BE STILL

“Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” Psalm 46:10

A lot of us are praying to God, calling on God night and day for God’s help, God’s presence, God’s protection, God’s intervention in our situation. But there’s something else we are doing alongside praying and that is worrying. We are praying, at the same time we are troubled, disturbed, agitated and afraid about the very things we are praying to God about. Philippians 4:6 says “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” Prayer is actually to replace worry not to work in conjunction with worry.

Today God’s word to you and I is BE STILL. In Psalm 46:10, God says Be still.

What does it mean to be still?

To be still means stop fretting, don’t worry, don’t be anxious, don’t be disturbed. Don’t go into panic mood. Calm down, relax, God is exalted among the nations, God is exalted in the earth; God is high above everyone and everything, God is higher than any situation taking place in the earth, God is on top of any situation you are facing today.

Be still means replace fear of your situation with trust in God’s ability and capability. It means don’t be afraid of what you see with your physical eyes or what you hear, put your trust in God who is bigger than what you see and hear. It is changing our thinking and confession from I’m afraid I will lose this pregnancy if you happen to be pregnant for example, or I’m afraid I will never get married at my age, or I’m afraid I won’t survive this sickness, I’m afraid my marriage, my business will crash, to I trust God to give me victory in this situation. Be still means switch from fear to faith.

Be still means when you have prayed about it, when you have committed it to God, then allow God meet your needs in His own way, allow God handle that situation or problem before you in His own way. When the Israelites had the Red Sea before them and Pharaoh and the Egyptians behind them, it wasn’t like they didn’t have options. They could have accepted defeat and just surrendered to the Egyptians or they could have started fighting the Egyptians or out of fear of the Egyptians, they could have run into the Red Sea and then drowned. But God told them “Don’t be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.” (Exodus 14:13). God telling them stand still meant don’t be wise in your own eyes, don’t lean on your own understanding of the situation, allow Me handle this situation in my own way.

Be still means be patient and trust God’s timing. Even when you have prayed about something and it appears God is taking forever to answer you, His answer isn’t coming as fast as you want it to, don’t go ahead of God. He makes all things beautiful in His own time (Ecclesiastes 3: 11) not in our own time, not when we feel is the best time to have or do something or be somewhere. You could be in a hurry to board a flight and the flight is delayed. You are upset, irritated, making a big fuss about the delay and creating a scene. But the delay could be God’s way of preventing you from something disastrous. You planned to get married this year and everything seems to be going according to plans, only for your fiancé to break up with you a month or two months to the day of your wedding. You are upset, shattered and heartbroken. But you can’t see ahead, you can’t see how miserable you will be if you end up marrying that person. Not every delay in the place of prayer is a Prince of Persia; a demonic force or being standing in the way of your answer. Some waits we go through in life, are divinely orchestrated. God works with His timing not ours. God out of His great love for us doesn’t want things to follow our own time, our own calendar knowing that if He leaves things to go according to our own time, it won’t bring something beautiful into our lives, but something ugly and nasty.

Be still means be quiet and listen to God. Imagine you are in a record studio. The drums are beating, the saxophone is playing, the bass guitar is on, people are singing loudly and someone comes to whisper something in your ear in a very low tone. Are you likely to hear what the person said? No, because there’s so much noise around you. One of the way God speaks is through a gentle whisper; a still small voice (1 Kings 19:11). If there’s so much noise around us, it’s hard to hear what God is saying to us. We need to turn off all the noise that keeps us from hearing God. We need to cut off all distractions that won’t allow us hear God minister to us and speak to our heart as we pray. For some people, the noise you may have to turn off is the noise of social media that takes so much of your time, or the noise of attending one event after the other, or the noise of your career, business, family life and responsibilities that you are so engrossed in that you don’t have time for God, or it could be the noise of your TV, or even the noise of your mind; the rumblings of fear, anger and disappointment in your mind.

Be still means focus on God. It’s easy to be still when the situation before you is still. But how can you be still; be calm and quiet before God when the situation you are praying about doesn’t seem to have changed or improved. You can’t be still if you are focusing on a problem or need in your life. You can only be still by turning Your focus from what you need or what you are going through to God. If you have a financial need or problem and the money in your account isn’t enough to meet that need, staring at or thinking about your bank balance will make you agitated not still. But focusing on who God is and what God says will boost your faith and calm your fears.

God’s word says be still and know. Knowing God brings stillness to our heart. For us to be still, we must know in our heart not in our head that God is who He says He is. A Great Physician, a Storm Calmer, a Mighty Man in Battle, a Strong Tower, a Friend that sticks closer than a brother, a God that can change times and seasons, a God that can do exceedingly abundantly above what we ask or imagine. A God that never fails or disappoints those who trust in Him, a God that nothing, absolutely nothing is too difficult for Him to do.

Why Should We Be Still?

Habakkuk 2:20 says “But the Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him.” Silence is a form of stillness. The reason why we should be silent, we should be calm before God is that God is in His temple. What is the relevance of this information to you and I? The temple of God is where God operates from. It is God’s seat of power. It is where you behold God is His splendor, power, glory, beauty and majesty, which was what Isaiah experienced in Isaiah 6:1-4. God telling us He is in His temple is like God saying I am in my office, I am on my seat working. God is not in bed taking a nap or resting, He hasn’t gone on vacation, He is not on leave. He is in His temple; He is in His office working; He is attending to the case files before Him, the requests people have written and sent to Him.

So if you have prayed about it, if you have committed it to God, then be silent; stop complaining and murmuring about the situation. Be calm, your case file is before God Almighty, He is aware of your situation, He is aware of what you are going through, your request is being attended do. Be still; don’t fret, don’t worry. Relax, God is working; God is working out all things for your good.

PRAYER

Lord, help me to be still before you. Replace fear with faith, replace worry with your peace that surpasses human understanding. Strengthen my heart, build up my confidence in your power and ability, and give me the assurance that all is well because You are seated on Your throne of glory in charge and in control of everything that concerns me. This I pray in Jesus mighty name. Amen!

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