LISTEN

Before the Ole Miss-Auburn game, ESPN Game Day showed an interview between two players – one from Ole Miss, one from Auburn- who had collided during the game between the two schools last year. One of the players had been severely injured in the collision; the other had not. I’m not sure of the exact details, but this is basically the story. When the officials pulled all the players off the pileup, only these two young men were left: one on top of the other. Football players are coached to get up immediately when the whistle blows and to hustle back to the huddle or to the sidelines; however, the guy who was not hurt didn’t get up. He said that he heard a voice in his head that said, “Don’t move.” It was hard for him to lie perfectly still and ignore what he had been taught, but he listened to the voice in his head and did it. He said he had no doubt that “It was the voice of God. . .” speaking to him. The young man who was hurt had broken his 4th vertebra….had the other guy from the other team moved, he would have jostled the hurt player, most likely killing him instantly. The story is that the unhurt player trusted the “voice” and didn’t flinch, thus saving the life of the other young man who has since recovered. The story reminded me of the verse “Be still and know that I am God.” In the hurry-up busy world of today, opportunities to “be still” are difficult to find. Most of us spend our days rushing hither and yon to accomplish as many different tasks as possible so that we drop into bed - exhausted – at the end of the day. That certainly describes me. I don’t like to “be still.” I don’t like to sit and watch TV unless I am simultaneously knitting, folding clothes, or doing something “productive.” No “just sitting” time for me. But God explicitly tells us to “be still…” Wow. Like the young man from the game, I need to listen to that voice more often. God has something to tell me, and if I will be still and listen, the life I save just might be my own.