How do you start a normal day? Do you hit snooze on your alarm four times then roll out of bed half awake and fully frantic because you’re late? Do you roll over, turn off your alarm, grab your phone, and spend the first 15 minutes of your brains boot-up scrolling social media? Let’s all agree, neither of those are great ways to start a morning.
We aren’t meant to dive face-first into a chaotic day. God intends for us to start from a place of stillness and rest – from deep, centering connection with Him. And if we can begin to create space for practicing that at the start of our days it will have a transformational impact on nearly all of our life.
Still in the Garden
God created Adam and Eve as the culmination of his creation work on the sixth day. We read in Genesis that on the seventh day God, “rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.” (2:2-3).
Note the significance of this. God creates Adam, commands him to care for the earth, and then promptly has him take a day off. Adam’s first day of existence was a day of rest. They started with stillness. While God had indeed given them a massive task to accomplish, that task had to start from a place of stillness in God’s presence.
Still in the Desert
Adam’s not the only one who starts his work from a place of rest. Jesus, the second Adam, begins his ministry with 40 days of intensive stillness, with fasting and complete separation from society (Matt 4:1-11). This stillness, while no means comfortable or easy, seems to be a transformative space that prepares Jesus for launching into his radical obedience to the Father. Jesus started with stillness, peace, and deep connection with his Father before starting his work. Noticing a theme here?
Still in the City
Before Jesus departs to return to his Father’s side after his resurrection he commands his disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the coming of the Holy spirit before going out to fulfill the mission he’d given them. He’d told them to go to the ends of the earth and make disciples (note the parallel to God’s initial command to Adam), but that work must begin with a period of stillness, prayer, and waiting. The disciples obey and, a few weeks later, the Holy Spirit falls upon them and empowers them for the Gospel proclamation that is traced in the rest of Acts.
The idea of starting with stillness isn’t limited to one or two spots in the scriptures. It’s a recurring theme woven throughout the story of history, from Moses on the mountain to Paul in the desert to dozens of others.
So how does all that apply to our lives? There’s a simple (but not necessarily easy) application. Start your day with stillness.
Still in your life
One of the simplest ways to start weaving the idea of starting with stillness into your life is to get up 15 minutes earlier. Use that extra time to breathe deep, come into God’s presence, read God’s word, and remind yourself of what is true.
Of course you won’t be able to do that every day. Trust me, I know. I was thoroughly into the rhythm of getting up at 6AM and having 30 minutes of stillness and soaking in God’s word and presence before our two kids woke up. However, in the last two weeks our youngest, Jude, has been waking up at 5:45, which means he’s ready for a nap at about the same time that Micah is waking up. My still time has become the 5 minutes I have while brushing my teeth before taking on the day.
They key point here isn’t a set amount of time or a set of things you do – though having both of those are helpful if you can. The key that you intentionally start your day with stillness of soul, entrusting yourself to your heavenly Father and his great goodness. Join with Jesus, the early church, and thousands of other followers of Jesus throughout the generations in discovering the power of beginning your day in God’s presence rather than with the frantic rush the world.
Plant that seed of stillness in the early morning and it will grow throughout your day. What you start with matters. Start with still.
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