“Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
Psalms 46:10
Where have you found yourself lately in your walk with the Lord? Do you find yourself more devoted to Him or are you more distracted from Him? I started this blog post so long ago that I don’t even have the date in my current 2020 journal. So, as you can see…I’ve been rather distracted to even get these thoughts together long enough to write a coherent blog post!
Do you find yourself distracted lately? Distracted by social media; distracted by misguided purposes; distracted by the stock markets; distracted by Covid19 cases,; distracted by wrong callings; distracted by pandemic updates; distracted by lies from the enemy? Distracted by the media? This seems to be where I have been lately…completely distracted.
Acts 2:42 states, “and they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” The Church in Acts was committed….hopelessly and relentlessly devoted to God’s Word, to each other……but…..in our world today….where are we on the spectrum of our own devotion to the Church? Are we devoted to it or are we easily distracted from it?
Being devoted means:
- showing up when you’d rather not;
- being in relationships;
- we belong;
- there’s no judgment;
- grace;
- being together;
- we put our guard down;
- our masks are off;
- you love me for me;
- that we are becoming who we were created to be;
- and above all, it means that we are faithful and that we can find God trustworthy and true regardless of how we “feel.”
Distracted on the other hand means:
- we are not doing life-giving activities;
- we are barely surviving and not thriving;
- we feel like we belong to something and not someone;
- We are on social media too much;
- we listen to the wrong voices;
- we isolate ourselves;
- we are confused;
- we listen to wrong callings;
Even in the midst of prayer time during a pandemic, it is easy to become distracted by the news reports, posts, grams, live “breaking news,” and tweets.
How do we become wholly, (holy?!) devoted in the midst of a world of distractions? You sit still in the presence of the Lord. Be still and know that He is God. You turn off the media, slide off your phone, and just sit. And just be still.
In a world that is constantly battling for our attention and pleading for us to follow them, we are called to sit and to be still. My mother has a quote at the bottom of her emails that states, “Make time for quiet moments; for God whispers, and the world is loud.” That is exactly what we need to do….make time for quiet moments; to be still and listen.
In days of a pandemic, that the modern world has never experienced before, our minds and thoughts and feelings and actions all too quickly spiral out of control. Want to stop your worry, doubt, fear, and stress? Be still. Want to experience solitude in the presence of the Lord and shift your thinking? Be still. Want to shift your attitude? Shift your wellness? Be still. Simply thinking about things of the Lord– His Word, His Being, His Truth, can stop your spiraling, out of control thoughts.
So, tomorrow, I’m turning off social media in its entirety for 24 hours. I know that I cannot spend the next 30 days so distracted that I loose myself in the whirlwind of media madness and mayhem. I’m going to practice being still in the presence of the gentle, quiet Lord. Prayerfully, it will be in that stillness where I am more devoted to the Lord and where my devotion is renewed.
