As Michelle is kindly picking through my {Sarah Ann} head for lice like monkeys do, I volunteered to assist her in her blog a day challenge. She shared with me a photo she took today and how it embodies a core human need as well as a potentially dangerous way of fulfilling said need. Below is the combination of both our thoughts.
I was thinking today about how a lot of people want peace and stillness in life. Even our minds. Our lives are so busy and filled with noise. The busyness drowns out the cry of our core need.
Stillness.
Stillness is uncomfortable for us because when everything else is stripped away we are left with ourselves.
Sometimes we don’t like the person we have become or the actions we have done. Because if you aren’t met with grace and truth in the stillness, there is distortion.
So we develop coping mechanisms. Ways to create noise. Ways to deflect and cover up.
What sparked this thought process was a mural in a building. A colorful woman who was sipping on a glass of wine. Above her is a galaxy with the hint of a compass. Underneath her are the words “I want still.”
A lot of time it’s alcohol we use to cope with our want for stillness. A simple glass of wine to take the edge off our stress and anxiety. But it doesn’t provide the true stillness God created us for.
Only He can meet the need.
John 4 narrates story of the woman at the well. Jesus tells her if she only knew who He was, she would be asking Him for the living water. The water He leads us to, the stillness, is what everyone is seeking. The water from the well is what the world has to offer. And its not enough.
Is there something you are seeking after today? Jesus wants to fill that longing. His desire for us is not to simply cope. He wants us to be satisfied.
