Just how still are we talking about here?

"Be still and know that I am God."

All my life I've heard lessons and sermons and series on this topic. All these people telling me to learn to carve out a time to be still before the Lord without distraction so I can really focus on His greatness and His message for me.

Just this week, I heard a lesson from Chip Ingram (by video) in which he recommended stepping back every 6 or 8 weeks to regroup and refocus. (Great lesson, by the way.)

But here's the deal: I am wife to a man who travels with some frequency and mom to four kids, ranging in age from 2 to 10. Stillness is not had easily around here.

So I've really struggled as to how to make this stillness thing work. This morning, I looked up the passage because frankly, even though I'd heard it my whole life, I didn't know exactly where it was. And do you know where it is? Among the commandments in the Torah? Wrong. In some important New Testament speech where Jesus is inspiring His followers? Wrong again.

It's in a Psalm. Psalm 46:10, to be exact. (But I'm guessing you already knew that.)

Since when did any commandment come from a book of poetry? And why are we all riled up about one single little line? I say we should just throw this one out as a little something David said to make the song rhyme, but didn't really mean for us to take so seriously.

But I guess I know better.

If you read the whole Psalm, it's all about how the Lord defends us. He is the fortress protecting us from our enemies.

He is fighting off satan and his nasty demons, and all He wants is for us to be quiet? Doesn't He want some help? How can He expect us to just sit back and watch while He fights?

Funny, huh? The Creator of the Universe would actually need our help. But if I'm being honest, I have this attitude a lot. We've all thought we should be DOING more and BEING more.

But what He desires from us is relationship. He wants us to sit at His feet and let the chaos fade into the background as we drink in His words and catch a glimpse of who He really is. And how much He really loves us.

I don't always have hours to be still and listen. But I catch little moments. Like when I'm up in the middle of the night holding a sick baby. Or when I'm in the car and my babies have fallen asleep. Or when Andy's out of town and I've managed to get all the kids down by eight and there's nothing good on TV to distract me.

Stillness does happen. I just have to learn to recognize the moments and take full advantage of them. I have to train my mind to carve out as many of these moments as I can. And I have to let the Lord teach my heart to crave them.