Word of the Week - Be Still and know I am God
Be still and know I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46
For me, Being Still is one of my bigger challenges. I seem to be built for doing; therefore, I am either in the middle of doing something or thinking about what I need or want to do next. That being said, God is clear about the fact that there is something powerful in 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 help me in this area. I am in a season of life where I have made this my primary focus. “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
The following are a few biblical principles/truths I am focused on at this time:
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
Slowing Down – There is something about our daily pace that I am learning really matters when it comes to hearing from God. If we go through life too fast and busy, which is more typical today than ever before due to technology, we miss many of the biggest blessings of life. Slowing down to a more intentional pace allows us to be more conscious and available to notice others, see people and hear form the living God. “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, those who seek Him”. Lamentations 3:25
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 relationship, I believe the key is to be connected at a deeper level. I am not sure we can connect with God or people at a deep level if we are moving to fast and trying to do too much. Being still before the Lord allows us to connect with God and know Him at a deeper level. I am in a season of learning how to slow down to a sacred pace so I can “be still” before the Lord and go deeper. Making it a priority in my daily and weekly walk with God so I 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 10:38-42
Lord 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