Be Still

Thursday, May 2, 2019
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Listen while you read: "Lead Me To Calvary"1 (Lyrics)

Matthew 6:33 – But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (NIV)

The other night, my two-year-old son climbed up on the couch and said, "Read Bible." Then he reached over to the side table and took hold of my old, worn, brown Bible. Concerned that he might tear the thin pages, I handed him his storybook Bible. The look of it on the outside is surprisingly similar to mine, so this made him feel special that his Bible was just like Mommy's.

He sat on the couch, flipping through the pages, looking so intrigued. This encouraged me to sit beside him and open my own Bible. This was a very special moment to share with my son.

The sermon at our church on Sunday had been about Psalm 23, so I decided to read through that passage. After about ten minutes, my son was all done reading his Bible and it was time to start getting ready for bed. A half hour later, after teeth were brushed, stories were read, songs were sung, and Micah was in bed, I had a quiet house. My idea was that I would go downstairs and just watch a little television, but I was so inspired by Psalm 23. Then I remembered some of the Bible journaling that I had tried a couple of weeks earlier and thought that maybe I would attempt a scrapbook spin on it. I made the trek to the basement, dug out a wicker box with a few scrapbooking supplies, which probably hadn't been touched in well over a year, and started creating.

The end product wasn't important to me. It was the journey of creating something based on this Psalm. The way that I was able to meditate on the verse was new and inspiring to me.

I continue to find it astounding the different ways that God speaks to us. This shouldn't surprise me, but for some reason I forget how amazing God is. Here, during this demanding time in my life as a busy mom of young children, God spoke to me through my two-year-old, telling me simply to be still and spend a few moments with our Lord Jesus Christ. He says:

Psalm 46:10 – Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. (NIV)

We often wonder why God isn't speaking to us, but it isn't that He is not speaking; it's often too loud around us so that we cannot hear Him. It's like trying to have a conversation with a good friend in the middle of a subway station at rush hour; it's just not possible to have quality time and hear what each other has to say. We need to quiet the busyness in our lives and be still. It is then that we will be able to hear God.

God spoke through a two-year-old boy when He invited me to be still and read His Word. Who or what is He using to speak to you?

Prayer: Dear God, please help us to take time out of our busy lives to be still. Help us to listen for You in all circumstances and from the most unlikely people. Thank You for wanting to spend time with us and for loving us. Amen.

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About the author:

Ashley Swartzentruber <aswartzentruber85@gmail.com>
Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada

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1 Comment

  • PresbyCan Feedback says:

    Amen Ashley, well done.
    Blessings.


    Excellent Ashley, please write again.
    We need it!


    Thanks, Ashley, for sharing these important and challenging thoughts.


    Dear Ashley, thank you for your inspiring devotional today. It was beautiful!


    Thank you. Sometimes I fail to accept that GOD might use the “K.I.S.S.” principle.


    Good morning Ashley,
    What a beautiful, thoughtful and inspiring reflection. Blessing on your day.


    Thank you, Ashley, for sharing your thoughts and experience with us in this devotional. Blessings.


    Dear Ashley, Thank you for sharing such a touching story and the reminder of how important it is to be in God’s Word. Blessings.


    Thank you for your devotional. I always like Psalm 46:10 and how we need to meditate on God’s Word. I love how the Psalmist says it in Psalm 1 too.


    Ashley, Amen. Thank you for this uplifting devotional. I love the analogy of God trying to speak to us in a busy subway at rush hour. God Bless your continued faith journey.


    Thank you for your devotional. Children can lead us to wisdom. I have two sons with autism. They knows peace and love. I learn a lot from them. I need to listen to the Holy Spirit.


    Thanks, Ashley, you’ve inspired me to start a scrapbooking project! Some people paint or write songs or poetry. I never thought of scrapbooking before!
    Blessings.


    Hello
    I really enjoyed your devotional and it too amazes me how God uses things, people, or situations to speak to us and to put us in a ‘quiet place’ to hear more from him.
    God bless you and your family.


    Hello Ashley,
    I especially enjoyed your devotional, it brought back warm memories of reading bed time bible stories to my first son. Treasure these memories, they are fleeting! Of course, the later kids also love story time, but I was busier in the evenings those many years ago.
    Your devotional itself was a good study of the Bible!
    (ON)


    Grateful for this touching story of you and your child and the Bible. As a mother myself of long grown up children, I see the roots of their belief in these good seeds you are planting in their lives now. There is nothing more precious than seeing your children embrace their faith, personally. There is a saying, ‘God has no grandchildren.’ In other words, they need to come, as we all do, to a personal faith on their own. In your words, actions and prayers, you are giving them that blessed start.


    Hi Ashley,
    Good devotional this morning. So important to teach our children when they are young. As a matter of fact, I am preaching about that on Sunday. How so many of us through parents, Sunday School, Christian School and church have learned all about God and faith in Christ.
    Psalm 46 is my favorite Psalm, especially verse 1, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble.
    Blessings.


    Ashely,
    The picture of you and your son “reading” the Bible made me smile. Then, I reflected on you saying, “The busy time of my life.” It is indeed a busy time, but I have found as I have aged (now in my 80’s and can hardly believe it) that “busyness” prevails throughout one’s life and choices have to be made about allowing a quiet time with God and his word. And I still struggle with doing that.
    Blessings to you and thank you for your devotional.
    (Texas, USA)


    Ashley, what a lovely devotional and so true! God is teaching me this lesson of being still, so your words come with apt timing!


    Your devotional reminded me of a time when I was sorting through our children’s books to give to our grandchildren. They could choose any of the books they liked. The youngest, a four-year-old, chose a big Bible storybook. Clasping it to her heart, she remarked that this was God’s word and it was all true. She is grown up now and has many struggles at this time. I often pray that she will remember what she knew as a young girl and seek His Word which is still true for her.


    Thank you, Ashley, for speaking to us today. A much-needed message.


    “I handed him his storybook Bible.” I’m glad you took time for your little son’s needs THEN went to scrapbooking your own relationship with God.
    MAY GOD BLESS YOU AS YOU WRITE.

 



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