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Be Still
by Jennifer Champion Be still, and know that I am God. (Psalm 46:10 ESV) I am never still except for a few hours at night when I decide to sleep. When I wake up, I am writing. Then I am getting children ready for the day. I am driving here and there. I am at work in an office and I am at work in the field. I am cooking, cleaning, reading, planning, speaking, and helping. I am never still. Although the beauty and necessity of stillness rarely takes over my body, am I doing it all wrong? I am not going to be so prideful and say a resounding "no." Instead, I am going to look towards God in his holy word, the bible and seek the answer. In Lamentations, we are told that it is good to quietly wait for the Lord. Psalm 62 tells us to wait in silence on the Lord. Proverbs tells us that even a fool keeps his mouth shut and a silent person seems intelligent. In Job, we are told men kept silent and waited on the Lord's counsel. Matthew tells us that if you have ears, you better listen. It is hard to really listen when you are talking so much. Proverbs and Romans go on to further explain that one must listen and that faith is through hearing. Over thirty times in the bible, I found reference to how we must wait patiently on the Lord in silence. We are to be still. I thought about a dog waiting on a treat. You tell the dog to sit and if he does, he will be rewarded. We are like that too. Now, God isn't telling us to be lazy and just sit on our lazy bottoms all day but he is telling us to simmer down some. For example, there are many people that fully vent their anger and frustrations on social media. All of Facebook doesn't need to know your business. Instead, be quiet and wait. When someone is trying to get push your buttons so you will blow your top, be quiet and wait. When there is a problem so huge that you don't how you will get through it, be quiet and wait. When you pray to the Lord, believe it, pray it and then be quiet and wait. Learn to listen for what God is telling you. He is the wisest counsel of them all and he will never get it wrong. Dear Lord, please help me to slow down a little and be quiet and wait. I thank you for giving to me all that I have and for being with me as I do all that I do. Teach me to be still so that I can fully know you. Amen. Jennifer Rubino Champion is actively involved in prison and jail ministry in Central and West Alabama. She and her husband Patrick have five children and a fur baby, Maggie. She is an author and artist and you can visit her website at www.jenniferchampion.com Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |