We Can Be Still
By: Anne Peterson
Be still and know that I am God. - Psalm 46:10
The hardest thing for us to do is to be still. They say we should have been called human doings instead of human beings. But one of the most valuable things we can do is to learn how to rest in God. How to honestly lean on him with all our weight.
God tells us we just trust in him and not in our own understanding. Proverbs 3:5. And yet, as soon as we start having trials, the first thing we try to do is figure it out. God tells us that his thoughts are higher than our ways, but that doesn’t stop us from thinking we can somehow figure it out.
David was someone called the man after God’s own heart. David would look at the situation at hand, but he’d also look back at the God who was there for his other challenges. As everyone else shivered at the thought of facing the Philistine, not the shepherd boy. Why? Did he have super strength? No. But he knew God Almighty. And David knew that the same God who protected him from the lion and the bear would also protect him from whatever he faced. And in this case, it happened to be a giant. 1 Samuel 17: 32- 37.
The giant looked at David, and the Bible tells us he despised him. And yet, we see in 1 Samuel 17:45-51, David relied on his God. David came against Goliath in the name of the Lord Almighty God. And David didn’t take the glory for his victory. From the first moment, he acknowledged it would be by God’s strength and might that David would be victorious.
God is Almighty. No matter what people face God is bigger still. And yet, at times we forget what 1John 4:4 tells us. That Greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world.
Yes, the world around us is moving fast, and people seem to be spinning as well. But God instructs us to be still. Jesus prayed for us in John 17:16, saying we are in this world but we are not of this world. In Romans 12:2, Paul tells us to not be conformed to this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. It’s only possible when we saturate ourselves with the Word of God. Taking time to reflect on God’s truth helps us to slow down our racing thoughts and that’s when we can discern the things around us. When bank personnel needed to identify which bills were counterfeit they didn’t do it by studying all the imposters, but instead, they sat and studied the true bill. And in the same way, when we meditate on God’s Word, then we will be able to know when we are listening to lies. God can help us still our minds and hearts and then we’ll know that he indeed is God.
Anne Peterson is a regular contributor to Crosswalk. Anne is a poet, speaker, published author of 15 books, including her recent book, Always There: Finding God’s Comfort Through Loss. Anne has also written He Whispers: Poetic talks with God. Sign up for Anne's newsletter at www.annepeterson.com and receive a free eBook. Or connect with her on Facebook.
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