Strength from Sitting Still

It always hits me in the middle of a busy week. I groggily roll over to turn off yet another alarm and drag myself awake, recognizing a familiar feeling. Whether from a cold, allergies, or just the weather, my face feels as if it may explode any moment. Once again, the fatal combination of not enough water, not enough sleep, and too much coffee have struck. Reaching for the ibuprofen bottle, I wonder, Why now, Lord? You know all the things I need to do this week.

One of the things I hate the most is having to rest, but once my sinus trouble hits, that’s exactly what I need to do to get better. In a normal week, coming straight home from school and heading right to bed will usually cure me, but on a week like this, with an important, un-reschedulable event every evening… Why now?

To be honest, I know the answer to that question, at least in part, but I still find myself asking it. God always gets me through the busy week, and I usually have a Saturday to spend solely in getting better.

It seems like such a waste to do nothing, while laundry sits in my hamper, my room is in disarray from a week of rushing in and out, and a dozen projects await my attention. But so often, that time of rest is about more than just my physical health. You see, that week of rushing here and there and getting little sleep usually take a toll on my spiritual health as well.

The more physically and emotionally exhausted I get, the more my time with God in suffers. And the more my time with God is cut short or rushed through, the weaker I become. I am a far easier target for the world, the flesh, and the Devil when my time with God loses the quality of unhurried fellowship and becomes something to check off so I can get on with the day.

I was reminded of this when reading in Isaiah this week. The context was the Israelites rebelliously chasing after the Egyptians, trusting them to keep the invading enemy at bay. The Egyptians could not stop what God had set in motion, and instead of turning to God (Who actually could help them,) they frantically tried to solve the problem their own way.

As God explains to the Israelites that their reliance upon Egypt will come to nothing, He states the following:

“For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still.” (Isaiah 30:7, emphasis mine.)

We don’t tend to view sitting still as an expression of strength, but in God’s economy, it often is. While we are still, we are forced to think, to consider, to remember. On those days when I am forced to do nothing, I am brought face to face with my own dependence upon God.

This verse from Isaiah reminds me of Psalm 23:

“The Lord is my Shepherd; 

I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:

He leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul:

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake…” 

(vv.1-3)

It is said that sheep cannot drink from water that is too rough, because of the way their nostrils sit so close to their mouths. Water that is moving too fast floods the sheep’s nostrils and keeps it from drinking the water it needs.

What a fitting picture of you and I in our walk with Jesus, the Good Shepherd! The fast-paced life floods our hearts and minds with everything but the one thing we need most: God. Because He loves us, God will sometimes have to lead us away from the swirling eddies of everyday life so that we can drink deeply from the still waters of God’s Word, God’s presence, and the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit.

In those moments of “Why me? Why this? Why now?” I must remember that my Good Shepherd leads me to the still waters that I might drink, that my soul might be restored, and that I might be strengthened to continue following Him along the paths of righteousness.

The Israelites in Isaiah’s day refused their Shepherd’s leading. Unlike a thirsty sheep, they responded to the still waters by turning and seeking out the fast-moving water upstream that would only cause them to splutter ineffectually and come away thirsting still.

There’s an especially poignant verse a little further on in Isaiah 30 that describes this situation, highlighting the love, justice, and mercy of God towards His rebellious people:

“For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; in returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength, and ye would not.

But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift. One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; and at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill.

And therefore will the Lord wait, that He may be gracious unto you, and therefore will He be exalted, that He may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgement: blessed are all they that wait for Him.” (vv.15-18)

When we ignore God’s call to return and rest, to quietness and confidence in Him, we are rejecting the good He desires to bring into our hearts and lives through our time by the still waters.

We flee from our Shepherd, only to find that our way won’t work. Yet God in His mercy and lovingkindness waits, that He may be gracious to us, and lead us at last to the source of health, life, and peace we need.

“If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink.”  

John 7:37