Stillness in the Garden: Discovering the Success and Strength of What It Means to Be Still

By Destiny Finn

Be still and know that I am God.

--Psalm 46:10

In a culture that has the motto "the more you do, the more you are," the command of being still seems like the last thing any of us are doing. We may want to be still, but we don't even know where to begin.

What does it even mean? How does one learn to be still yet productive and successful in all areas of our life, not just physically but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually as well? Or if you're like me, maybe you've struggled for years with the concept of being still that, to you, being still means to be lazy, unproductive, and ultimately wasting precious time; that it would make you less of a person.

But here, we have a calling from God to be still--the opposite of what our culture preaches. Take the journey with me in discovering the success and strength of what it means to be still and know who he is.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Apr 19, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685703288

Book preview

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Stillness in the Garden

Discovering the Success and Strength of What It Means to Be Still

Destiny Finn

ISBN 978-1-68570-327-1 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-68570-328-8 (digital)

Copyright © 2022 by Destiny Finn

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Kieth and Sue, thank you for being such an encouragement to me throughout my high school years.

Introduction

What inspired me to write this book? If I’m being completely honest with you—and I hope that I always am—I didn’t feel qualified to write this book. Nor do I feel at times qualified to have it in your hands.

I criticize the length, the words, my thoughts—all of it. I think it’s because, as one mentor once told me, A lot of you undervalue yourself especially because it’s art, especially because you’re a creator, especially because it’s deeply personal. Which is true. I battle with that a lot, but thankfully, I’m getting better.

If you asked me how long it took to write this book, physically, I’d say approximately in five days. Mentally and spiritually, it’s over two years of lessons, trials, triumphs, and growth to prepare me to write what is now in your hands.

The biggest killer of dreams is lack of belief. When we don’t believe in ourselves, in who God created us to be, we start to doubt our abilities, and ultimately, we start to doubt what’s possible. So to answer the question, my faith and obedience to God. That’s what inspired me to write this book—to rise above the fear and walk in faith because, ultimately, I want everything I create and do to exemplify and glorify Christ.

This book, as you’ll come to know as you read through it, came into existence over a trial season of my life. The lessons taught to me and shared with you have been a refining process starting back probably around June of 2018—the summer God began to do a lot of things I wasn’t used to in my life—and had been changing the course of the life I’ve lived the past couple years versus what I thought I was gonna live and do.

To be still at first thought seems obvious, to just sit still and do nothing. But the reality of that phrase—be still—goes way deeper into the knitting of our lives and way deeper under the water than just the tip of the iceberg. I had no idea the journey he was about to have me go on at that time, and often, that is how it is.

If we were to see the full plan of his, we as humans would probably crumble just at the mere initial sight, so like a loving Father, he shows us step by step as well as keep us dependent on him to not get too far ahead of ourselves. And like every journey, it starts with simply being still.

Prologue

As we begin to break down, break through, and discover all the different aspects of being still, you will get to read of my thoughts as I went through the process myself—the raw unedited thoughts I’d honestly rather keep to myself because it showed the flawed and vulnerable side of me. But it needed to be done. That way, you can see the honest truth and know that you are not alone when you to may go through or feel a similar way in the seasons, trials, and triumphs God brings you through.

I couldn’t take it anymore. I had done everything I could do. I thought I had done everything He wanted me to do. I was obedient, I was willing, I was faithful, and now, I was in pain. I was hurting. I was near to hopeless. I was always the one people could turn to for answers; I was the one who had all the answers. But not this time. This time, for the first time in a long time, I was spiraling, I had no answers, I was completely out of control, and the only answer I kept getting from God was be still.

The humor in that irony was it was truly and nearly the only thing I was getting from him. Be still. Write the book and trust the process. Any questions or worries I had, that was the answer he gave to them. So I began wrestling with God on being obedient like Jonah, as I also often make a bad habit of doing, and I wanted to go the opposite direction.

