Be still… What a concept in today’s environment of
information attacking us all the time. Even while I write this my phone keeps
going off, I have emails coming in and people around me that want to talk. We
are surrounded by distractions almost every moment of every day. It is hard to
carry on a conversation with somebody without one of you being distracted by
something. With everything today coming in short bits of information we are
loosing the ability to sit and focus on something in depth. Also with the high
speed in which we can access information we are losing the ability to wait for
anything. If we want something we can
order it, download it, buy it, sync it, or search it, and have it delivered
right now and there is no waiting involved. Sure this transition to faster and
faster consumer goods and information may make our life easier, but it can have
serious consequences when we have that mentality in our Christian walk. The Christian life is not about instant fixes
on areas that we are lacking, but rather a lifetime of consistently seeking
after the heart of God and drawing near to Him. Drawing close to God requires
more than tweet sized bites of scripture and a quick prayer before we eat. It
requires a heart that yearns for Christ.
I believe few have understood what it means to be in
constant community with the Father as well as David did. The psalms are full of his yearning and
pleading with God to be his guide and deliverer through life, because He
understood with out Him his life is not worth living. He writes in Psalm 37:7 “Be still before the
Lord and wait patiently for him.” We are so used to not having to wait on
anything that this can almost come across as a strange concept. Moses told the
Israelites in Exodus 14:14 “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be
still.” My first instinct in the situation would be to try and do something on
my own power. My life is in danger and you are telling me to just wait and be
vulnerable to whatever may come? The Egyptians who enslaved them for so many years
were chasing after them and the Lord’s command to the Israelites was to be
still and watch as He fought for them.
The same God who parted the red sea, who protected Paul from
the venomous snake, who delivered David from Saul, who hid Elijah away from the
prophets of Baal, this God is the same source of strength and deliverance for
us today when we trust in Him. “Be still and know that I am God,” He commands
us. Be still and know that He is the heavenly Father who loves to bless His
children. Be still and know that His love is relentless and unchanging. Be
still and know that He takes our feeble efforts and uses them to advance His
kingdom. Be still and know that He heals the broken hearted. Be still and know
the He gives strength to the weak and courage to the faint of heart. Be still
and know that His grace is enough. Be still because He is worthy to receive
honor and glory forever and ever. This is the God that we serve and who desires
us trust Him so much that we stop trying to do things in our own power and in
our own way and rely on his timing and his perfect plan.
I pray that in our busy lives that are filled with distractions
we would come before our Savior and be still because He is worthy.
“Lord, I want to yearn for You
I want to burn with passion
Over You
And only You”
- Shane and Shane
