Still. I remember what still meant to me as a child. Oh, no! Impossible! Fun cannot happen in a still environment! Yet, time out was occasionally necessary. Pause. Stop. Be still…Listen. All very important to understand.
Our Father in heaven knows better than we, what is happening in our life, our country and our world. He sees the heart of every man. The good. the bad, and the ugly. Burdensome to have all that knowledge. There is a reason He is omniscient and we are not. There is a reason He is in control. He has made it His business to be all-knowing. He has the plan. He knows the next moves.
So. How do we stay still? We don’t know the plans of the evil force of this world. We don’t know when exactly God will address the deceiver of humanity. The destroyer of all that is good. The worker of iniquity. What exactly do we know?
I recall as a young rambunctious child that after exiting the car with my Mom, I darted into the street. I could not see what my Mom saw. She simply screamed, “Be still! Don’t move!” I, hearing the urgent command, froze in place. I watched the car move slowly around and beyond me.
Doesn’t God see what we cannot see? Isn’t that what God wants us to do when danger, pain, fear, sorrow, panic, anxiety, depression, anger, jealousy, unrest, alarm, terror, fretfulness, turmoil, remorse, embarrassment, doubt, abandonment, gossip, dread…so many more we could list, come near our door, our heart, our home, our children and our world?
To paraphrase a number of scriptures throughout His word. “Be still! I am your God! I have the plan of battle! (2 Chron. 20:17) Stop and listen for my voice! (Deut. 4:30) I am your Shepherd! (John 10:11) I will walk you through the dangers of the dark valley! (Psalm 23:4) I will never leave you alone, I will never forsake you!” (Deut. 31:8)
Unfortunately, I am one of God’s sheep that wanders to the television for news far too often. I hear and see things that are so foreign and unbelievable to me that I, for a split second forget who has overcome the world. Panic, anger and anxiety start to rise. Everything seems so out of control.
There is One who has us in His hand. Who has no fear when looking into the face of evil. He cast that devil out of heaven. Will He not embolden His children to resist? For now…in this, our day, “Be still and know that I am God.”
Scripture For Today:
Psalm 46:10
10 Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world. (NLT)
Prayer For Today:
Hello Father! Gonna be honest. It is pretty frightening. We are seeing good examples of the evil Your word has warned us about. Panic begins to seep in around the truths we know from Your word. Help us to grab hold of those truths and keep them ever ready to speak out. But for now, in this minute…put Your hand on us and teach us the way to be still in You. Teach us to listen without speaking. Teach us to live without knowing all the answers. In a world where trust seems non-existent…teach us to quietly trust in You. Forgive us of all our sins. In Jesus’ name. Amen.