He Leads Me Beside Still

Waters
Article By

Glenn Packiam

Rivers and Robots Still. Volume 1 Devotional Day 1.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green
pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in
paths of righteousness for his names sake. Psalm 23:1-3 (ESV)

Each day begins with noise. The sound of an alarm, quickly overshadowed by the voices of
children or roommates. Not long after, our phone starts buzzing: emails, texts, notifications
from Twitter or Facebook or Instagram. Even when the noise is not audible, we hear it in
our soulsthe push and pull of tasks, requests, of people who need something from us. Its
like there is an internal click-track, an unyielding cadence that drives us along the day from
dawn til dusk. How can we get off this train?

The Psalmist invites us to refuse the taskmasters of this world, to turn down the internal
volume of the slave-driver in our minds, and to hear the Voice of anotherthe voice of the
Lord, the Good Shepherd. Its not that we abandon our jobs or ignore our responsibilities.
Its that we learn to walk through the day as if the Shepherd is leading us.

What if we start today by quieting our hearts and hearing the call of Jesus?

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with
me and youll recover your life. Ill show you how to take a real rest. Walk with
me and work with mewatch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I
wont lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and youll
learn to live freely and lightly. Matthew 11:28-30 (Message)

Listen closely. Do you notice how Jesus keeps calling us to himself? Come to me; get away
with me; walk with me; work with me; keep company with me. Rest is not simply ceasing
from work. It isnt a state we achieve or a goal we grasp. Resttrue rest for our soulsis
a Person. When we come to Jesus, when we fix our eyes on Him, when we lean in close,
His life becomes ours. He is our rest.
Today, let Jesus be your shepherd. Imagine Him leading you to each part of your day.
Imagine Him walking with you through dark valleys. Imagine Him preparing a feast for you
even in the darkest moments. There are still waters that await your soul. Jesus is here to
help you find them.

When We Are Anxious

Article By

Glenn Packiam

Rivers and Robots Still. Volume 1 Devotional Day 2.

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one
who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! Psalm 37:7
(ESV)

What are you worried about today? Is it money? Or a friendship or relationship that is
uncertain or in a precarious place? Maybe its concerns about health that have you feeling
overwhelmed.

Jesus knows each of our concerns. He is attentive to our heart and knows what we are
worried about. Nothing is trivial to Him.

And yet, God knows that worrying too often is unfruitful. It cannot produce the things we
are hoping for. Only God can.

Only God can work in the midst of every situation for His glory and our good.

The psalmist knows this and calls us not to fret, but to be still and wait. But waiting is hard
to do. Fretting is active; it gives us something to do, something to say, or to talk about with
others. And yet, when we feel overwhelmed by life, there is only one thing which is
essential: letting our hearts be still as we sit at the feet of Jesus.

The Gospels tell the story of Mary and Martha hosting Jesus in their home. Martha is
busying making preparations, but Mary simply sits and listens to Jesus. When Martha
begins to fret about all the work that needs to be done, and about Marys seeming
obliviousness to it, Jesus says, lovingly and calmly, Martha, you are worried and troubled
about many things, but only one thing is necessary.
It isnt that Jesus doesnt care about our concerns; its just that Jesus knows there is only
one thing necessary.

Today, before you enter the rush of the day, before the cares and concerns race to overtake
you, stop for a moment. Be still. Quiet your heart. Picture yourself at the feet of Jesus.
And listen. His words have life.

Let go of your worries about the actions of others. There will be a time to act, to confront
or to repent. But before we act, we wait.

In the waiting we remember that only God can bring about what we are hoping
for. Be still, and wait.

When The World Is In Chaos

Article By

Glenn Packiam

Rivers and Robots Still. Volume 1 Devotional Day 3.

Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be
exalted in the earth! Psalm 46:10 (ESV)

Sometimes it is all just too much. War. Poverty. Violence. Injustice. The unending stream
of news pours in from social media and TV and radio stations.

Something is terribly wrong with our world. This is not how it should be.

And yet we find ourselves powerless in the face of it. Yes, we try to speak up, to raise our
voice on behalf of those who cant, to stem the tide of evil, even in the everyday. But still,
the storm rages on.

How can we find peace when the world around us is in chaos?

The disciples wondered the same thing. When the waves crashed around their little fishing
boat, hurling it high above the waters, pushing it violently from side to side, they ran to find
Jesusonly to find that He was asleep. They took His slumber to mean that He did not
care; they misunderstood His peace for indifference. Jesus arose, and rebuked not first the
storm, but their lack of faith. And then He addressed the wind and the waves: Peace. Be
still.

And it was. All became well.

