Being Still

I grew up embracing the Americanism, "Don't stand there, do something!"  And, I certainly agree that there are times when swift, decisive action is warranted.  But so many other times it is slow, deliberate inaction that is needed.  There are times when, instead of flapping about "like a chicken with it's head cut off," we need to be at peace - still before the Lord.

Often times, the hardest thing to do is nothing.  We are so prone to activity that to be still seems to be more than we can do.  We feel the need to do something, anything.  And yet, in times when we are at or wit's end, we are not called to frantic activity.  Instead, we are called to remember "what the Lord has done" (Ps 46:8) and then “Be still, and know that I am God" (v. 10).

Against all the clamouring to take charge and do something before it is too late, the Spirit bids us "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret" (Ps 37:7).  This is where we tend to find ourselves when things are out of control, larger than life, to much to handle - we pace, wring our hands and fret - just at the time when our Lord is calling out of the storm, "Peace, be still."

The problem is that the noises in our heads, accompanying our fears, our insecurities and our feelings of inadequacies, are too loud to hear His voice calling us to be still.  Our "fight or flight" response kicks in over and against our "faith not sight" response, which God is calling us to, and we are not listening for the Lord, we are not waiting for the Lord, we are not resting in the Lord.

Am I singing your song?  I know that I am singing the song of my people, the American, hyper-active, overly anxious, got to do something People.  But, is it your song too?  Are you, despite your faith in God, fretting about your future?  Are you wringing your hands in care instead of clasping them together in prayer?

I'm not suggesting that we sit back, fold our arms across our chests and say, "OK God, you take over and when I can see that you've got everything worked out, I start engaging again."  Rather, I am saying that in the middle of the turmoil that you rest in our spirit, moving forward knowing God will see you through, not waiting for everything to be resolved first.  I am suggesting that we "live by faith, not by sight" (2 Cor 5:7).

Do you recall the biblical narrative of when Israel crossed over the Jordan River to the Promised Land?  The river was at flood stage, the people were to cross it on dry land but they did not wait for the river bed to be opened.  They began marching toward it as God directed and "as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing" (Josh 3:15-16).

Being still is not being motionless, it is being at peace, at rest in your soul.  It is to be able to move forward without fretting, without having fixed every problem beforehand, without having to see your way clear.  It is to move forward, knowing by faith that God will make a way, that he "will not leave us as orphans" (Jn 14:18).  Be still in your heart, God's got this.  Jus' Say'n.