Be Still
Life has been extremely busy lately and I have had a hard time squeezing in time for my Bible study and prayer time. I often need the reminder of a bookmark in my Bible that says,
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him... (Psalm 37:7).
A familiar verse, but something about it caught my attention as I opened my Bible. Maybe it was the picture of the two empty rockers that beckoned me as though they were waiting for me to sit in one and invite the Lord to sit in the other.
Be still. Hmm. I can be still to read or knit or create cards or play computer games for hours, but sometimes I just can’t seem to still my mind, to empty it of all the many things I have to do or would like to do—or even those things I know I should have done. Multi-tasking has become a way of life. Somehow, I don't think multi-tasking fits with the admonition to be still. Instead, it's indicative of the frenetic pace at which I live my life, at which most of us live our lives.
Be still. Just what does that look like? I studied those two empty, unmoving rockers. Then I just sat quietly for a few moments, asking God to help me empty my mind relax, to teach me how to be still. Turning to Psalm 37, I read the verse in context, quiet and receptive to what God would show me. "Be still before the Lord..." in the NIV and the ESV; "Rest in the Lord..." in the King James and New American Standard versions.
But when I think, be still, I tend to finish the thought with Psalm 46:10—"Be still and know that I am God." Yet another verse, Psalm 4:4 says: "Ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent"—or "be still" according to the King James and New American Standard. And the NIV translates that verse, "When you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent." This speaks to me of the contrast between my God and me, between my sinfulness, my unworthiness, and His holiness. And my need to be aware of that contrast. And my need for confession
So Be Still contains an element of all of these: stillness, rest, pondering, and silence. A silence that keeps the world from clamoring at the door of my mind while I seek to "wait patiently for Him", while I take time to recognize—to know—that He is Almighty God, while I search my heart.
How wonderful to realize that when I am still before the Lord, when I wait patiently for Him, when I recognize Him as holy, Almighty God, when I search my heart and meditate on His Word, the rest of the instructions in Psalm 37 are not only obvious but easy! I don’t need to fret (verse 1); I can trust in the Lord and do good (verse 3); I do delight myself in Him (verse 4); and I can commit my way to Him wholeheartedly, knowing He will act—in His way, in His time (verse 5).
Reading these three Psalms, I am struck by the sense of peace in the midst of difficulties—peace that results from being still, from resting, from pondering, from knowing. In Psalm 4, David is asking for relief from his distress and wondering how long his honor will be turned into shame. Then, in his silence before God, he is able to say in verse 7: "You have put more joy in my heart than they [his enemies] have when their grain and wine abound."
Psalm 37 begins with "fret not yourself because of evildoers" and continues with many comparisons of the wicked and the righteous. David notes how often the wicked seem to have so much more than the righteous, but also says "Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous" (verses 16,17). Obviously, he believes being upheld by God is of far greater worth than wealth or even power. Not only that, being righteous has eternal value, while the abundance of this life is temporal at best.
How can he say that? Because he has stilled himself before God, trusting God, delighting himself in God, committing his ways to God and being willing to wait patiently for God to act. Skipping down to verse 34, David once again admonishes us to "Wait for the Lord and keep His way." Finally, he triumphantly states, "The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble" (verse 39).
The writer of Psalm 46, however, begins right away with: "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling" (verses 1-3) Those are mighty major troubles! Yet the admonition is to "Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"
It’s all about God, not about me or my struggles or the unfairness I perceive in this world. God will be exalted, whether people accept Him or not. Throughout the Old Testament, we read, "Then they will know that I am the Lord." That has always been God's desire—that all peoples know and recognize Him as the Lord. And maybe today some one will "know that He is the Lord" because of me, because I have learned to take the time to be still before God.
Only when I am still, only when I shut out the cacophony of the world, only when I sit at the feet of Jesus, can I know in a very deep, intimate way that God is the Lord, that He will be exalted. It is that quiet time with God that prepares me for my personal storms. I won’t always be able to get away to that silent place, but my soul can be at rest in the midst of turmoil because I have habitually taken the time to be still before the Lord— to wait, to ponder, to search my heart, to know that He is God.
