Day 9: Snapchat, Smartphones, and the Gaze of your Soul
“Be still, and know that I am God.” – Psalm 46:10
Did you know that it would take more than 158 years to watch an entire day of Snapchat stories? 500 million stories are created each day, and 70% of smartphone users have downloaded this app.
I don’t know about you, but I love social media and use it often. But sometimes I feel like the double-minded man James speaks about, and I feel like it is hard to hear God’s voice with all the noise and activity surrounding me. Before you continue reading, I am not condemning social media or saying it is a sin. But in everything I do, I want to put it through a filter and ask, “Is this helping me or hindering me?” One study states that 50% of teens “feel” they’re addicted to their mobile devices supported by the statistic that nearly 80% of teens check their phones hourly. Can you go a day without your phone?
I want to challenge you to incorporate a day of rest from your social media. A step farther, I challenge you to not touch your cell phone for the remainder of this day and consider making this a weekly rhythm of your life. Even the secular world is promoting this discipline. Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, author of Distraction Addiction, highly celebrates the digital experience but still recommends to his readers a “digital sabbath.”
As a Jesus follower, the desire behind this small sacrifice is to quiet our minds and hearts so that we can be with Jesus and be transformed by His Word and His voice. Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Another translation reads “cease striving.” I love those words. Stop. Pause. Take a breath. Cease. Striving.
Stop. Pause. Take a breath. Cease. Striving.
God wants to speak, but many times we are at fault by too much activity and busyness. A. W. Tozer wrote, “God is having a difficult time getting through to us because we have no time to answer when He calls.” For me, it is near impossible to cease striving when my mind and eyes are being overloaded with texts, advertisements, ESPN updates, and photos.
Join me in putting down you device, being still, and looking to Jesus with the gaze of my soul.
Be.
Be still.
Be still and.
Be still and know.
Be still and know that.
Be still and know that I.
Be still and know that I am.
Be still and know that I am God.
Written by Chad Simpson, Men’s and Women’s Tennis Coach