Psalm 46 - "Still"

This picture says it all.  If we get so caught up in "doing life" instead of allowing the Lord to lead us through it, we will miss the opportunities to be Him to others.  How can we hear from Him when we are always the one talking as we prayer?  How can He share with us His heart when we are always asking Him for this or that?  How can we even know the desires of His heart when we are too busy taking care of everything on our to-do list?  Plain and simple.  We can't.  We must be listening to Him with open ears, an open mind and most of all an open heart.  We must do as Psalm 46 directs of us…"be still"...

Psalm 46

1 God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quake with their surging.

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
    God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
    he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

7 The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

8 Come and see what the Lord has done,
    the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease
    to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    he burns the shields with fire.
10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.”

11 The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Verse ten is the key verse in this section of scripture.  It instructs to let go of everything in life, to be quiet and to be physically and mentally still.  Both physical and mental stillness can be hard to find but many times the mental stillness is the hardest.  We may be able to stop our physical bodies but the mind just keeps going and going.  Our mind keeps thinking about everything that needs done or people who we need to see.  Instead we need to follow the advice of this scripture and be completely still.

It is only in stillness that we can hear from the Lord.  That stillness doesn't always have to be in a physical stillness but we definitely have to be still at times.  He can and does speak to us as we are moving but only if we've been still in His presence beforehand.  There are some awesome things that happen in our lives when we are still before the Lord.  Our faith will grow in abundance.  We will be undone before Him.  When we are still before Him we will...

• recognize His voice
• hear more of His direction
• storms will be easier to get through
• realize a fraction of just how great the Lord is
• find it easier to live in His presence
• be blessed with His peace
• throw away our "to-do" list and allow Him to guide our steps
• be the hands and feet of Jesus in a whole new way

I love the words to a song Hillsong sings called "Still"…

When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with you above the storm
Father You are King over the flood
I will be still and
know You are God

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for teaching me that it's OK to be "Still."  Thank You for loving me enough to get my attention to this discipline in my relationship with You.  Father, I pray for more stillness in not only my own life but in the life of others.  I pray those going through storms of life to find You and to rely on Your strength.  I pray for them to be "Still" before You.  Lord, guide their thoughts…guide their words…guide their actions.  Father, I also pray for more of You and less of me so I may know exactly how to minister to people going through storms.  I pray You will speak so clearly that I will not have any doubt on what I am to do or even what I'm not to do for them.  Lord, Doc talked yesterday about the craziness of this season and it's so true.  People get so caught up in everything that have to do and forget the most important thing is to live a life with You in the center of it.  Father, I pray for more people to surrender to You and to realize the desires of Your heart need to be the desires of their heart.  Thank You Jesus for being My Stillness.  Amen.