God invites us to know Him in a deeper way. In Psalm 46:10, He makes it clear how we can know Him more intimately: we position ourselves in stillness. Yes, stillness! We all need times of complete stillness alone with God, away from all the distractions of the world. Our modern comforts can be our worst distractions. Our cell phones, for instance, allow us access to everyone but God. Our “conveniences” make us comfortable and they give us what we want, which allows us to be selfish and self-absorbed.

God calls us into a time of stillness in the wilderness, away from all distractions, to break us free from selfishness. In times of stillness He reveals His love, His promises, and the intentions He has for us as His own.

God’s plan for the Children of Israel was the Promised Land. We know the story: it was a wonderful promise, but to get there they had to go through a time in the wilderness. Their wilderness journey should have only lasted 11 days, but it ended up lasting for 40 years. Why? One reason is, they didn’t enter into the journey with a thankful heart. After all they had suffered in Egypt, they were looking at themselves instead of God. The bondage was rough which made them self-absorbed, so much so that they completely missed out on what the wilderness was for. It was a time to draw closer to God, but they just grumbled and complained instead of being thankful for His deliverance. A thankful heart is the evidence that selfishness has been overcome.

Even today, we too need a time in the wilderness away from our modern conveniences. This time is needed and very beneficial to free us from selfishness. But, we can take a weekend in the mountains just to get away with God and spend the whole time grumbling and complaining because we don’t have a good cell phone signal. If that is the case then we have missed the point! We are not embracing the stillness, but instead giving in to self-centeredness and allowing it to live. We must resist our self-comforts and self-centeredness to appreciate our time of stillness as a time to be alone with God. If the time of stillness is not embraced, we might just find ourselves still wandering in the wilderness 40 years from now.

Denise Boggs

Co-founder of Living Waters Ministry, Denise Boggs is passionate about healing and has a deep hunger for the Word of God. She is the author of over 20 workbooks and multiple small group curriculum. Denise has also written the full-length books, “Healing and Restoring the Heart”, “Restoring the Family”, and her newest released: “Breaking Free from Sickness and Disease”.

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