Be Still

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. Ps 46:10

The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be still." Ex 14:14

Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress;
he made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.
Then they were glad because they had quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven. 
Ps 107:28-39

And he awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. Mk 4:39

But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a child quieted at its mother's breast; like a child that is quieted is my soul. Ps 131:2

Most of the Christians that I know, including myself, have not availed themselves of God's wonderful invitation, extended to all His children: "Be still and know that I am God". Only in the latter years of my walk in Christ have I begun to practice being still and knowing that He is God. And it has opened a whole new, infinite world of peace, strength and inspiration. It takes time to be still. And patience. And sometimes courage--because of what we face in ourselves when we be still. It's not all good. Some of it hurts us, scares us, or makes us ashamed. That's where many people start turning back into the material world. They don't get to the "calm," "quiet" "desired haven" spoken about in the above verses. Being still means facing a world of distractions, most of them in our minds. We discipline ourselves to sit until all the distracting smoke clears. We keep coming back to "knowing that He is God". There is an infinite depth in this "knowing". As we begin to experience it, we also begin realizing that there is nothing in the universe of serving, working and loving our people that is more important than this being still. It is by drinking from this deep, pure well of living water that we are nourished to do all the work of the Kingdom. It is from this Source that all ministry comes; and when it issues from this Wellspring, we are continually replenished, renewed and restored as we work and serve. We realize that we can never go very long without returning to this infinite beauty, grace and love. Our soul hungers for nothing else than to sit, like Mary at Jesus' feet and float in the ocean of His love-filled universe. The noise of the world--all its "worries and cares"--fade farther and farther away, like a ship leaving the clamorous city of port and sailing out into the quiet, star-canopied ocean. Our soul resonates with the Truth of the universe; the living, eternal Word, the Source of all that is. Everything that is oppressive-- all worry, fear, guilt, shame, feelings of inadequacy, condemnation, including that unnamed tense knot of foreboding--is all burned away in the consuming Fire. All that's left is a profound, liberating knowing that He is God. We experience the "rest" that Jesus promises His followers--rest for your soul. [Mt. 11:29] We are able to touch, or rather, our souls are touched by the Reality of Christ in us; Christ Who has overcome the world and sits at the right hand of God. We experience inwardly, in an ever-growing way, the Reality of being at one with God through Christ Who is in us and in the Creator/Father.