Be Still And…

 

“He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭46‬:‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

  • “Be still”, reminds me of when I was little, my mom setting me in a chair and saying, “sit still, don’t move, until we’re ready to go”! 
  • But what does it mean to “Be still” before the Lord? Why is it so hard to be still? To be quiet? To wait! Seems like every time I sit down to be with the Lord, every possible conversation or scenario starts going through my mind! Or I start thinking about all the things I need to get done! How do I learn to quiet my mind; to “be still”?…
  • Isaiah 64:4 says, ‭“Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.” ‭‭Waiting is hard. No one likes to wait, we have become an “l want it now” generation. And yet we wait. We wait in doctors offices; We wait in traffic and in lines at the grocery store. Life is filled with periods of waiting and sometimes we become frustrated when things don’t happen fast enough for our liking, especially when we are called on to wait for the Lord. And yet this verse says that God works on our behalf when we WAIT for Him. So what does it mean to wait for the Lord? I found this definition from a “Got Questions” article that I read, “Waiting on the Lord involves the confident expectation of a positive result in which we place a great hope. This expectation is based on knowledge of and trust in God”. 
  • So, is to “be still”; to wait, to remember that God is in charge? That He is in control? Is it to remember that He is greater than all my fears and worries, and that He isn’t surprised by all that is going on around me? It’s all part of His plan? 
  • Is that what Mary knew when she sat at the feet of Jesus to listen to Him? Is that what Jesus meant when He said she had chosen the better part?(See the story of Martha and Mary in Luke 10:38-42).
  • Instead of running all “willy nilly” all over the place; in a panic; unsure of what to do…”Be Still”. Have that “Confident expectation”, “hope”, “trust in God”. Positive ways of looking at waiting for the Lord. And if we have experienced His faithfulness in the past then it can help us to trust that He will be faithful again, in His timing and His way. 
  • Jesus reminds us in John 5:17, …”My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.”” Just as the verse from Isaiah says, God is always working on our behalf. Cleaning up our messes at times and using them for our good. Achieving in us His greatest desire, that we become more like His Son and bring Him glory. 
  • So, like David in Psalm 131, let us learn to calm and quiet our souls, and hope in the Lord! And wait…“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”(Psalms‬ ‭27‬:‭14‬ ‭NIV‬)
  • Then remember, “and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭46‬:‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬


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