So, when was the last time you sat and flipped through an entire Where’s Waldo? book—finding Waldo, Wenda, Woof, Wizard Whitebeard, and Odlaw on each page before continuing on through the book? (Ok, Fine, we didn’t always find Odlaw…that sneaky little mustachioed devil…). I am guessing for most of you, it has been at least a pair of decades if not more… (Interesting tidbit: in my blog research (Ok, Fine, I just googled “Waldo”), I discovered that Waldo was actually originally named Wally by the British creator and illustrator, but that the American publishers did not think the name Wally would resonate, so they renamed him Waldo! That’s probably what Shakespeare was talking about in his whole, “What’s in a name?” bit…). In the last 6 weeks, I have now ferreted out Waldo slash Wally and [most of] his merry cohort (minus the unsavory Odlaw, of course…) on TWO separate occasions (with the help of Ellie and Addie, naturally). Since we left Memphis, we have found ourselves in a season of unprecedented (dare I say, “ample”) stillness.
To sum up our transition in an image, it felt like we were frantically and obstreperously racing bumper karts (think, “demolition derby”), and we screeched our way around a corner—and found ourselves in the middle of the hallowed halls of the Library of Congress (obviously with the quintessential librarian, scathingly peering down on us over her glasses slash nose, her eyes burning with indignation at our vulgar and distasteful intrusion.) Maybe that metaphor is lost on you—but it’s the feeling of going from REALLY LOUD CHAOS to really quiet calm—all in the blink of an eye.
S T I L L N E S S.
Unless you reside in a literal nunnery, the very idea of stillness is probably a bit jarring for you (it certainly was for us!). If you tried to be still, you may be surprised how often you can look up at a clock and it still be the same minute! It’s true what they say about a watched pot, after all… Instead of stillness, we live in the age of INSTANT. We have instant access to billions of movies, shows, songs, videos, books and articles via instant download. We even practically have instant searches—I hardly ever have to finish typing in what I am looking for (namely, because somehow my device is secretly listening to my thoughts and knows what I want to know before I know that I want to know about it!). We have instant reply options for texts and emails (though I have admittedly replied to more than a few messages with a misguided “Sure!” or “Sorry” in a context that made no sense…). We have instant coffee. Instant noodles. Instant messaging. Instant Pots. We love a good instant success. We have [nearly] instant shipping. [Definitely] instant shopping. Instacarts. Instagrams. Instant gratification. (Seriously, have we forgotten about the Marshmallow Experiments already?! (which found, among other things, that the ability to delay gratification [thereby being comfortable in the stillness] was critical for success in life—along with adorable footage of kids sitting alone in rooms with marshmallows)).
I came across someone’s quote of F.B. Meyer this week, which says, “We must cultivate the habit of stillness in our lives if we would detect and know God.” To practice stillness you must intentionally and deliberately make choices that are counter to those of our culture (again, unless you happen to be living in a nunnery, then you likely have this stillness thing fully down pat…full marks!). I love how consistently we see the theme of stillness in the Bible, and I am going to highlight just 3 of those places where we see the command to BE STILL.
1) Exodus 14 — We will start in Exodus. Actually, let me back up a couple of verses to the end of chapter 12. For context, Moses and the Israelites had just had the first Passover and celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread, and at midnight, the Lord struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, “from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well” (v 29). During the night, Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and finally gave them the green light to “up and leave.” The end of chapter 13 particularly caught my eye, “When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle.” (v 17-18). Did you catch it?? God deliberately leads his people the slow way. The hard way. He leads his people down the way of suffering and toil and war because of his great, steadfast, and abundant love for his people. He does not want them to have an easy-out option [of returning to the comforts of slavery] when the going gets tough (after all, deserts aren’t for everyone…).
And good thing he had the foresight to go this way, because a few verses later when they reach the Red Sea, and Pharaoh and his army are surrounding them, they have a full-on melt-down. (I mean, who wouldn’t in their shoes?!) It says, “all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them.” If the Israelites had Twitter, can you imagine the mean-Tweet roasting of Moses that would be happening?? #MosesSupposesErroneously might have been trending in the Middle East… Here’s a few of their zingers, “They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”” They saw the hordes of Egyptians and thought, “NOOOOOPE”—except too bad for them, God knew they would want to nope their way back [into slavery] if they faced war, which is why he led them down the desert road to begin with (“the Israelites when up out of Egypt ready for battle.”)! (His ways are indeed higher…). Here’s the juicy bit: “Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”” You know the rest. But there it is, the command to be still (in a war, need I remind you!).
2) Psalm 46 — Perhaps the most famous of the be still commands comes from this Psalm. I refuse to verse-bite it, so I am going to include all 11 verses below. You can see very well how this echoes what we just read in Exodus.
1 God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah8 Come, behold the works of the Lord,
how he has brought desolations on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the chariots with fire.
10 “Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
God is our refuge, our strength, and our very present help in trouble. We will not fear, for the Lord of hosts is with us. “The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still” and know who God is.
3) Mark 4 — You know who/what else knows who God is? The earth, that’s who/what! From the above Psalm, v 6, “He utters his voice, the earth melts.” And just so we know that this is not just some form of waxing poetic, we get to read about it actually happening. This has got to be one of my favorite stories. Again, let me just give you the whole thing.
35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace [Quiet], be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”
It all ties together. Stillness. Faith. Not fearing. Being still is not an act of sloth or passivity, it is an audacious and courageous act of faith. It is having your back to the Red Sea, an army of your grieving, vengeful enemies bearing down on you (how many of them had just lost a first born relative?), in a desert, of all places, and you plop yourself down in the sand, sit criss-cross apple-sauce, and say, “I am not going to lift a finger, the Lord of hosts is with me. If God is for me, who can be against me? He will fight my battle for me. I will choose to be still and I will experience the great calm (v 39) that can only come from the peace and hope of our God.” It’s as simple as that, folks.
How did we get here from Waldo/Wally??
Let me close with this, may we all learn how to cultivate the habit of stillness in our lives, that we may better know God and detect his presence (“a very present help in trouble”). More often than not, I feel like the Israelites or the disciples when I am in times of trouble or storms that are raging around me. There is a profound peace that can only be found when we have the temerity to be quiet, to sit in the stillness—then, we may just be able to catch a hint from that still small voice.
We can’t read Psalm 46 and I not leave you with this. Go, and find rest in the stillness.
DAVID SCOT MUSSER 