Be Still

Scripture:

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

Devotional:

In a world where the chaos of continual motion has become normal, we desperately need times spent simply being still. Maybe the most powerful declaration we can make to God, others, and ourselves that everything is going to be okay is to choose to be still. The pathway to a peaceful life is filled with rest stops along the way where our loving Father is beckoning us to simply come be still before him.

I often let far too much of the world’s way of thinking into my theology. I feel bad if I take a minute to stop working. There’s always someone else to reach out to. There’s always something else I can do. There’s always a problem to fix, a book to read, a song to write, a YouVersion plan to brainstorm. But what am I doing any of that for if I’m not doing it refreshed and in God’s strength? What do I have to offer if I’m always burnt out and tired? What does it say to others about the God that is supposedly leading me if my fingers are always worked to the bone?

And all the while God is speaking to our hearts the powerful words of Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” He alone is God. He will be exalted. It’s not on me. It’s not even really about me. This is all his deal. When I don’t take time to stop working and remember that, I so easily make it all about me. I need to experience God’s presence in the stillness to learn to have the faith to experience his presence in the chaos.

Choosing to be still requires faith. It requires trust. It requires taking ourselves out of the center of everything and putting God there instead. But it is a practice foundational to living with the fruit of the Spirit as Galatians 5 commands us. It is a practice fundamental to being worshipful rather than trying to do worship. And it is a discipline that yields more fruit than we could ever imagine. It’s the foundational act on which all fruit grows. It is the act of choosing to abide rather than strive. And as John 15 promises, when we abide we will bear “much fruit,” and “our joy will be full” (John 15:5, 11)

Let’s take time today to do the single most counter-cultural thing we could do, and be still. Let’s choose to declare that God is advancing his kingdom. He is doing the work. He is molding us and shaping us and using us. The weight is on him. We merely get to join in the work as he sees fit. And as our leader, as our King, as our Good Shepherd, he says to take time to “be still.”

Guided Prayer:

Meditate on Psalm 46:10. Allow the power of God’s word to stir your faith to rest and be still.

“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

Take five minutes and be still. Choose not to speak or write. Choose not to plan or fill your time. Choose rest and faith. And in the stillness recognize the power, plans and perfect leadership of God.
What did it feel like to be still? What did you learn in the stillness? Take just a few moments to reflect on the fruit that stillness can bear that your experience today might serve as a marker you can look back on.

There’s something so different and powerful about experiencing God’s presence in stillness. He is so real and his presence is so available. We’re often just too busy to notice it. Making space to be still every morning is a powerful way to choose a lifestyle of abiding in God. It’s a powerful reminder that we are merely joining God where he is already at work. And from that place of peace and proper understanding, our lives will bear incredible fruit. Stillness a wonderful gift of prayer and a wonderful way to experience the life-giving presence of God. Commit to spending a few minutes every morning simply being still, and discover that God is working all around you and in you to lead you to a lifestyle of experiencing his presence.