LIFE RIGHT NOW ◽ YOU
Do you remember that 80’s movie, Mannequin? It was about a mannequin that comes to life because the guy falls in love with her. And it started a huge trend of mannequin modeling at the local mall (and in the 80’s all we did was hang out at the mall). We’d be walking around window shopping when all of a sudden one of the mannequins in the window made the slightest movement. Or did it? Maybe? We’d stand and stare. And wait…wondering is it a real person?
Then one day while shopping at the mall with my mom, the manager of Paul Harris clothing store approached me. She asked if I’d be interested in mannequin modeling for the store. I reluctantly agreed (sure she’d made a terrible mistake because I wasn’t one of the cool, pretty girls at school). Now I was one of the girls in the window! There were five of us. We were dressed in the latest spring fashion (think soft pastels), we struck a pose, and stayed in place with neutral expressions for 20-30 minutes before changing position. Mannequin modeling required exceptional posture, endurance, and the ability to remain perfectly still. Mall shoppers passing by would stop, studying our fixed stance. Some tried to make us laugh. Some danced around in front of us. But we each remained frozen. We ignored them, determined to keep focus. We didn’t allow them to distract us. We were perfectly still.
Stillness. It can be challenging in the hustle and bustle of the world to maintain stillness. Busyness interferes. Responsibilities. Neverending to-do lists. It all interrupts our ability to be still. In our small group recently, we were challenged to be still for one minute. Living in a fast-paced world where we become impatient waiting for the microwave to warm our food, did we have the ability to stay in place for one minute? The clock began and for sixty seconds we weren’t supposed to move. Some people giggled. Legs bounced. Necks swiveled. At the end of one minute, we discussed the struggle to remain still. Physical stillness can be a challenge.
When we’re in a constant state of frenzied movement we don’t wait for God to answer our prayers. We push forward and create our own path, wanting an answer now! But in Psalm 37:7 we read,
“Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.”
Be still. Wait patiently.
In our one-minute challenge, I called on my former mannequin model skills to conquer the stillness challenge. I sat like a frozen popsicle. But what if God seeks more than our physical stillness? What if it’s our mind on the move? How often do we struggle to filter the distractions in our mind? Reading the Bible and our mind drifts to the grocery list. Prayer time always interrupted by an overthinking brain.
This is when we need inner stillness. This is when we give our worries to God. With Him our internal fears and troubles are calmed. He will fight for us. If only we are still. Just like a mannequin model ignoring the distractors at the mall, we must ignore the dancing thoughts in our head. We must harness the determination to maintain focus. We don’t allow our thoughts to distract us. And we strike a pose of stillness.
“The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
Exodus 14:14