Show Notes
I’m going to start a verse for you and see if you can finish it: Be still…
That’s it! Be still, and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10). This is a very familiar verse. You and I can recite it easily. But here’s a harder question: Do we practice it? What does it mean? How do we do it?
At first, it seems like a very simple, straight-forward message: Be still and know that I am God. But I have discovered it is not so easy to implement in my life, and I have a feeling many of you share that experience.
First, it’s not easy to simply be still, is it? We live in a world that seems to be in perpetual motion. Most of us have more to do than we ever get done. It is not in vogue to “be still.” Successful people aren’t viewed as people who are “still.” Rather, they are active. We have this idea that if we’re not doing something, we’re not being productive.
Those of us who are mothers remember how often we’d just give anything if our children would just be still! All that energy and constant movement! How many times have you taken your child’s shoulders, looked him or her in the eye, and said, “Please, BE STILL!” You feel as though you cannot get anywhere with them until they simply STOP.
Don’t you think God, our Father, says the same thing to us? “Be still. STOP!” Stop working, stop moving, stop talking, stop looking at your phone—just STOP!” The first hurdle we face is to get our bodies to be still, to literally stop moving, and for most of us that does not come easily.
I have learned I must plan still time in my day. It must be designated and given the highest priority. For me, it has to be early in my day, before my mind is cluttered, my concentration is divided, and my body is tired.
Are you having some difficulty learning to be still? I encourage you to take this verse seriously and don’t let the world shove you into its mold of constant motion. If you don’t learn to be still, you’ll never really be able to learn to know God like you want to.
But there’s more to being still than just stopping the body movement.
More from Walking Worthy in the Workplace and Life
Are you in need of a rescue today? When we think of an ideal father, we think of one who is protective and who would do anything to help you when you are in trouble. Well, our Heavenly Father is all that and more. I suggested that if you need help from God, for whatever reason, begin with embracing your worst fear and your deepest hurt. Get out of self-denial, and then:
I know the way we relate to our earthly fathers has a great influence on how we see God, our Heavenly Father. And you may not have had the kind of earthly father you wanted, needed, or deserved.
Did you know you are precious to God? I remember some years ago a friend came to a Christmas concert at my church, and he had never been in a gospel-preaching church before. After the concert, his comment to me was: “I’ve never heard anyone use the word precious in a sermon.” That caught his attention.