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This morning I arrived at the church while it was still early, and the rain was gently falling outside. I sat in our sanctuary and was just still for a while. No meetings. No conversations. No agenda. Just stillness. As I sat there, the hymn Be Still, My Soul, which we sang this past Sunday in worship, came to mind.

I have been thinking about all that I have experienced here in my first few months at First United Methodist Church of Whitesboro. There have been wonderful moments, challenging moments, moments that have encouraged me, and moments that have caused me to pause and wonder what God is doing. Through all of it, I find myself wanting my soul to be still. I want to slow down long enough to pay attention to what God is doing, even when I cannot yet see the whole picture.

Psalm 37 reminds us:

“Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him.”
Psalm 37:7

Those words are easier to read than they are to live. We live in a world that encourages us to keep moving. We want answers quickly. We want to know what comes next. We want to fix what is broken and understand what we cannot control. Sometimes even our faith becomes another thing on our list of things to accomplish. But Scripture reminds us that there is a different way. Be still. Wait. Trust. Pay attention to God.

Over the last few months, we have experienced plenty of hot, dry weather. The ground has been thirsty. The grass has struggled. The land has been waiting for the rain. And this morning, it is raining. The rain has not yet replenished the land. One morning of rain cannot undo months of dryness. The ground will need more rain. The plants will need time. The effects of the rain may not be immediately visible. But the process has begun.

I think our souls can be much the same. There are seasons when our souls become dry. We become tired. We carry burdens that we were never meant to carry alone. We become discouraged when things do not happen as quickly as we hoped. We wonder whether anything is really changing. Yet God sends a gentle reminder. Be still. The rain is coming. The process has begun.

Sometimes I need to be reminded that just as the rain replenishes the land, God desires to replenish my soul. God does not simply want to use us until we are empty. God wants to restore us, renew us, and draw us back into His presence.

Psalm 37 does not promise that everything around us will immediately become easy. Instead, it repeatedly calls us to trust God in the middle of circumstances we cannot control. We are reminded to trust in the Lord, delight in Him, commit our way to Him, and wait patiently for Him. That is not passive faith. It is a faith that chooses to remain rooted while we wait for God to work. As I sat in the sanctuary this morning listening to the rain, I realized that perhaps I needed the rain as much as the ground outside did. I needed the reminder to stop. To breathe. To be still. To remember that God is already at work, even when I cannot see everything He is doing.

My prayer for these first months of ministry at First United Methodist Church of Whitesboro is that I will not become so focused on everything that needs to be done that I miss what God is already doing. I want to pay attention. I want to listen. I want to trust. I want to allow God to replenish my soul so that I can faithfully serve the people God has entrusted to me. Perhaps you need that reminder today, too. Maybe your life feels dry right now. Maybe you are waiting for an answer, carrying a burden, navigating a difficult season, or simply feeling tired from the pace of life.

Take a moment to be still and listen for the gentle rain. The ground may not be fully restored yet, but the process has begun. Perhaps God is beginning that same work in you. “Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him.”

Lord, quiet our hearts today. Help us to be still long enough to notice Your presence. Where our souls are dry, replenish us. Where we are weary, give us rest. Where we are anxious about what comes next, teach us to trust You. Help us to recognize that You are at work even when we cannot yet see the finished work. Like the rain that gently falls upon dry ground, pour Your grace into our lives and restore our souls. Amen.

In God's grip,

Pastor Chuck Church