Be Still

Be Still is my theme word (phrase really) for 2021. (you can find my last theme here from 2019) I’ve been thinking about it since sometime in October or November. In December, I nearly changed it to Fearless. In fact, I spent much of December debating between the two. But more on that another time.

Some of my thoughts were about resting in God, being able to not stress, not be anxious, being able to adapt to the current circumstances and not push harder to get my plans done too.

Picking a verse wasn’t hard…probably for obvious reasons. Psalm 46:10a “Be Still, and know that I am God.”

How?

How to be still? Well, that will take more work. If I am still, it means I’m not hurrying around and worrying, or trying to make things happen. We need stillness in our spirit, this doesn’t necessarily mean physical stillness. We need to be present not just physically where we are, but mentally and spiritually as well.

How much time do you spend in a day mentally trying to be somewhere else. We so often want to “escape” our circumstances. We watch TV shows and movies, scroll through social media, and bury ourselves in books to allow our minds to think of something else and be somewhere else rather than deal with our present circumstances. Sometimes that can be good. It can be good rest, but too often it is overused and just masks the problem.

According to Strong’s Concordance, the Hebrew root associated with Be Still is רפה (raw-faw), which means to slacken with some of the other synonyms being to weaken, to stay, to cease, to (let) go, to leave… We must let go of all our supposed control; loosen our grip on our ideas of what should happen. Trust.

We can’t know that God is God until we can be still.

Wait Patiently

Psalm 37:7 is another verse I thought about. It says:

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices.

When we are still, it forces us to wait for him. And as far as being patient- We can hardly be still without being patient. If you are chafing and fighting while you wait on God you will not be still in your spirit, mind, heart, or actions.

His care – a reason to not worry

His care for us is shown in Psalm 139:17-18

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.

How vast is the sum of the thoughts God has for us? More than the sand. He cares so much that his thoughts number more than the sand.

One more reason to be still

Do you need another reason to be still? How about God’s presence with us. Zechariah 2:13 says Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling. If God is with us, what reason is there to not be still and rest in him.

I encourage you to take some time to shut down your distractions and allow yourself to rest in God. Chose to trust him. Allow yourself to worship God and rejoice in Him.