The word “still” describes someone who is calm. They are not nervously talking or anxiously wringing their hands. They are physically still.
The word “still” describes someone who is constant. No matter how long you’ve known them, they are still the same.
The word “still” describes someone who is controlled. When trouble comes, they don’t run away. They stand still.
But is “still” a good word to describe you?
I’ve been thinking a lot about this word. God commanded us to “be still” in our crisis and trust him (Psalm 46:10). God spoke to the burned-out prophet Elijah in a “still, small voice” (1 Kings 19). The Apostle Paul told us to be ambitious to lead a quiet life (1 Thessalonians 4:11).
We love the big and the flashy these days. Consider a couple of examples.
We like to read books that tell us we ought to expect astonishing things when we pray. We think, Just ask God to give us this day our daily bread? How dull.
We go to conferences that tell us we’re second-class disciples unless we’ve quit our jobs to start a third-world orphanage. We think, Just be a working stiff who faithfully raises my kids and loves my spouse and serves in my church? How boring.
Really, I don’t want to belittle the longing for a spectacular life. I mean, I sometimes need the reminders to pray boldly and to live boldly.
But still.
In the calls to expect the extraordinary, I’m afraid God’s people are forgetting the ordinary. We’re called to be faithful, stubbornly obedient, and to look for God to show up in the routines of daily living.
So, starting this Sunday, we’re going to look at the still life. Across the next several weeks we’re going to examine God’s commands to be still, to stand faithful, and to attend to the too-often dull work of life. We’ll start with burned-out Elijah in 1 Kings 19. He needed the reminder that God doesn’t always work in the big flashy ways Elijah expected. Read 1 Kings 19:1-18, and join us at 10.
--Tom
Tom Goodman serves as pastor at Hillcrest Church in Austin, Texas. His sermons are available on YouTube and the HillcrestToGo Podcast and you can find him on Facebook and Twitter. If someone forwarded this email newsletter to you, sign up here to receive Tom’s weekly devotional in your email inbox.