Stop!

Life as we know it, is ridiculously high-speed. It goes by so quickly, if you’re not careful you will miss a great deal and fall “behind the times”. The phrase “in a New York minute” is a perfect statement to describe the lifestyles of the majority of Americans. People want things to be done “now”, “as soon as possible” and my favorite “yesterday”. America is a country dependant on time. Everything in society needs to be quick, efficient and fast paced.

A good example of “America’s fast paced society” can be found by looking at advertisements. Advertisements are in every direction that we look. Signs and flashing lights are so abundant that we have almost accepted them as part of the natural scenery. A billboard today is much like that of a tree along side of a road. Occasionally you might take notice but for the most part you just let it pass right on by. One of my instructors pointed out that while shopping, people tend to walk with their heads at a downward slant to avoid all the ads. Marketers have noticed this as well and have began using the floor tiles as one giant commercial space. They probably figure that we have to watch where we walk anyway, why not look at ads in the process.

We are blocking out so much of the world from our senses that we are missing some of the things that God has blessed us with. Important aspects of our lives that we are supposed to spend time enjoying are but a flash. We spend so little time with our families, the people who should influence us the most and we hardly even know them. Our environment is crumbling because we do not care what the flowers smell like anymore we only care to see if there is oil buried underneath. And worst of all, we do not know who God is, because we do not have the time to open up our Bibles to read about our own Father.

We have been fastened to the seats of a bullet train. The tracks are becoming more efficient and we are moving at an ever-increasing rate of speed. What can we do when our life experiences become the passing scenery that is starting to blur together? What can we do when God has slipped past us in a blur because we did not recognize him from a simple tree along the way?

The solution to slowing down life should be the easiest thing to discover, but because life is going so fast it is almost impossible to figure out and apply it. “Real quick” I will tell you that in the middle of a Bible at Psalm 46:10 is the solution. The New King James Version reads, “Be still and know that I am God”. Pretty simple right?

One of the leading forms of transportation in the United States is aviation. How did we figure out that tons of metal could fly through the air? By people, being “still” and observing a bird move it’s wings and soaring high above the ground. Slow life down and get to know your family. Look at what God has blessed us with. Look at the trees sometime and take in their beauty. Watch a bird fly or a river flow. Know about the small blades of grass whose roots go deep into the ground keeping the topsoil from blowing away in the wind. Look at the steep mountains, the endless oceans, and the state of Kansas. God gave us our senses for a reason. He gave them to us so we might have the ability to take in his creation, and so that we may know he is God.

Right smack in the middle of the Bible it says “HEY! Your train has breaks!” God model brake pads complete with cross-drilled rotors capable of slowing and stopping the greatest of top speed trains. Simply “Be still” and take in what God has blessed you with. Experience life to the fullest and honor the Father as the Creator of all things. And “know”, that he is God.