‘Be still and know that I am God’
What, Why, When, Where?
Our minds fill with so many questions, which the world seems to have so many answers to. It will try to tell us:
What – I am doing wrong, makes me so unliked, is wrong with the way I look
Why – I am different from everyone else, I should be ashamed and the reasons I’m not good enough to belong, it is all my fault
When – I messed up, I went against God, I was first laughed at, I first felt insecure and anxious and lonely
Where – I lost sight of myself, I realised I was too far gone to be loved…
But these are the world’s answers, which means they are not true! Which means they should not be what takes root in our lives. They are weeds that need a lot of weed killer sprayed on them. And in Christianity, the equivalent to weed killer isn’t hidden deep in the back of the cupboard somewhere, we don’t have to go out to a shop to buy it… all we need to do is stop and be still. Because, when we are still, we can then go to God and that is where we find the true answers.
Maybe some of you are amazing at multitasking, but I definitely am not! Maybe I can do a few small tasks at once like scrolling through Instagram and watching friends at the same time, but when it comes to actually focusing on something, my mind often wanders. It can only fully concentrate on one thing at a time. So, when God says to be still, he is saying take a moment to focus solely on Him.
When you are worried – breath and focus on Him, when work or school is pushing you for a deadline and you are beginning to lose your temper – breath and focus on Him, when you look in the mirror and you hear whispers telling you that you are not beautiful – breath and focus on Him.
God understands that our lives are busy and that we can’t always take hours to just sit in his presence and spend the time with him (although, this is equally as important to do!!). However, we can take moments to pause and remember that amongst the chaos of the world, He is God: He is your God, His truth breaks through whatever you are feeling.
‘Cling to me, morning and night. Step towards Me throughout the day. I am not silent towards you. But step towards me. Relax against Me. Slow to hear me. Desire Me. I give you rest here, so adventure and faith will come. First, Me. Nothing Else. For I stir your heart in secret places, and I show you what I mean: You are not lost. You are not overwhelmed. The night comes, and you know the way through, for you know where the lights is. You know where I am.’
– Gather Ministries, loopforwomen.com
When we make God the king of our lives, we can be confident that He is listening. He is ready for us to pause in His presence, to gather strength from Him so that we can continue with Him at our side. It is normal to hear the world’s voice, but when we have God, we have the power to hear it but not listen to it.
BTW - Don’t beat yourself up though for the times you do listen, because we all do. God will still be waiting for you, ready to whisper sweet truths into your ears.
I like to imagine being still and coming to him in this way: Imagine walking through your school corridor, or office, or a busy street, you’re feeling pretty overwhelmed and it's hot and you have a lot of people trying to talk to you, but your mind is freaking out over everything else going on in your life. You reach into your bag and grab your headphones and put them in. You go to recents and press heaven, God picks up and you say hello, He then speaks to you for the next 2 minutes. You say, ‘love you, speak soon’ and hang up the phone. You take your headphones out and put them back in your bag. You carry on but now you feel safe, you feel calm and strong.
God is always ready to speak to us, to teach us and comfort us. We have to make the decision to go to Him and listen when the world is trying to make us feel insignificant. He will never not be excited to see you. He will never turn you away. He will never make you feel anything but loved.
‘In the quiet, I know you are there - teach us, teach us how to follow’
– United Pursuit: In the Quiet.