Be Still



Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still.”
Exodus 14:13-14
 
“Be still.” Say it out loud. “Be still.” If you have children or work with children you probably say those words fairly often and then cannot understand why the child isn't still. Now, personalize it, add your own name after the “be still.” Hm.... maybe you're beginning to understand the kid a little better.

It isn't easy to be still or do nothing or wait. For most of us it is our nature to be active. So we pray and then we take action, not waiting for God to speak to us, direct us or just take care of the matter Himself. After all, “the Lord helps those who help themselves” right? Wrong! So, so very wrong. If right now you're thinking “but that's from the Bible!” I assure you it is not.

One of the hardest things God can ask us to do is nothing. To be still and wait often feels impossible. Ohhhh how we hate do nothing. If we read both verses above from Exodus we can see that it is a very active waiting or stillness. We may not be moving or doing anything but then again we are called to do something. We're called to “stand firm.” Also a difficult directive.

When life is hard or tumultuous we want to change it, fix it or bolt from it. That is often when God asks us to stand firm, trust Him and wait to see what He's going to do. It's so passive and yet so strong. It is not easy to trust anyone else to take care of a problem or need that we have but when we're talking about God we can be sure that He has our best interest at heart.

Lately I've been praying the same few prayers over and over and over and.... well, I'm sure you get it. I'm waiting, trying very hard to stand firm and harder still to be still. Just this past week I really thought I couldn't do it one more second. Then God met me in my need. He spoke to my heart and showed me that His timing is perfect but that I'd better pay attention and look for what He's doing. In case I missed the urgency or power of that message, He showed me the verses from Exodus just this morning.

God knows what is right and best. He's willing to fight our battles for us and deliver us if we just stand firm and be still.

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