MAXIM: Just Breathe

Breathe in. Breathe out. The average person does that around 20,000 times a day. Our breathing is part of the autonomic function of the brain and body. Autonomic functions are things that we don't consciously think about when we're doing them. They just happen. One of the effects of this process can be that we take for granted that the function, like breathing, will just continue to happen in the future just as it has in the past. However, all it takes is an interruption in the process to remind is how important it really is.

Try it. Hold your breath right now for as long as you can...

At some point you have to take a new breath. Doing this little exercise can also have the effect of making you "aware" that you are, in fact, breathing. Thirty seconds ago you weren't thinking about breathing, you were just doing it. But now, when your attention is drawn to it, you find yourself thinking about it.

This is a pretty good parallel to how we sometimes think about the presence of God. We know He is all around us, all the time. And yet, until we find that we really "need" Him, (out of breath) we tend to just bounce along our journey without giving Him and what He may desire for us a second thought.

So, just like you found yourself thinking about breathing a few sentences ago, let me encourage you to turn your thinking to God. Instead of waiting for a crisis or tragedy give Him your full attention at this moment. Consider His goodness, His mercy and His holiness. And ponder what your best response might be.

I would suggest that you breathe deeply.


"Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:16

MAXIM: Be Still

The words of Psalm 46 are some of the most arresting (as I suppose they are intended to be) that I find in scripture. There are various renderings and translations out there but, the two that grab me the most go something like this:

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. (KJV)

"Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah. (NASB)

Be still... Cease striving... Stop fighting... Chill out!

It would appear that there are times when the most effective action to take sounds a lot like taking no action. But don't be fooled. "Be still" is not the same as "do nothing". In fact, it is quite the opposite.

God calls us to a very specific kind of action in this passage, which is to discipline our worried, harried, frightened, overactive selves so that He can direct us and provide for us. And so that we can actually hear that direction, or receive that provision. Instead of flailing around in a manner that is often harmful to ourselves or those around us we are told to stop and look toward the refuge... our tower... the redeemer of our entire life and being. Behold Him and know, way down at the center of your soul, that He is God. He is Good.

Look and see. And be still...