Stand Still

Being still is a challenge for me. I fidget and my mind races with many thoughts. The sad part is, I don’t really know what it’s like being in the present. Always thinking ahead, always replaying the parts of the past. I miss many things happening in the here and now. In conversations I am thinking ahead as the person is speaking. Thus missing part of the conversation or not truly comprehending the message the other person is delivering. Unfortunately, this includes God. How much from God am I missing out on? What about you? Can you relate to what I’m saying?

We are to be still and know God. Several places in Scripture speak of being still. “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (Exodus 14:14). “Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10). “Now then, stand still and see this great thing the Lord is about to do before your eyes! (1 Samuel 12:16). These three verses give us the advantages of being still. First, God will fight for us. We don’t have to be busy all the time. In fact, our busyness gets in God’s way. It’s not that God isn’t fighting for us, it’s that we are busy doing it our way, so we do experience God fighting for us. We need to stand still and get out of God’s way. The battle belongs to the Lord (2 Chronicles 20:15).

Psalm 46:10 says, to be still and know God. We miss out on knowing God better when we are not still. Our racing minds and our being busy all the time keeps us seeing God. God wants us to know Him. He invites us to sit still and experience what He has for us. Our knowledge of God is limited because we don’t take the time to be still in His presence. Rush around and racing thoughts play right into the enemy’s hand. Our enemy, Satan, wants us to be distracted. He wants us to focus on anything other than God. When we are still before God, we are standing up to our enemy. So, we need to be still and let God do His thing. In allowing God to do His thing we will know Him better. We will know that He is God.

Anything is possible with God. In 1 Samuel 12:16, we are told to stand still and see that great thing God is about to do. God wants to do great things in our lives. God wants to do great things through our lives. However, in order to experience them we must stand still. We are so busy that we are missing out on the great thing God is doing before us. God is always doing great things, but we are too busy to notice them. Our busyness doesn’t stop God, it prevents us from experiencing the great things of God.

I need to learn to be still. Maybe you do too. If you are dealing with anxiety you know what I’m talking about. However, I believe that if we will spend time being still before God, we’ll experience what He is doing. So today I pledge to be still. To carve out a time to be still, no matter how hard it will be at first. I hope you’ll join me in being still before God.