Be still and know God

“Being still and doing nothing are two very different things.” ( Jackie Chan in The Karate Kid.)

Stillness is a foreign concept to city-dwellers like us. Rare is the person who truly comprehends the value of tranquility. In doing nothing, the typical modern man is not necessarily free from noise and restlessness.

Stillness, motionlessness, silence, quietness, tranquility and calmness are not the same as doing nothing.

As disciples of Christ, we are to treasure and become acquaint with silence and contemplation.

“Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

Being still requires focus. It requires letting go of our entire being to become so intensely focused and immersed in the Presence of God that everything else tunes out. It is that consciousness of our will becoming aligned with God and our spirit with God’s Spirit.

“Isn’t our faith based on objective truth?” you may ask.

True. Our faith is built on the historical Jesus and the gospel is not an irrational faith. Yet more than rational, the Christian faith is suprarational; meaning it transcends the rational.

Quietness and contemplation is not just a part of our pursuit of God. In fact, it is the bedrock on which we build our relationship with God.

After all, a person who knows God and a person who has knowledge about God are two very different things.