The Art of BEing
Nov 9, 2020
BE silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for Him / Psalms 37:7a/
I always despised small talk. The awkward aroma that fills the space between two people who have no idea what they want to say to each other. The long stretched out words, the hmms and haaas that lead to empty conversation down an aimless path which becomes more cringeworthy when you later find out that you have to pay on a first date. If you know me I am always talking, silence is definitely a foreign language to me.
A few weeks ago I gave in my two weeks at work. I was working almost 12 hour days from home with a teething baby—can you imagine stopping every five minutes to coddle and rock a one year old while having to answer to urgent emails that require long strenuous tasks to complete. The pressure of meeting extremely tight deadlines and hearing Little Baby Bum play in the background had your girl burnt out.
So I decided to step away and focus on other things. However, all that glitters isn't always gold. With more time on my hands, it gave me more moments to think, worry and wonder what God was doing in the new season of my life. It hadn't been two weeks yet and most of my prayers had become cloudy mantras of "God whats next?" Every penned out journal entry was noted" God please open a new door for me". My heart was starting to despise the decision and slowly it was becoming a stench in my mind that refused to leave.
Nevertheless, talking to my counsellor about how I was feeling put things into perspective. Her brown eyes dissected every word that came out my mouth. She listened attentively, jotted everything down nodded when she needed to and interjected to ask more questions to understand the flow of my thoughts. My words travelled faster than my mind could process as I started to speak with anxiety. She continued to listen wrote more things down and waited until I was completely done. Her lips moved slowly and the words that flowed from her was like honey to my soul. Nana, she paused and then smiled, "have you thought about what you can BE for God in this season instead of what you can DO for Him". BE for God?, I responded. Yes it's seems like you are really focused on doing a lot for God which isn't a bad thing but what if God is drawing your heart to BE still?
Immediately after she said that I was reminded of the scripture I came across two nights ago that said, BE silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for Him / Psalms 37:7a/. In that moment, it became clear to me that God had provided me with the manna for the day and not the blueprint.
We live in a world where if we aren't doing anything or showing it off on social media we become insecure about our process but sometimes God is drawing us to his throne to BE still so that we can know His heart more and so that He can show us more of our hearts. If you are like me I want the whole picture so that I can connect the dots and move forward quickly.
However,
Being silent requires a different kind of discipline. It requires you to depend on God completely even when you are uncertain of what He is doing.
I believe that in the stillness God will reveal to us in the clarity we need even if it's just rough sketches of the masterpiece He is working out for our good.
So if you are feeling bogged down by the cares of the world,
BE STILL
BE SILENT
and ask God what you can BE for Him in this season.
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God, I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” /Psalms 46:10/
For the sake of love,
Nana Otu
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