Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Lost
By Peggy Kleckner

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

When you are lost, the best plan to follow is to be still, stop walking and wait to be found. Spiritually, the answer is the same. When we are still, God finds us and He draws us up into His lap to comfort us, to take away our fears and to bandage our wounded places.

Henri Nouwen, a Catholic theologian, writes, “Can I accept that I am worth looking for?” [1] Some days, we really struggle to answer that question with a “yes.” To be still is to believe that someone will search for you, to trust someone else to be doing the work of rescuing you. Our stillness says to God, “Yes, please come for me.”

When we choose to still our hearts in the midst of our trials, we invite God to meet with us. We affirm again that we trust Him and are willing to surrender to His will. Stillness is not a “do nothing” mentality. It is a moment of surrender. It is the waiting to meet with the God of all creation. It is the pause, before the most beautiful music. Truly “knowing” that He is God comes from being still and waiting for Him.

I once was lost, but now am found!

GOING DEEPER:
1. What situation in your life has you feeling “lost”? Is your spirit still running?
2. Are you willing to tell your spirit to sit down and be still?

FURTHER READING:
Proverbs 3:5-6; Zephaniah 3:17; Isaiah 40:28-31, 41:10

[1] The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri J.M. Nouwen, published by Doubleday, © 1992.

Peggy is a wife and mother of four adult children—two sons and two stepsons and is an active encourager at Oakwood.