It was so strange and so very unusual; there was no hustle and bustle, no speeding traffic, no one was scurrying about and most of all I simply noticed that it was quiet. Karen was with me and she probably said it best, “Its almost too quiet.” We had just a few minutes left during the lunch hour and so we had driven down to the boat ramp to look at the lake and enjoy the beautiful day. As we arrived we rolled the windows down and we both noticed that there weren’t any sounds. I didn’t think silence existed any longer; it certainly doesn’t seem to anywhere else. As we sat there and enjoyed the breeze and watched the lake we began to hear the soft calls of birds in the distance and it was very refreshing.
I began to think about the silence and how wonderful it was and while pondering, I couldn’t help but think of one of my favorite verses in scripture from Psalms 46.10 that simply says, “Be still and know that I am God.” God is very present everywhere you go and no matter what we are doing we can see Him at work in our lives. However, it is not until our souls and spirits are stilled that perhaps we can see Him at work in the manner He desires. This day He was visible in the ripples on the water, He was audible in the sounds of the wind. You could see His imagination with the variety of birds that flew in the distance and the colors of the sky. Yes in our stillness there was no doubt that He was God and we could enjoy His presence.
The greatest benefit of being in the presence of God and seeing and hearing Him is simply the refreshing that it brings. Not only a physical refreshing but greater still is the spiritual refreshing of seeing how not only does He create and care for all of nature, but He cares for and loves us more than we can imagine. We are His greatest creation and He loved us enough to give us silence and a beautiful world but He loved us enough to give us His own Son so that we might live forever.
This month as the weather changes and it begins to cool and the colors take shape in the trees I encourage you to venture out near the lake or to your favorite place and be still and know that He is God.
Because we’re His!
Pastor Michael Tunnell
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