In today’s world, we have no shortage of interesting things to give our attention to. Eating breakfast too boring? Watch a video while you’re at it! The drive to work too quiet? Listen to a podcast! Need to go to the bathroom? Why don’t you scroll on Instagram or TikTok while you do your business? I could list a hundred more examples, but I’m sure you all know what I mean. Our lives are filled to the brim with distractions, headlines, and thumbnails just waiting to grab our attention, but the thing is, isn’t it exhausting? I know for me, at the end of a day, I regret spending so much time just consuming content. Surely there is something better and more fulfilling we can do with our time, right?
There certainly is, and in fact I believe it to be far simpler and more fulfilling than we make it out to be. What is it? Stillness.
The practice of stillness is one modern society has largely fallen out of touch with; however, it’s one we see modeled in Scripture frequently. A fantastic example is that of Jesus himself. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus is a busy man (saving the world isn’t a small task!). He’s traveling all around Israel, preaching and healing in countless towns, all the while specifically teaching His 12 disciples the ways of the Kingdom of Heaven. Like I said, busy.
And yet, in the midst of all this, we see Jesus prioritize time with His Father away from distractions. In Luke 4:42 & 5:16, it states how not only did Jesus take time to step away and pray, but He did so regularly. In Matt. 14:13-23, Jesus goes off to pray, gets interrupted by the 5,000, and feeds them, then continues his original plan and prays by Himself. Perhaps most significant of them all, in Matt. 4, the first thing Jesus does after getting baptized is spend 40 days in the wilderness in solitude before beginning His public ministry.
Even with His busy schedule, Jesus valued time with God immensely. So how do we learn to do the same in our everyday lives? By starting small. Whenever you get a moment where you could fill it with a distraction, I dare you to not. Instead, breathe. Focus on God, and welcome Him into your mind. And then linger there for a minute. If you can, set a 5-10 minute timer where that’s all you do. Simple as that.
God wants to encounter and transform you, and when you make this practice a lifestyle, you intentionally open moments everyday specifically for encountering His love, returning to our original design of being children loved by our Heavenly Father. So give it a shot, and see how God moves in your life, I think you’ll find Him more fulfilling than another TikTok.