BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD

BE STILL

Have you ever tried to watch a movie and actually hear what is being said while others are talking? It’s almost impossible to hear what is being said. Have you tried to have a conversation with your spouse or friend and they are so consumed with their phone, they haven’t heard a word you’ve said? We must learn to be still and listen for God.

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD. What does that mean? Have you ever heard anyone say, “Be still my heart?” I have heard that phrase repeatedly over the last few weeks. The Hebrew for “be still” can also be translated “let go,” or quit holding on to things that keep you from exalting God and giving Him His proper place in your life.

The power and ability to face adversities and the uncertainties of this life are found in God. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46 expresses trust and confidence in God during a time of insecurity and instability.

“Refuge” pictures a place of shelter away from danger, revealing to us that God is our true security in all the storms of life.

“Strength” refers to God’s might when battling the enemy and includes His power that works in us (Colossians 1:29) and enables us to overcome obstacles in life. You may have received the news you have cancer, your spouse may have abandoned you after thirty years, BUT GOD is with you. He is “a very present help in trouble.”

At other times in life, when you feel all alone, it is time to look inward and experience the amazing love of God and sense His warm embrace. It’s a time to look up to God, for all good things come from Him. Nothing that has happened to you will stop God’s plan for your life. Draw near to God by being still in His Presence. 

God desires that we find a place to be still and reflect upon Him and His amazing love. It is in the quiet where we sense His calming presence and where He gives us divine wisdom and insight. He delights in us when we come to Him with a pure heart and in childlike faith.

“There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.” (Psalm 46:4). God’s river is the continual flow of His amazing grace, glory, and His power in the midst of His faithful people. Keep your trust in God because the river of God, this pure life-giving river flows from God the Father (see Jeremiah 2:13), God the Son (John 4:14), and God the Holy Spirit (John 7:38-39). His river brings refreshing to us as believers in Jesus Christ and we experience a knowing in our hearts that God is with us and will never leave us nor forsake us.

When we are still and surrendered to God, we find peace even with the earth gives way. What an amazing way to live—fully knowing that God cares for you and desires to be in relationship with you. You will experience a relationship with God when you move past religion and experience His great love, fully knowing He will go before you to make every crooked place straight.

Run to Him and fall into His arms. Take time to be still where you can hear the Spirit of God speaking to you. Make it a daily practice—find a place to be still and know God. When you choose to come to Him and leave all the cares of the world each day, you are standing on holy ground. God delivers His own! There is no place so painful, no valley too deep, and no situation too hopeless for God.

It is imperative that we learn to rely on the Holy Spirit’s sustaining power because even though our sins have been forgiven in Christ as believers, our flesh will want to rise up and act out.

God’s goal for us is a lifestyle of sensitivity so we can hear Him in both calm and noisy situations. Practicing a time of being still will help you learn to listen for God’s still small voice and when He speaks through His Word. Since listening is critical for ensuring that our hearts are soft and open to divine guidance in every situation, it is imperative we learn to be still in God’s presence.

We must ask the Lord to teach us to hear Him and then work at having a quiet heart and attitude in life.

“Be still and know that I am God.”

DEBORAH STARCZEWSKI