so fast that I rushed past the quiet one-on-one moments to get to the other side. Those quiet moments are the very thing I'm striving for. "Be still, and know" was right there on the water, and I was already halfway to the car.
Maybe you've done the same thing this week.
Serving Him, but outrunning Him
Most of us aren't far from God because we stopped caring. We're far because we're busy doing good things. The casserole for the family down the road. The Sunday school lesson. The text to check on somebody. The Thanksgiving list that's already started in the back of your head.
All of that is love with its sleeves rolled up.
But here's what we don't say out loud at church: you can do all of it and still feel like you haven't been with Him in weeks. Prayer turns into a checklist on the way out the door. Bible reading becomes one more box. And you get to the end of the day tired in a way sleep doesn't fix, because what you were hungry for was time with Him, and you kept hurrying past it to get to the next good thing.
I've come to think it's mostly a pace problem. And pace is something God can help us change.
Be still and know: what the verse says
"Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth." (Psalm 46:10)
Psalm 46 isn't a quiet psalm. It talks about the earth being removed, mountains carried into the midst of the sea, waters roaring, the heathen raging. It's loud. And right in the middle of all that noise, God says: be still, and know.
He doesn't ask for stillness because life is calm. He asks for it because life is loud. The holidays are about to get loud, and this verse was written for exactly that.
Look at what's on the other side of being still. Knowing Him. And the verse ends with God lifting up His own name in all the earth. You don't have to hold the world up. He already has it.
Slow the game
Standing there by the lake, a phrase came to me: slow the game.
Good players talk about the game slowing down. When it does, they see more. They stop scrambling. They make better choices because they aren't rushing every play.
I want that with God. The same full life, the same people I love and serve, with room to notice Him in the middle of it.
Here are a few ways to try it this week:
Stop at the first beautiful thing. A sunrise, a red maple, the steam off your coffee. Before you move on, say "Thank You" out loud. That's all.
Let one prayer be company. No requests. Just "Here I am, Lord," and sit with Him for a minute.
Pick one doorway in your house. Every time you walk through it today, take one slow breath and remember He's in the room.
Get to church five minutes early and sit before anybody needs you.
None of these take more than a minute. They're how the game slows down.
What it feels like when the game slows down
This is the good part, and I don't want you to miss it.
When you slow down with Him, joy shows up in the places you were rushing past. The laugh at the supper table lasts longer because you hear all of it. The coffee tastes like coffee again instead of fuel. A worship song comes on the radio, and you turn it up at the red light and don't care who sees.
You start the day with Him instead of catching Him on the way out. And the people you serve get a woman who's been filled, not one running on fumes.
That's what I want for you before the holidays start. It's also why the first part of Make Room for You is called Be Still.
Come be still with us on Nov 12
Thursday, November 12, the doors open at 6:30. There's a coffee bar and a Self-Care Marketplace with local self-care makers. At 7:00 we start with worship and a few quiet minutes with God. Nobody in that room needs anything from you. You get to just be with Him.
After that, you'll write down one thing you're carrying and leave it in the Lay It Down basket. We'll move a little, chair-friendly, to an upbeat worship song. You'll take home three cards for the season. And there's the Joy Jar, door prizes, a photo booth, and a room full of women who'll laugh with you.
It's free. Youth Center, Meades Branch Freewill Baptist Church, 9 Vanhoose Hollow, Louisa. Save your seat at aligned-purpose-co.com/make-room-for-you, or text (606) 483-1001. A seat count helps us plan the coffee, the handouts and the chairs.
Picture walking into the holidays having already practiced being still. Walking into January already steady. That's the season I'm praying for, for both of us.
Slow the game. He's right there by the water, and He's in no hurry.
