Be Still and Know

A lot of what the Lord has said to me lately revolves around the word "wait."
It is one of my least favorite words, but it is also one of God's most teachable tools. In my waiting, He teaches me value. He teaches me not to depend on myself, but to look to Him.
Another way He says it, is in the phrase "Be Still." Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still and know I am God." I think about the generation we live in – full schedules and no time, technology as fast as you can tap a screen, social media yelling echoes of nonsense and a hustle and bustle like time is just a grain of sand from running out. Being still is absolutely a lost art. Not only do we argue that we don't have time for it, we don't even know what the word means anymore. And I'm just as guilty as the next person.
My friend gave me a really cool coffee mug for Christmas this past year and it has that little phrase on it, "Be still and know..." The cup is very neat and I use it often, but there was something that came with the mug that I have come to value just as much. It came with words– words I would like to share.
The purchase card reads:
"Psalm 46:10 may be the greatest challenge to the believer this day and age. We live in a culture that tells us we can do anything, but all too often we also begin to think that we can do everything. So we try to cram it all in, worrying that we won't get it done in this day, this week, or even in this life. But when we look to Jesus as an example, He accomplished more in a day than we could in a lifetime [and] He never seemed to be in a hurry.
We live in a hurried world. But hurry is worry put into motion. We think that if we can just move fast enough we can out-run worry. God designed us to take rest. We must intentionally BE STILL and give our souls into His hands for a few moments each day
." (From Soulscripts; paraphrase mine).
I wonder what intentional stillness what do for our hearts and our fears and our worries and our dreams and our lives? That verse has two commands that I believe go hand-in-hand.
Be still.
And know.
When we still ourselves we are pausing long enough to let God's presence step into our lives. It is when we take it before the Lord, that we can confidently know He's holding it all together. Too often we miss the sweetness of this realization because we are too busy to allow Him room to work. When we still everything else in our world and fix our eyes on Him, everything changes. We walk in faith. We walk in His provision. In His strength. We know with God all things are possible.
Life is never going to be without trouble; there are good days and there are bad days, but I know days I go before God go a lot better than days I don't. It is more than just gliding a few minutes in my rocking chair with some coffee in my hand; it is submitting everything in my life and my heart to Someone that knows what to do with it far better than me. It is putting God's Word into my day so that no matter what I face, I can stand on truth. It is a few minutes of worship to fill my spirit and attitude with joy. And it is not just lifting up words in prayer, but lifting the burdens of my struggles off my shoulders and into capable hands. Being still before God jump starts a day for success and produces a soul of rest. It can make all the difference.
I'm not too fond of that word "wait" but I know it yields a heart of trust and surrender. Waiting is an act of being still and allowing God to do a great work. It is producing within us results and benefits we can't even fully see. If you find yourself in a season of waiting or with a restless soul, let me encourage you to hit pause. It may seem unnatural, but it allows God to move mountains on our behalf. It is in our stillness, that He moves. In our weakness, He is strong. At our dead ends, He makes a way. And in our waiting, He is working. Always working. Be still your hearts dear friends – He is God.
-Only Hope

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