Be Still

I have been reading a book by Taylor Caldwell, a woman who wrote novels from 1938 through 1966. I've read a couple of her books, but this one is special. It's titled "No One Hears But Him." It's about different "souls" who go to a Sanctuary built on a hill in the middle of a city, where they can talk to someone. That someone, of course, is God. Each soul has a special problem (the minister, the unbeliever, the suicidal, the old and young, the suffering and the ones who think they have it all and don't need God) that they come to the Sanctuary to talk about. Some come unwillingly or with an "agenda," but all encounter God at their level and with their own needs. Here is an excerpt from one of the stories that is so appropriate for us today, 40+ years after this book was written:

"Be still. Be very still. Be removed from all the busyness of life, if only for a little space, a little time. Be still enough not to hear all the world's pleasant voices, or even the ugly ones. Just be silent. 'Be still and know that I am God.' And in the knowing, know that all is well; and on some day you know not of, all will be explained. [note by CF: this reminded me of the saying that Dan and his friends coined about death: no more questions, only answers.] Be still and know that you can bear your life, that it has a distinct and unique meaning, belonging only to you; important more to God than even to yourself. And that to God, it is of more worth than the sun, than a billion suns. With that importance in his heart, he can walk fearless, joyful with a true joy, peaceful with a peace that no pleasure can give and no busy life can satisfy."