Casandra Martin

The Christmas season seems ramped up with noise. The usual busy bustle of our lives is magnified by the additional pressures of being jolly, generous, and full of holiday spirit. We love this time of year, but it is noisy and exhausting. There is special food to cook, shopping to do, bows to tie, and lights to hang. Add in the jingle bells, festive parties, and ho-ho-ho’s and it is easy to go through the whole season with the volume turned up.

I long for this Christmas season to be more than a whirlwind of activity. I want it to be a time to give myself more fully to God. One of the first gifts that I need to bring to Him is my determination to be quiet in His presence. To take a few minutes each day and commit myself to stillness.

“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.” – Psalm 37:7a

“Be still, and know that I am God.” – Psalm 46:10a

“But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.” – Habakkuk 2:20

These aren’t suggestions. They are not meant as friendly devotional advice. Being quiet and still is foundational to living a life that is fully connected to God. Being still is about more than vegging out in front of the television. When we are still before the Lord, we make the humble move to step into a wider, richer, heaven-infused life. Choosing stillness opens our minds to wisdom and knowledge that is lost when I give in to overwhelming busyness. I miss God when all I do is go, go, go. Being quiet allows our souls to acknowledge who God is, where He stands in our lives, and the hold He has on our hearts. The commercials tell me to “shop, shop, shop.” God tells me that the best gift I can give Him is to “stop, stop, stop.”

My Jesus Resolution today is to give God the gift of my quietness. When I choose stillness, I am choosing to sacrifice my own activity, my own agenda, and my own pace in order to move into a moment entirely filled with God. It opens my eyes, softens my heart, and adjusts the flow of my soul. I am going to commit three minutes today to being still and quiet. Doesn’t sound like much, does it? But try it. Today I am going to turn off the music, the phone, the computer, and the television. I am going to set down the lists, the stress, and the expectations and give three minutes entirely to being quiet with God. I wonder how a God who fills eternity will use three minutes set aside to honor Him through quietness.