Ministers Blog July: The Still Point
July Blog: The Still Point
Every storm has a centre. The Eye of the storm can represent a physical or metaphorical place. We know the peace and the stillness that we experience as the centre of a deep weather system moves over us and we know the relief we get at the passing of one of life’s storms. We appreciate the brief calm in both cases, knowing the peace and stillness will end when new weather systems or new challenges arise in life.
After a very busy period I took my self away for a couple of days and spent some time reading the Bible, praying and enjoying some stillness.
In a daily devotional I listened to recently by Pete Greig he made reference to the still point of the turning world. The place where we encounter God in the present and time stands still.
A person standing at the equator moves at over 1000 mph due to the Earth spinning on its axis. As we approach the poles, this speed decreases until, at the axis, there is no rotational movement. We reach the still point.
As a wheel turns, there is dynamic movement at the edge but at the centre point or the axle of the wheel there is a stillness. There is a moment of stillness at the tide's turn, when it is neither rising nor falling.
There is a quietness and a peace that Jesus brings to our lives. The Gospels tell us, when we take Jesus’ yoke (teaching) on, we find rest for our souls (Matt 11:29). In the busyness of his ministry Jesus takes his disciples away for some quiet time.
Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” (Mark 6:31) And in John 14:6 Jesus promises to leave his troubled disciples, his peace: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
It has often been said true peace is found, not in the absence of trouble but in the presence of God.
When Elijah was on the run from his enemies and having a right old moan to God, God told him to stand on the mountain and wait for the presence of the Lord which was not in the powerful wind, and not in the powerful earthquake, and not in the fire, God came in the gentle whisper.
We find peace when we have Jesus at the centre of our lives. We carry that peace with us when we have him in our hearts. Our lives can be chaotic and racing along at a fast pace but there is a still point in the Christian, a place where we can find the calm in the storm, a place where time stands still and we can be still and know that God is present.
That moment is in the present. The present is the place we experience life.
God does not speak to us in the past and he does not speak to us in the future, he speaks to us in the present and it is there that we experience God.
When God appeared to Moses in the burning bush he gave Moses the mission to go and free his people from slavery in Egypt. A fearful Moses said, who shall I say sent me? God instructs him to tell both Pharaoh and Israelites, say I Am’ has sent you. Note the present tense. God reveals himself in the present moment. That is the place time stands still, the place we encounter God.
There are many who long to turn the clock back to the former days of olden glory when God turned a dry barren land to a fruitful paradise of blessing. They long for God to repeat what He did in the past and they live waiting for a repeat encounter, they long for revival to be repeated.
There are some who spend their lives praying and praying for God to do it again, they want God to rend the heavens and come down in a new and fresh way, they want God to heal the land and they want his kingdom to come. They long for a future encounter with God. Looking back and looking forward.
God however is met in the present, in the here and now. When we are in the place of stillness, the place where we can hear his whisper, that’s the place where we can encounter God, the place where he speaks life into our present.
So let’s take our minds off what has been and stop worrying about what is to come. Lets take time out and focus on encountering God in the present.