Put the World Away for a Minute

Sitting on the hotel balcony, I stretched out my legs and read the passage referenced in my Bible study book:

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.” Psalm 19:1-4, NIV

Inspired by what I read, I looked up from my Bible and admired the view. The vastness of the Pacific Ocean stretched before me as the morning fog rolled out to sea. It didn’t take long to realize that I just needed to notice God’s creation all around me to draw near to Him. The soaring gulls, crashing waves, and gentle breeze were doing just what Scripture describes—declaring His glory without words.

I’d arrived at the hotel with my husband the day before feeling frazzled and depleted. Life had been overwhelming and the prospect of a few days away felt glorious. My usual quiet time regimen of reading the Bible, answering questions in a study guide and writing prayers in my journal didn’t feel like the most effective way to draw near to God that weekend. Instead, the beauty of His creation beckoned me to enjoy Him through my surroundings.

Over the next few days, I rested in the Lord’s presence. Using my five senses, the outdoors became my main connecting point with Him. I marveled at pelicans with enormous wing spans skimming along the waves and admired intricate rock formations wedged in the sand.

Muscles in my legs burned as I hiked in the hills above the ocean and discovered bright yellow blooms nestled in spiny cactus plants. My toes tingled as they dug into wet sand walking down the beach. Inhaling the salty air refreshed me with every breath. I reveled in God’s amazing capacity to create and His stunning attentiveness to the smallest details.

Being immersed in natural surroundings enabled me to enjoy time with the Lord in a different way. It also made me realize how saturated I usually am with sensory overload. The vast amount of information I typically receive and process on a normal day can easily desensitize me and impede my ability to feel God’s nearness. It was a refreshing change of pace to leave my cell phone in the hotel room and to take a break from the constant calls, texts and e-mails that vie for my attention and demand responses (not to mention social media posts, the mail in my mailbox, and the messages on my home phone.)

Sometimes we just need to pause and be in His presence without doing anything at all. We’re often so intent on being productive that we forget the value in just being still so that our minds can stop racing and our souls can catch up with us. The normal pace of life is like a swiftly moving river. Every now and then we need to swim to the shore so we can get out of the current, slow down, and catch our breath.

Driving home at the end of the weekend, a song came on that captured my experiences perfectly. Although it’s not like the worship music I usually include with my posts, Zac Brown’s“Knee Deep” has a special kind of wisdom and a catchy tune. It reminds me to pause every now and then to stop and enjoy God and His creation. My favorite lines describe what made my weekend so refreshing: “Gonna put the world away for a minute, pretend I don’t live in it, sunshine’s gonna wash my blues away.”

Is it time for you to “put the world away for a minute”? What has God created that washes your blues away? Meet Him there and let Him rejuvenate your spirit today. Start by listening to Zac Brown’s song and letting it put a smile on your face.