Be Still and Know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Psalm 46:10-11
?PSA-If you enjoy listening to music while you read hit play to the song at the bottom of this post and it will play while you read?
Be still and know that I am God. This verse is very popular in Christian homes and it is underlined or highlighted in many Bibles. I actually have a pillow that says Be Still and it sits on my couch. The pillow on the couch serves as my visual reminder to spend time with Jesus. It is my reminder to rest in Him throughout my day. And at end of the day I looonnnggg to sit. I long to finally put my feet up on the couch under a cozy blanket and read or write or watch a show with my hubby.
The pillow reminds me to long for Jesus, to long for Him like I long for my relaxation. And up until a few days ago I thought that this was the best interpretation for this verse. And while I certainly believe solace and comfort is found when resting in the stillness of the Lord. I found that this verse has a powerful meaning in addition to finding rest in God.
I want to start out by saying that there are times in our life that we cannot emotionally handle the circumstances around us. There are times in our life when grief and worry overwhelm our souls.
One example in my life happened about 9 years ago. I was newly married and I received a call from my Dr. after a routine exam. The Dr. told me that they had found abnormal cells that seemed to be precancerous and that they would need to be surgically removed.
I proceeded to ask the follow up question of: If I had the surgery would it keep the cells from becoming cancer?
She said yes, then took a breath and continued speaking, there is a risk though….
I held my breath, anxiously waiting.
The Dr. paused and continued gently. There is a high possibility that scar tissue will form and that you may not be able to conceive children and if you do conceive, there is a high chance that you will not be able to carry a baby to term.
“Ok” I said.
She replied, I am so sorry to be telling you this.
“It’s ok.” I hung up the phone.
My eyes filled with tears and a lump formed in my throat disabling me from uttering any other words. I collapsed to the bed and sobbed into my pillow. Deep grief overwhelmed my soul.
The only thing I had ever dreamed of was having children. I had wanted to be a mom since I was five years old. And this felt like a knife ripping me apart. The emotional roller coaster I then travelled on was like one those old wooden coasters at amusement parks. I felt my emotions entering the roller coaster cart with a simplistic lap bar across me and I began heading up and down and side to side, my head jostling so much I got an instant headache and every crickety-clanking noise over the wooden rails made me wonder if I was going to end up stuck on a broken down ride. The emotional roller coaster did not end for a long time.
I went through the surgery and I grieved the unknown. However, if you saw in my introduction post I am a mom to four children and each pregnancy went full term and beyond.
Praise be to God!!!!
But the emotional distress was real and tangible.
Life is going to contain old wooden roller coasters. We are not taking a smooth sailing elevator to our heavenly destination. We are going to experience grief and heartache, worry and sadness, fear and anguish. But in Psalm 46:10 God Says Be Still and Know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in all the earth.
This is the part I am so excited to share! The phrase Be Still does not simply mean rest but it comes from the Hebrew root word Raphah- to ‘let go, cease, relax, be quiet, rest’. When I thought of the word in the context of relaxing and letting go my tune changed a little bit. And no, I did not start singing Let it Go from Frozen…but I could have. I think I could sing it in my sleep at this point ?
I often like to personalize verses. I read them knowing that God is personally talking to me and He is personally talking to you. So I’m going to challenge you to do the same exercise I did.
(Your name) ,Let go and know That I am God.
(Your name), Cease striving and know that I am God. (Your name), Rest and know that I am God.
Friend, what are you holding on to right now? What in your life is weighing you down? What is causing you to stay suspended on the creaking roller coaster? Are you going through a divorce? Are you dealing with addiction? Do you feel unloved or unappreciated? Do you have a child struggling with emotional issues? Do you have a health issue completely out of your control? Did you lose your job? Do you struggle making it through day to day life? Are you having relationship issues? Are you struggling with your purpose and identity? Are you depressed? Are you anxious? Are you dealing with the loss of a loved one?
The list of battles you are potentially fighting is most likely inexhaustible. And I know many of you are struggling right now, this moment.
God wants you to surrender your heartache to Him. He wants you to let go of the unspoken sadness that is trapping you. He wants you to cease striving to win the battle that you are trying to fight on your own. He wants you to Be Still and Know that He is your God.
Exodus 14:14 says The Lord will fight for you, you only need to Be still.
This passage in Exodus 14 comes right before God defeats the Egyptians. The entire Egyptian battalion is headed to capture the Israelites so they can come back to Egypt as slaves. The army can be seen in the distance and the Israelites have found themselves standing at the edge of the red sea with seemingly no way out besides being conquered and brought back to the land they were freed from. But God has different plans and He parts the Red Sea and the entire Israelite people pass through the raging waters that billow on either side of them. The Israelites had no chance on their own, but the Lord fought the battle for them. He destroyed the Egyptian army in a moment when it seemed there was absolutely no hope. The only hope they had was found in complete surrender to God.
God will do the same for you. He is your hope and ever present help in times of trouble. Let go, and Know that He is God. He will be exalted in your life and He will fight the battle that you can’t fight or win on your own. He will calm the emotional roller coaster and smoothly get you to your destination.
So the next time you are Still in the presence of the Lord, that is the time to be at peace because true surrender, true stillness, allows Him to be Victorious and exalted in your life.
The Lord Bless you and Keep you,
Kara
If you do not know Jesus as your savior please see the prayer below. You can talk to God like you are talking to a friend. He will hear you. Ask him into your heart today. He wants a relationship with you. He wants you to Surrender to Him.
Visit my YouTube page for the video version of this blog!
“Your loving kindness
Tore through the shadows of my soul
The work is ?nished, the end is written
Jesus Christ, my living hope”
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