Be Still and Know that I am God...

S T I L L

"Be still and know that I am God"

Dictionary.com says that "still" is... "the absense of sound or movement", "pacific, placid, serene", "undisturbed or tranquil." That is a beautiful picture isn't it? A place that I desire, one that I would absolutely love to have access to. Yet, why is it so hard to "still" ourselves? The "still" that the Bible talks about here, often seems like a foreign land. Aplace very far away...

Busy... Worried... Needed... Stressed... Burdened...

Ah... here is where we live. The opposite of that wonderful little word "still."  We as wives and mothers and women in general, often have so many demands placed upon us, and we continue to accept more. A vicious circle that seems to never end. Yet, is it pleasing to God? I always hate to rely on man's opinion about spiritual matters, so what does the Bible say?

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. Philippians 4:6

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. 1 Peter 5:7

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, [shall he] not much more [clothe] you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. Matthew 6:25-32

Ah... the Bible tells us that we are to abstain from worrying and being anxious but how do we do that? How can we possibly be women and NOT worry? It seems like for most of us, it is part of our daily living just as we eat and breathe, we worry.  Yet, clearly we see by worrying we are disobeying the scriptures' command to "be anxious for nothing." We need help... we need to know how to stop the vicious cycle. Besides the simple common sense approach of not taking on too much...(ahh hem...) the Bible clearly tells us how to stop the worry!

Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring [it] to pass. Psalms 37:5

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33

Be still and know that I am God... Ps 46:9

So, when the trials of life are consuming you 1) Commit thy way (prayerfully give it to HIM), 2) seek ye FIRST the kingdom of God (seek HIM in HIS WORD and through prayer), and 3) be still and know (rest) that He has it all under control.

Breaking a habit isn't easy... and that is exactly what worry and anxiety is for most of us. Let's consciously commit our way to Him today and ask Him to break the sinful habits in our lives.

Are we too busy?

"Why stand ye here ... idle?" Matt. 20:6

"It is possible to be idle and yet to be fully occupied; to neglect one's paramount duty while yet employing every moment of one's time."

I would have to resoundingly agree. Do you feel like some days you spend the whole day doing, doing, doing... yet not really doing anything of lasting benefit. I feel that I am guilty of this most days. Yes, I know being a mother is a great and God honoring thing... yet - the question follows me, "Am I doing my best for my Lord?" 

Am I teaching and training my children with their future in mind? Do I work on instilling in each of them godly characteristics? Am I the wise woman building up her house, or the foolish plucking it down with my hands?

I can't help but feeling that I could spend less time on the computer, less time on the telephone, less time doing trivial things - and more time investing in my children and showing them Christ through my life.

"Consider then! is it not idle to waste time in trivial occupations when we are charged with serious responsibilities, or to employ only our lowest powers and talents and leave our higher ones unused? For a Michelangelo, who could plan and erect a St. Peter's to spend his life in rough hewing blocks of marble, would it not have been a sin and a shame? For Peter, James, and John to have continued their fishing after receiving from the risen Saviour their great commission, or for Paul to have retained tent-making as his life's main business after his conversion, would it not have been sinful waste of precious time, as well as sinful disobedience? We may be spending the one life that God has given us to live for Him, in doing work of a kind different from that which our Master intended; of a lower and less important description..."

God help me, to be busy about your business today...