Still in His Word
He awaits your attentive listening.
Have
you taken a moment to be still and know that He is God today?
This
weekend I was blessed by having heard many Bible studies between
driving my daughter to events and watching one of the best preachers
ever on television, Charles Stanley. In and around all of this I
gathered a few small nuggets that seemed to go together in my heart.
And
He arose and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, Hush now! Be still
(muzzled)! And the wind ceased (sank to rest as if exhausted by its
beating) and there was [immediately] a great calm (a perfect
peacefulness). Mark 4:39 Amplified Version
When
Jesus stood in the boat in the middle of storm and said “peace be
still” and when I read Psalm 37 telling us to “be still in the
presence of the Lord...” it is the same kind of stillness we need
today as we go about our work, home and family life.
Looking
at the scripture that Jesus said I thought of it this way;
Peace-
is an overwhelming calmness in my heart.
Be-
is a verb, take action word that is telling us to do something.
Still-
a calm, quiet adverb that requires only that we stop what we re doing.
Then
we wait on the Lord for what comes next.
We
have heard the story before so many times and everyone focuses on the
storm you or I may be in, but what about the stillness? Jesus did not
only say “Peace!” He went on to say, be still.
Be
still
in
the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t
worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked
schemes. Psalm 37-7
Psalm
37 also tells us to be still and goes on to tell us to do this in the
presence of the Lord.
Have
you taken a moment lately and just been still in the presence of the
Lord your God? Just sitting, standing, bowing down in physical or
spiritual humbleness and waiting on Him? Wait for Him to act, do not
worry about the people around you and what they are doing, saying or
anything just wait for the Lord to speak to your heart and mind. Wait
for Him to act.
Why?
Because it means we must stop what we are doing and do nothing; let
go of the problem, stop trying to do it yourself.
Sometimes
it is the hardest thing to do; to wait for Him to act.
It
means we must have patience; all Him to work things together for the
good in His timing. Heal us in His way, provide for us how He sees
fit.
Sometimes
it is the hardest thing to do; to know that He is God.
It
means less of us and more of Him; we have to accept that we are not
the master of our lives but God is. We have to accept that we cannot
get to heaven, make it through the storm, find peace for tomorrow;
without Him; for without Him we are nothing. With Him we can do all
things.
When
we take the time to be still knowing that He is God we can find the
time, strength, patience to wait for Him to act. Time in 'His
presence' has no bounds, we can spend five minutes spending time
being still and hearing Him speak to our hearts or we can spend an
hour on our knees and get the same measure of peace, love, joy and
hope. It all has to do with the communication and the appreciation.
If
we want to communicate with someone an idea that we have we generally
want them to listen to us without their interrupting our words.
Sometimes it is easy to hear us because we are loud and animated like
thunder. Other times we sing praises to the person and it is an easy
listening mode we put on.
Once
and again we will want speak in hushed, or quiet tones to someone and
usually it is an important thing that is just for that person. That
is when we need their focus to be totally on us.
There
used to be a commercial that stated “ If you want to capture
someones attention, whisper!” This is true of the Lord as well.
In
1 Kings we read a story about how God spoke to Elijah not in the
thunder, not in the wind, but in the still small voice that captured
Elijah's attention completely.
Sometimes
God will speak to us in thundering words like we hear from a
preacher on Sundays.
Sometimes
God will speak to us in the wind, through songs of praise and
worship. This is a good way for us to communicate with Him but
sometimes God wants us to listen even more than the wind will allow
us to do.
Sometimes
God wants us to be still, and know, that He is our God. Sometimes He
will speak to us in a still small voice.
“Go
out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him.
And
as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit
the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn
loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an
earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the
earthquake there was a fire, but the lord was not in the fire. And
after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah
heard it, he wrapped his face inn his cloak and went out and stood at
the entrance of the cave. And a voice said, “What are you doing
here Elijah?” I Kings 19:11-13
Think
on that for a moment; the stillness of an early morning hour brings
you to hear things you have not paid attention to before but they
were always there. A creek in the house, a dog barking, a train
passing five miles from your home; all of these can be heard in the
stillness but during the wind or the storm you would not notice them
as clearly.
Then
think about how the voice was small. Not elaborate or ornamental just
straight and to the point. His voice was quiet, direct and clear,
causing Elijah to be still and know that He is God. Sometimes the
message is not just about us but for another; Elijah was near to
going home and was about to pass the mantel on to Elisha. Do you
wonder what God has for you today? I do too!
Be
still and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I
will be honored throughout the world.”Psalm 46:9-11
The
most honored and high God chooses to speak with you today. He awaits
your attentive listening.
Dear
heavenly Father, here we are standing still before you. Speak to our
hearts and minds this week and give clarity to our lives. In Jesus
name, amen.
Suggested
reading: Isaiah 60:1-22, Psalm 46:1-11, 1 Kings 19:1-21, Mark 4:1-31
and Psalm 37 again.