"Be Still"

"Cease striving and know that I am God" Psalm 46:10

I’ve always understood this verse to mean "be still", and rightly so as a result of the translated version that I've been using.

I don’t know about you, but my numerous attempts to “be still”, have proven to be extremely challenging. As I’ve matured physically and spiritually, I’ve discovered and learned to meditate, consequently making it much easier. Through practice and increased understanding, I have discovered a greater degree of peace in the process.

When faced with mounting pressure and anxiety I find myself quickly, more frequently and somewhat effortlessly gravitating to, as I’ve come to harness the incredible benefit of simply following Gods instructions.

Let’s face it, I'm pretty confident that you are most likely aware that in the midst of adversity and the many challenges that we face in our lives being still, oftentimes is typically not our "go to".

What Does This Verse Mean?

As God addresses Israel, He is not just telling them to “be still” or “rest”. If this is written during a time of war, which it most likely is, God is commanding them to “stop fighting” and open their eyes to who He is. In some translations, it is phrased “cease striving.”

It’s easy to be fearful when things aren’t going well or when we are faced with challenges and conflict in our life. In the midst of their struggle, however, God tells His people to WAKE UP, and recognize who’s on their side.

I love that God tells us to “wake up”! This denotes to me that we are sometimes asleep and not walking by the spirit. We all have tendency to veer off to the left or right and not stay within the white lines. This is why it is imperative to seek God continually, consistently cultivating our relationship with Him. I know that for me, there have been countless times on my journey that I have drifted far away into what I may have believed were greener pastures, only to suddenly be awakened by God beckoning me to get back on track.

Even as I am writing now, I am facing some really big challenges that put me right in the driver’s seat with regards to having to once again make the choice to “be still”, “to cease striving.” I have trained myself to know without a doubt that I am not responsible for the outcome. My job is to meditate on His word, trust and “know that He is God”.

There is absolutely no benefit whatsoever in worrying which for me always results in me writing and meditating on unfavorable outcomes in my mind and from my past experiences, are predictably made manifest. The opposite is quite true as well.  As we intentionally remove ourselves and our amazing ability to “work things out”, and rely on His power to get us to the other side, we cease striving.

I will not make light of this because it’s not an overnight thing. But it is certainly attainable, if we remain committed to, and trust the process. Unfortunately, we oftentimes must endure a few shipwrecks before we learn to quickly drop our anchor far away from the craggy rocks and cast our entire mustard seed, chips, cards, life and tee shirts on the [ONLY] true Rock of our Salvation.

For many of us, the lines are often blurry between striving and trusting. It is not difficult to convince ourselves and find comfort in believing that we are trusting God, as we forge ahead building our marriages, relationships, careers , ministries and a myriad of other noteworthy endeavors.

The downside in us not recognizing this, is that we burn the candle from both ends and the inevitable ensues. Burn out, stress, anxiety, depression to mention just a few of the “rewards”, we attain all the while having drank from the cup of deception. Not aware ourselves that we were deceived.

We live in an upside-down Kingdom, and all too often we employ worldly strategies to overcome spiritual obstacles, that can only result in victory through divine intervention.

I will go out on a limb and presume that you are facing some real-life challenges today. It’s not unlikely or uncommon that you are struggling to let go and trust God. You have most likely felt like you’ve been let down or abandoned by God in the past when you trusted HIM in the midst of a very trying situation.

Take a deep breath and relax. Don’t complicate things. Just make the choice again to trust Him against all odds. I know that it’s easier said than done. But at the end of the day, it can be done and His grace is available at this very moment if you just choose.

It will always be our choice.  

The beauty is that once we make that choice, His grace is immediately activated to once again amaze us, so that even in the midst of life's storms, we can “be still and know that He is God.”