Be Still

Be still and know that I am God.

These words scream at me from the page. I read them and reread them and know that A.W. Tozer was right. God didn't just speak the Bible into being; He is still speaking. He is speaking to me.

But me? Be still? Are you sure God?

I have dramatic thoughts. I think too much. I think too often. I overanalyze the thoughts that pile into more thoughts, into more thoughts, that I can't even wade my way back to that one unassuming first thought. My mind is like a gerbil on a treadmill. My future is like a wide open field. There are fears lurking at every corner. Be still? Me? I wasn't made to be still.

And so I learn. Be still and know. It's becoming a choice. Every time I read the God speak of the 46th Psalm, I hear those four words becoming my breath prayers. I balance a multitude of worries, an army of 'what ifs', a horde of excess thoughts.. until I find the one my heart rests in. Be still, my child, God whispers to me. Be still, my child, God shouts to me. Be still, my child, God sings to me. I hear you! I hear you!

But God, what does it look like to be still and know?

I start with worship. Our response. Our worship is our response. Our response is our worship. My friend Andy told me and a theatre full of others that every thing, every moment is an act of worship. We have a choice to see things, situations, roadblocks as opportunities to live out how we were created to be : worshippers of God.

Every moment is an opportunity.

To be content or to grumble.

To display godliness or ungodliness.

To worship God or ourselves.

To be still and know or to worry and distrust.

As my friend's words wash over me and I reflect on the car ride home, I think about my opportunities. My opportunities to worship, give thanks, whisper humble prayers of gratefulness throughout my days. And I keep coming back to being still. Is that my opportunity? Is that my worship? Is that my response? Am I choosing God, choosing trust, choosing life when I decide to be still and know that He is who He says He is? A great, mighty, powerful, righteous, redeeming, loving, sovereign, good, good, good God.

It's a choice to be still. I am worshipping God when I am still and trust fall back into His goodness.

But what does it look like?

Living with arms wide open. Trusting when that path is oh so dark. Disciplining myself in making every moment an opportunity to give thanks and know God. Whispering prayers. Swimming in the transcending peace of God. Closing my eyes in the midst of chaos, disaster, swirling whirling distracting thoughts and hearing the thundering voice of God : BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.

Satan, you don't stand a chance when I rest still in the knowledge of who God is. I rest still, think still, be still and count each moment as goodness, as a moment for God to be exalted, as a moment to choose to worship Him, a moment to honor the work of the Son on the cross.. and then I step forward into His light.

I hear Him. He's still speaking to me..

Rest still. Be still. Know still. That I am good. And I am God.