Be Still

“Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).

Every Tuesday night, our church has prayer service, followed by a short teaching from our pastor or a guest. Recently, our pastor taught on the above verse, and as he was teaching, the Lord told me to look up the word “still.” Then the Spirit of God quickly downloaded the following revelation into my heart.

Interestingly, that very same morning prior to the evening service, I had spent time studying the Bible, praying, and worshipping and singing to the Lord. When I finished, He said, “I want you to be quiet (still) before Me, because I have things to say to you.” As I sat in tranquil silence, His Spirit began to counsel and reveal deep truths that ministered to my spirit. It was such a sweet time of fellowship.

That evening after church, I meditated on Psalm 46:10 and began to have a clearer vision of God’s heart and what He wants for us. “Be” is an imperative verb that gives a command. God is not asking us to be still. He is commanding us to be still for our own spiritual, mental, and physical health and well-being. Therefore, the definition of “still” gives new meaning to what God requires of us – to be calm, quiet, and tranquil.

God is relational and desires fellowship with us. That was His purpose in creating man. Unfortunately, we are so busy with our active lives that we have a tendency to spend less time in His Word, prayer, and fellowship. If we manage to slow down, do we sit with an attitude of calm, quiet tranquility and rest, and wait patiently for God’s Spirit to speak to our heart? Or are our thoughts diverted to all the things we think we should be doing?

You may say, “Oh, I have tried listening for God to speak to me, but I don’t hear anything.” God says, “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13). So, are we really seeking God with all of our heart, or are we spending a few hurried minutes in prayer before we begin our day?

God knows that stress is the root of many illnesses. We become so busy and preoccupied with all those things that require our attention, that we end up with an over-scheduled life that distracts us from the things of God.

Most of us are hurried and often overwhelmed by the demands, commitments, and stressors that come with living life. If we are not careful, those things can lead to frustration, anxiety, and too often, unmanaged stress. I have discovered in my life, that if I fail to take the necessary time to be still before the Lord, my stress level increases as I attempt to juggle multiple writing projects and self-imposed deadlines.

God tells us to be still long enough to hear from Him, for He says, “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” “Cast all your anxieties on Me, because I care for you.” “Call to Me and I will answer you and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you” (Matthew 11:28; I Peter 5:7; Jeremiah 33:3; Psalm 32:8-9). Just look at all the wonderful benefits we receive when we spend time with Him.

Psalm 46:10 continues, “Be still…and know that I am God.” In other words, “I am sovereign and unchanging. There is nothing impossible for Me.” Jesus said this about His Father, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).

Abraham asked God how it was possible for Sarah to conceive a child in their old age. God responded, “Is anything too difficult for the LORD?” (Genesis 18:14).

Job who suffered greatly, finally understood the Person and power of God. He said to Him, “I know that You can do all things; no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures My plans without knowledge?’ Surely, I spoke of things I did not understand, things to wonderful for me to know. You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ My ears had heard of You but now my eyes have seen You” (Job 42: 2-6).

Even though Job was blameless, upright, feared God, and shunned evil, he initially did not have a relationship with Him. He had heard about God, but he had not experienced Him with his heart.

God wants us to not just hear about Him; He wants us to personally know Him. And that cannot happen unless we are still before Him…seeking Him with all our heart and investing time in prayer and His Word.

How do we communicate with God? Jesus answered that question, “The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26). “Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groaning too deep for words” (Romans 8:25). “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (Romans 8:14).

“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (I Corinthians 2:14). That is why we must be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and be led by Him, because the flesh will always try to lead us away from Him.

We need to be still before God and know that there is nothing that we bring before Him that He doesn’t already know and have a solution. “For He is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20). And that power is the power of the Holy Spirit.

When we invite the Person of the Holy Spirit to dwell within us, we have an open exchange between God’s Spirit and our spirit. That allows an intimate, two-way radio connection between us and our heavenly Father.

The Lord says, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). “Be still and know that I am God.” He wants to be that loving, soothing, comforter, counselor, and oasis where we can recharge and share our heart with Him. For He is the One who formed us in our mother’s womb and knew us before we were born (Jeremiah 1:5). What better person to spend time with than the One who created us and knows us intimately?

PRAYER: FATHER, help me prioritize time for You and be still, so that I may find peace and tranquility in Your presence. I am so used to being in perpetual motion, that it is difficult to stop, even for my own sake. I invite Your Spirit to fill me to overflowing, so that we may enjoy sweet fellowship as I learn from You. In Jesus’ name, amen.