“Be Still and Know that I am God.”  Psalm 46:10

Usually when we think of the word stillness, we think of quiet — peace and quiet. Stillness is a lack of noise, and sometimes we do need times of solitude and silence.  Some of my best Christmas moments have been “silent moments.”  But the Psalmist is not saying, “Be quiet and know that I am God.”  The hebrew word here simply means stop or cease. Cease striving.  Cease hurrying.

Sometimes it seems like the Christmas season is so full of striving, isn’t it?  Yet what it should be is a time to cease striving, a time to be still and know God, to know that He is God and I am not.  I find myself lately with a deepening hunger to just know him.  Last year I was watching the new Narnia movie and there was a scene in it where Lucy comes face to face with Aslan — not a major scene, but it moved me — and it caught my breath and tears came to my eyes. I think if I was alone they would’ve been sobs, and I just thought where did that come from?  I sensed God saying. “You miss me.”

God has given me a somewhat driven-nature.  I want to achieve.  I want to accomplish.  I want to see our region transformed by Christ for God.  But occasionally I hear this voice from God in my heart saying, “But what if all you get is me.”

That’s what I want for Christmas.  It’s what I hope for you.