St. John had a vision on the Isle of Patmos that one day, when Jesus appears, He will make
all creation new, joining heaven and earth as one. On that day, Jesus, emerging not from
rest but from reigning at the right hand of the Father, would wipe away every tear and
destroy death at last. And then St. John says a strange thing: he says that the sea will be no
more. The sea in ancient Israelite imagery was the place where monsters dwelt, the sign of
primordial chaos. To do away with the sea was to deal with Evil at last.

So, yes: the world is in chaos. All is not as it should be. But be still for a moment, and you
will see: God is in charge. He is the Lord of the wind and the waves. And one day, He will
utter the words that make the storm to cease at last, and all shall be well.

Peace will come.

Psalm 46 describes the uproar and chaos of the world. And yet the psalmist leads us to a
place of stillness, of knowing that God is still God. To know this is to experience a
foretaste of that peace now. So, be still and know, He is God.

Waiting For God Alone

Article By
Glenn Packiam

Rivers and Robots Still. Volume 1 Devotional Day 4.

For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. 2 He
alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.
Psalm 62:1-2 (ESV)

Silence is uncomfortable for most of us. On a train or airplane, when things get quiet, we
get fidgety. We tend to fill the space with digital noiseby glancing down at our phones or
devices to add more stimuli to the moment. But these distractions can keep us from
acknowledging the ache deep inside our hearts, the longing for something beyond, the
hunger for more.

It isnt until we sit in silence that we become aware of our deepest need. When Jacob sent
his possessions and the members of his household away across the river and was left alone,
he wrestled with God until dawn broke. In the wrestling, he came face to face with his own
nature, admitting for the first time that his name was Jacobthe one who grasps. It was
also in the wrestling that he came face to face with God, and God renamed him. But it was
the silence and the solitude that made it possible.

When we leave ourselves alone, we are able to be honesttruly honestabout our

brokenness. We can name our fears and our faults, our longings and our loves. And we can
allow God to reshape them, to heal them, to bring them under His blessing.

Will you give yourself some space today?

Will you allow the Spirit of God to bring to the surface the things you are ashamed of? Not
so He can add to your shame, but so that He can give you a new name.

You see, when we wait for God alone, and when we wait alone for God, we will find Him.
And He is a fortress that cannot be shaken.

We are, as C. S. Lewis once wrote, too easily pleased. We settle for false securities, for a
cheap refuge in the busyness and noise of life. We cling to temporary attachments and
passing pleasures. But if we would send it all across the river, and find ourselves alone,
then we can wait.

And when we wait, we will find our salvation in God alone.

Take a moment. Be still. Wait upon the Lord.

Keep Coming Back

Article By

Glenn Packiam

Rivers and Robots Still. Volume 1 Devotional Day 5.

For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, In returning and rest you
shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength. But you were
unwilling Isaiah 30:15 (ESV)

Were not done yet. There is no way to just get filled up and then be on our way. Life with
God is not a one-stop job. It is a journey, a perpetual turning away from ourselves and the
things that we put before God or as God, and a perpetual turning toward God as the only
fountain of living water.

Turning away, and turning toward. This is the spiritual life.

Why? Because we are prone to wander. Because old habits die hard. Because it is all too
easy to make the mistake the Old Testament Israel made. Through the prophet Jeremiah,
God rebukes His people for forsaking the fountain of living water, and for making for
themselves cracked and broken wells (Jeremiah 2:13).

What are some of the broken wells we make for ourselves? Our jobs, our relationships, our
hobbies, our countrythese are all things that may be good vessels but horrible wells. You
see, a vessel can carry the water; but a well is the source. When we mistake a container for
the source, we begin to go wrong. A friend may carry life to us on a difficult day, a job may
bring joy and fulfillment. But none of these things are themselves the source. They are not
the well; they are just the vessel. We easily get them confused.

And so the Lord calls to us to keep returning, to keep turning away and turning
toward.

When St. Peter stood before the crowds on Solomons Portico shortly after the Day of
Pentecost, he told them that times of refreshing come from the presence of the Lord (Acts
3:19-21). But he wasnt inviting them into an esoteric, private spiritual experience. He was
calling them to acknowledge Jesus as Lord, as Messiah. In fact, he began by saying,
Repent. Turn away. Come back. Change the way youve been thinking about life.

And so it is for us. Each day, each moment, the Spirit calls to us. Turn away, turn toward.
Stop treating a vessel like a well. And when you return, you will find resttrue rest.

Dont let this be the end. Let it be the beginning of a new practice, a new rhythm, a new
habitof turning away, and turning toward.

God, the fountain of life, is here.