MUSE OR AMUSE

Be still before the LORD,
all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.  (Zechariah 2:13)

IN ANCIENT GREEK MYTHOLOGY, the Muse spent a lot of time in solitude and thinking. It’s not a surprise then that muse as a verb means to think or meditate in silence, as on some subject. How interesting that the letter “a” used as a prefix renders a word into its negative form. Amuse means to hold the attention of someone; entertain or divert in an enjoyable manner.

Built on the principle of amusement, the entertainment industry’s goals are to let producers, directors, actors, and athletes think for us and distract us from seeking solitude. They provide an escape to a place where we there’s no need to consider our own lives and reflect. Our enemy, Satan, loves to use this business to keep us from thinking for ourselves, especially taking the time to contemplate God and meditate on His word.

In our passage today, God instructs us to be still before Him. In another popular verse in Psalm 46:10, God tells us to “Be still, and know that I am God.” To be still requires us to spend some time by ourselves pondering life and God. To know God is to know His word. These commands leave us with a choice—muse or amuse. Will we live mindfully or will we live mindlessly? God promises to live with those who muse.

—Susan Browning Schulz  

Make a plan to spend regular time meditating on God and His word.

The picture above is the view from my parents old home on Big Pine Key, Florida. I find it easy to be still and know here!