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him... (Psalm 37:7).
A familiar verse, but something about it caught my attention as I opened my Bible. Maybe it was the picture of the two empty rockers that beckoned me as though they were waiting for me to sit in one and invite the Lord to sit in the other.
Be still. Hmm. I can be still to read or knit or create cards or play computer games for hours, but sometimes I just can’t seem to still my mind, to empty it of all the many things I have to do or would like to do—or even those things I know I should have done. Multi-tasking has become a way of life. Somehow, I don't think multi-tasking fits with the admonition to be still. Instead, it's indicative of the frenetic pace at which I live my life, at which most of us live our lives.
Be still. Just what does that look like? I studied those two empty, unmoving rockers. Then I just sat quietly for a few moments, asking God to help me empty my mind relax, to teach me how to be still. Turning to Psalm 37, I read the verse in context, quiet and receptive to what God would show me. "Be still before the Lord..." in the NIV and the ESV; "Rest in the Lord..." in the King James and New American Standard versions.
But when I think, be still, I tend to finish the thought with Psalm 46:10—"Be still and know that I am God." Yet another verse, Psalm 4:4 says: "Ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent"—or "be still" according to the King James and New American Standard. And the NIV translates that verse, "When you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent." This speaks to me of the contrast between my God and me, between my sinfulness, my unworthiness, and His holiness. And my need to be aware of that contrast. And my need for confession
So Be Still contains an element of all of these: stillness, rest, pondering, and silence. A silence that keeps the world from clamoring at the door of my mind while I seek to "wait patiently for Him", while I take time to recognize—to know—that He is Almighty God, while I search my heart.
How wonderful to realize that when I am still before the Lord, when I wait patiently for Him, when I recognize Him as holy, Almighty God, when I search my heart and meditate on His Word, the rest of the instructions in Psalm 37 are not only obvious but easy! I don’t need to fret (verse 1); I can trust in the Lord and do good (verse 3); I do delight myself in Him (verse 4); and I can commit my way to Him wholeheartedly, knowing He will act—in His way, in His time (verse 5).
Reading these three Psalms, I am struck by the sense of peace in the midst of difficulties—peace that results from being still, from resting, from pondering, from knowing. In Psalm 4, David is asking for relief from his distress and wondering how long his honor will be turned into shame. Then, in his silence before God, he is able to say in verse 7: "You have put more joy in my heart than they [his enemies] have when their grain and wine abound."
Psalm 37 begins with "fret not yourself because of evildoers" and continues with many comparisons of the wicked and the righteous. David notes how often the wicked seem to have so much more than the righteous, but also says "Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous" (verses 16,17). Obviously, he believes being upheld by God is of far greater worth than wealth or even power. Not only that, being righteous has eternal value, while the abundance of this life is temporal at best.
How can he say that? Because he has stilled himself before God, trusting God, delighting himself in God, committing his ways to God and being willing to wait patiently for God to act. Skipping down to verse 34, David once again admonishes us to "Wait for the Lord and keep His way." Finally, he triumphantly states, "The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble" (verse 39).
The writer of Psalm 46, however, begins right away with: "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling" (verses 1-3) Those are mighty major troubles! Yet the admonition is to "Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"
It’s all about God, not about me or my struggles or the unfairness I perceive in this world. God will be exalted, whether people accept Him or not. Throughout the Old Testament, we read, "Then they will know that I am the Lord." That has always been God's desire—that all peoples know and recognize Him as the Lord. And maybe today some one will "know that He is the Lord" because of me, because I have learned to take the time to be still before God.
Only when I am still, only when I shut out the cacophony of the world, only when I sit at the feet of Jesus, can I know in a very deep, intimate way that God is the Lord, that He will be exalted. It is that quiet time with God that prepares me for my personal storms. I won’t always be able to get away to that silent place, but my soul can be at rest in the midst of turmoil because I have habitually taken the time to be still before the Lord— to wait, to ponder, to search my heart, to know that He is God.
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