Word of the Week - Be Still
Be still and know I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46
Being Still is one of the bigger challenges in my life. I seem to be built for doing; therefore I am either in the middle of doing something or thinking about what I need to do next. That being said, God is clear about the fact that there is something very powerful about simply being still by bringing our body and soul (mind, will and emotions) to a place of stillness and quiet. This is really where we become conscious of the here and now and fully present to connect with God and receive what He has for us. To fully experience and know God, we must sit before Him undistracted, which is the power of learning how to be still. This is not my strong suit but I have developed some disciplines that seem to help me in this area. “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
- Finding a quiet place – Our environment and the ambiance can either set the stage for stillness or be very distracting. Every one of us is different but when we find or create a space that allows us to quiet our mind we can begin to experience the power of being still before God. Whether your truck, basement, closet, chapel, library, cabin in the woods or back porch try to find a place where you can mentally and physically retreat from the noise of life and the worries of the world. “The Lord is in His holy Temple. All the earth – be quiet in His presence” Habakkuk 2:20
- Praising and worshipping God – Focusing our energy towards God through praise and worship can usher us into a place of stillness by putting things in the right perspective. When we exalt God to His proper place we find trust and safety in Him, which allows our cares and worries to lose power creating space for us to be still. “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. Proverbs 18:10
- Sabbath – The principal of Sabbath is for this purpose, to set aside time and space each week for “being” with the Lord and enjoying His presence in a state of rest. Giving ourselves permission to stop doing and producing by trusting God as our provider is very powerful and can lead to experiencing relationship with God at a deeper level. “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even over the Sabbath” Mark 2:27
- Taking thoughts captive – The 3 disciplines noted above can really help quiet our minds but we may still have thoughts that are trying to sabotage us, in this case we can take captive the thoughts by acknowledging them mentally or by writing them down so we can release them to the Lord. So when thoughts come that are not welcomed we can “take them captive and make them obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5
When it comes to building relationship, the key is connecting at a deeper level. Being still before the Lord allows us to connect with God and know Him at a deeper level. So let’s make the discipline of “being still” a priority in our daily and weekly walk with God so we can experience His amazing power and presence to the full. This is well demonstrated in the story of Martha and Mary in the Gospel of Luke, “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one.[a] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42Lord I pray we can learn to be more like Mary and “Be still in knowing you are our God and Abba Father”.Have a great week…-Duane