Near and Now
Encountering God: Experiencing the Holy in Everyday Life
Warm-up Question
When have you felt a moment of stillness?
Reflection Questions
- What do you see in this image?
- What do you feel looking at this image?
- What stories from your own life does this image bring to mind?
- What stories of the world does this image bring to mind?
Be still and know that I am God!
Read Psalm 46
Bible Story Reflection
Maybe you’ve experienced it. The fear of the unknown. Our lives are filled with tit: the unknown of what comes next, who am I becoming, and where is God calling me? The worry of what tomorrow will bring. The searching for God during loneliness, sorrow, or despair. And yet, through it all of it, we are called to breathe and remember: be still and know that I am God.
Psalm 46 reminds us that God is in the midst of the unknown, the midst of our struggles and despair, and God surrounds us with refuge and strength. God invites us to be still, knowing and trusting that the Lord is with us through the changes in our lives, the sorrows on our journeys, and the questions of the unknown. God comes to us on our journeys through ordinary s means. Sometimes we must be still to see God, who loves and protects us. And so, we breathe and we remember: be still and know that I am God.
Our call to experience to stillness of God occurs in ordinary ways. God’s ever-present stillness and promise in our lives can be seen trough every day experiences. God’s stillness and presence appear to us as we walk around our neighborhoods, spend time in community, share a meal with friends, and say hello to a stranger. There is no place we can go where we do not come face-to-face with the presence and promise of God. And so we breathe and we remember: be still and know that I am God.
Discussion questions:
- How have you experienced the stillness of God?
- What does it mean to you to have God as our refuge and strength?
- When have you felt God’s presence in the midst of the unknown?
- What does it look like to have the Lord if hosts s
word each time until you only have one word left: Be still and know that I am God.
urrounding us today?
- How have you experienced refuge in God? Be specific.
- What does stillness with God look like?
- What sometimes makes stillness difficult for you?
- How is God calling you into stillness with Him?
- How are you called to remind others of God’s promise to surround us in times of trouble?
Activity Suggestions
Repeat the following phrase aloud, dropping of the last
Sit in silence for five minutes, trying to remain as still as possible. In a journal, reflect on what the experience was like for you.
In the middle of a piece of paper write “be still.” Surrounding the center word, draw or writer your prayer requests for stillness with God.
Prayer Concerns
Anxiety and fear, doubt, finding stillness with God
Closing Prayer
Still my heart and mind, O God, that I might meet you in the ordinary experiences of my everyday life. In the name of +Jesus, Amen.