Waiting upon God is vital in order to see Him and receive a vision from Him. And the amount of time spent before Him is also critical, for our hearts are like a photographer’s film–the longer exposed, the deeper the impression. For God’s vision to be impressed on our hearts, we must sit in stillness at His feet for quite a long time. Remember the troubled surface of a lake will not reflect an image.
Yes, our lives must be quiet and peaceful if we expect to see God. And the vision we see from Him has the power to affect our lives in the same way a lovely sunset brings peace to a troubled heart. Seeing God always transforms human life . . .
It is very unusual for there to be complete quiet in the soul, for God almost continually whispers to us. And whenever the sounds of the world subside in our soul, we hear the whispering of God. Yes, he continues to whisper to us, but we often do not hear Him because of the noise and distractions caused by the hurried pace of our life. Frederick William Faber
~ L.B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert, September 18
In the stillness,
Sandy
Welcome to the Still Saturday Community where we pause after a busy week, move in quiet pilgrimage, maybe linger a while in some still place, and soak in the beauty of images and reflect on the depth of sparse words. We’d love for you to join us. Grab the button and link up below. We all love to hear if something especially speaks to your heart, but please don’t feel pressured to comment. Simply take some time to be still together, to gaze long and drink deep.
I LOVE Mrs. Cowman’s collection of wisdom, Sandy. This book has ministered to me many times when, in fact, I was not still, but distressed. Thank you for sharing this. And oh, that we might always have eyes to see Him. My ministry name uses “signt” in it, and that is my deepest prayer, to SEE Him.
Love
Lynn
That we must sit in stillness at His feet for quite a long time really spoke to me. My days have been so full of interruptions lately. 🙂
Our lives are full of so many distractions and long to-do lists that sitting still is too easily moved aside.
Do you journal, Sandy? It’s a wonderful way to be still before Him, to sit at His feet and savor.
I do. But I’m not very faithful about it. What I do find I sometimes need is to just sit. No phone. No laptop. No printed words. No (gasp!) Bible. No notebook or pen. Just eyes and ears.
That quote is so beautiful!
I took a photo of a lake a couple years ago that has stuck with me. I may have written about it here somewhere… but anyway, the whole lake (pond?) was ruffled except right in the center. I don’t know why. Maybe it was deeper there?
This little book is so full of wisdom.
I really do need to get mother’s copy of Streams in the Desert off the shelves. Beautiful images and thoughtful reflection from Cowan. Thank you, my beautiful friend. May your day be filled with many moments of stillness to hear His whispers of love. xoxox
It’s really speaking to me these days. I’m not sticking with just the daily reading. 😉
Much joy to you, dear Patricia. xoxox
I have the book Streams in the Desert. The yellowed pages fall out each time I read it. But the notes and underlines are too important to discard and get a new one. Thank you for sharing this post. Love you friend!
I came to Streams late. But I have other books like that. 🙂
Love you more. I forget. Will you be by the Frio?
It’s a beautiful quote, Sandy. There are some readers who might be discouraged by this, ” our lives must be quiet and peaceful if we expect to see God.” for their lives are neither quiet nor peaceful. I think, however, that when we truly seek God, He can draw us to a quiet and peaceful place with Him, even in the very midst of the chaos of our lives. Seeking the stillness with you, friend. Blessings.
Oh, I hear you, June. I think that’s why I was so intrigued by the lake I described for Elizabeth above. The center was still and almost slick as a mirror while the rest of the lake was rough. Glad to seek that stillness with you.
These are words I need today. Beautiful images too. Thank you Sandra. I think we had similar themes this week. My photo is of a lake as well. 🙂 Thanks again.
Beautiful. This caused me to stop and read again, “For God’s vision to be impressed on our hearts, we must sit in stillness at His feet for quite a long time. Remember the troubled surface of a lake will not reflect an image.”
Oh, the purpose of being still is so multifaceted. Thanks for sharing such depth.
Blessings!
Dawn
Such a wonderful metaphore … the troubled surface – it really cannot reflect anything.
Yes, we need to seek silence and peace, to be able to hear and receive!
I love this analogy! Thanks for the beautiful post & for hosting. God bless.
I was just talking this week to my son about how you know it’s God’s voice when you’re asking Him for an answer. You quote is so right- God does continually whisper to us. We just have to learn to listen!