Daily Devotional

Be Still

We have arrived! On the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem our tour group enters the Garden of Gethsemane! We have the whole Garden to ourselves!  Oh, my what a privilege!  I am in awe!  After a short talk to the group about the significance of this place, we are invited to have individual private time in the Garden.

We spread out in the Garden—each person seeking solitude.  I discover a stone bench inside a flower bed, off the path.  Tucking myself in between the plants I settle down on the rugged stone and try to quiet my heart.  I am not quiet inside.  My mind is a whirl of thoughts.  I feel distracted, overwhelmed—I cannot think of what to pray!  Such an important moment and my thinking is chaotic!  Looking up I see one of the many gnarled olive trees in front of me and try to think back to the time of Christ. What do I pray?  There are a million things I could pray about!  
God commands a thought. “Be still, my child!”  Taking a deep shaky breath, I obey. I stop struggling and listen. My senses embrace the Garden. I smell the fragrant Rosemary beside me.  The leaves of an Olive tree tremble at a whisper of a breeze.  Traffic noise is there—but seems far away. An enthusiastic cricket is serenading me to my right. A bird flutters into flight. I hear my breath. In and out.  The simplicity of the moment calms my soul.  Then God implants the complete phrase in my mind. “Be still, and KNOW I AM GOD.”  Psalm 46:10

My thoughts in prayer are now in order.  The chaos is gone.  God wants me to be still, listen and know Him!  I think on His sacrifice, suffering and never-ending love.   It was all played out here in this Garden. Remember. Christ came to this Garden to talk to the Father and process what would come. Christ knew the cost for our salvation was agonizing suffering. And now, I am here. A saved, child of God.  How great is my God!

Full of wonder, I get up to join the group. I will take this lesson home with me. To my garden in my backyard, or my quiet, easy chair. I will be still and muse on God. I will seek to know Him.  
“Be still and know I am God.” Psalm 46:10

PARENTS:
  • The value of “being still” is certainly difficult for a child to grasp!  Play games with your kids that requires them to be still.  i.e. Who can stand in one place the longest?
  • Or: let’s be quiet and count how many things we can hear: a car, bird, dog barking, etc.
  • Explain that the act of “being still” can help us to think about God.
  • Explain that God can remind our thinking of verses we memorized.  This is why it is so important to memorize Scripture.  This is one of the ways God gets our attention and teaches us.  It is one way to get to know our great God!
  • Consider enrolling your kids in AWANA in the fall.  This Bible based boys and girls club will fortify your kids in their quest to know God.
Posted in
Tagged with