He wanted me to sit still, and I therefore wanted to pack up my campsite and leave. Even when I hiked two miles to get service, the messages and answers that came up on my phone screen when I turned it on—before I could even begin to rant about how I felt God was being unfair with me—were trust the process and that I wasn’t changing but becoming. Becoming what? More of who I was meant to be. And my disobedience only prolonged the process and halted the blessings.

I broke down crying on the side of the road next to the forest in the middle of the wilderness, frustrated and overwhelmed with my own insecurities because I didn’t know if I was enough or if I had enough in me to do what he was asking. And maybe, my friend, that’s where you are. You want to be doing what he’s requiring of you, but you’re scared and doubt you’ll be able to. Well, the first step is being still, and together, we can take the journey of discovering what it means to be still—the simple yet hard command to follow.

*****

I felt as if I was in a cycle of testing right now like Job. That I was in the in-between Joseph and the refining like David. It was painful, messy, and sometimes frustrating. But right now, as always, I fought to keep my hope bright and focused on Christ. For years, I’ve struggled with the concept of being still. To be still in my definition meant being lazy and wasting time, and why would anyone want to waste precious time like that?

My twisted way of thinking roots back to early childhood trauma. In a divorced home, I watched my dad constantly work and my mother constantly work and take college classes. I basically raised my two brothers, especially when I was at my dad’s house.

The message imprinted on my mind from an early age was the more you do, the more you’ll be loved. I had this misconception that if I became dependable, hold it all together, get it done without asking, go above and beyond, I’d be loved. People praised and adored those kinds of people. Those children, the overachievers, were the kids parents would tell their children to be more like.

As a natural-born leader also, I definitely liked the attention. However, like all things, there were people who hated those kinds of people; and they would bully you out of their own insecurities for it. And with that, I became two things: (1) even more of a workaholic with the mindset it needs to be done today or I’m a failure; (2) I started to attack and kill myself to become passive and fit in. Neither were healthy. I created a major bad habit of one deep end to the other, and with neither, I ever rested.

*****

In a world that praises busyness, we have begun to create a comparison game on who’s holier-than-thou based on who has a more filled busting-to-the-seams schedule. The underlying motto of our society is the more you do, the more you are worth. Except for the truth behind that motto is the devil’s agenda—if he can’t turn you bad, he’ll turn you busy.

The devil doesn’t care if you only pick up your Bible or go to church once a week. He doesn’t mind if you listen to some worship music on your way to work. He doesn’t mind because he knows you deceive yourself when you just read the Word and fail to take action. His goal is to keep everyone going in a busy clockwork schedule of distraction. So when you then read Psalm 46 and you get to the verse Be still and know that I am God, it’s the opposite of what the world preaches.

The world says, Be busy, yet here we have God saying, Be still. But what does that even mean? Better yet, what does he mean when he says, And know that I am God. For the majority of people, including Christians, they don’t even know what that means. They can’t tell you who God is. They say they know him, but when you ask them to explain, they give you a blank stare. Before we can ever truly be still, knowing he is God, we must first journey down the path and define who is God.

Chapter 1

Stillness in God

God is entirely and personally present in the wilderness, in the garden, in the field.

—Martin Luther

There once was a frog and a scorpion on the edge of a river in which they needed to cross. The scorpion looks over to the frog and says, Let me ride upon your back as you swim across this river.

The frog then replies, No, because you’ll sting me, and then we both will surely die.

The scorpion in return tells the frog, I promise I won’t because I want to get across the river.

The frog then begrudgingly agrees to let the scorpion ride upon its back. Halfway through swimming across the river, the frog is stung by the scorpion. You fool! Now, we shall both die!

The frog cries as they begin to sink into the water; and the scorpion dances upon the frog’s back and answers, I could not help myself. It is of my nature.

The same is true for God as we find when Jesus replies to the Pharisees in Matthew 12:22–28.

Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. All the people were astonished and said, Could this be the Son of David? But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives