City life is not for me. The constant barrage of motion, sound, sight, and smell is like an all out attack on my body’s internal systems requiring massive usage of my energy reserves just to get by. It overwhelms me in every way. It seems to me that city life take what would already be a busy and full life and makes it a lot faster. Even visiting cities makes me wonder how people live at such a pace. Some people find city life exhilarating and would be bored to tears by rural or small town life. (To each their own I suppose)
For some, stillness is necessary to life, like food or sleep. For others, stillness is something they must almost be forced to have. Yet it is often in stillness and quiet that God chooses to speak. We are told in Scripture to be still and know that He is God (see Ps 46:10), to be still before Him and wait patiently for Him (see Ps 37:7). Psalm 40:1 encourages us that when we wait patiently for the Lord, He hears us. In Isaiah 30:15 the Lord tells Israel, “In returning and res you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” (ESV)
All of us, city and country dwellers alike, need to be careful not to get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of life that we fail to take time to be still and listen to God. It’s easy to get caught up in all that needs doing, but we need times of stillness to listen and to hear. We are commanded to be still, as we are commanded to rest. We may need different amounts of these things depending on our temperaments and stage of life, but we all need times of both stillness and rest.
Let us each make an internal check and see how often we obey these commands. Let us seek to grow in obedience here as a guard against getting caught in the bustle of life.
focusingmygaze 