Let God be God

I am again on this journey to better know God. It is a daily journey for us all but do you also have seasons where your search is hungrier and your need to know Him more compelling? That is where I am and I would like to take you along with me on this journey and really I have little choice because I cannot separate anything I am doing from this deep need to know Him better. It is my prayer that my exploration will benefit you.

Clearly God is telling us in this verse that to know Him better we are going to have to be still for a bit. I wonder if he had our time and our culture in His mind when He gave these words to the psalmists. We are a busy people and being busy is a badge of honor most of us wear proudly. I have found that I can fill up a day with no trouble. Sometimes I get to racing around so fast that even when I sit down to have some quality time with our father my insides are still racing a mile a minute. I don’t think we are ever going to know our father at the deepest levels if we do not learn to slow down and be still. This stillness certainly starts in our bodies. It is difficult to quiet your mind if you can’t first slow down your physiology. How long can you sit absolutely still? You should time yourself. I found I was terrible at just being physically still.

Next, can you release the thoughts going through your mind? I found that I had a very undisciplined mind. It was constantly on one thing or another. So I focus on a picture. I have a couple that I use. Sometimes I picture Christ on the cross. That is very sobering for me and slows me down. At times, though, seeing our Lord on the cross is too much so I picture him beside a stream at one of my favorite places. It is a spot along the Appalachian Trail in South Carolina where I used to like to stop, take off my boots and put my feet in the cool water and its being very picturesque and detailed helps me to focus. Still sometimes that doesn’t work either and then I imagine a single candle burning. I watch the flame dance around. When I can slow down I invariably find Father awaiting me. I am sure that you have ways of quieting your mind, heart and body. When you do, there is the place where it is easiest to hear the father.

However, there is something deeper in this stillness than just slowing our spirits, souls and bodies. In this passage I hear, “Cease your endless striving and experience me, know me as your God.” So many of my prayers over the years have asked God what I should do. Increasingly the answer has been, “Nothing. Just pray.” Now I hear Him saying “Be still and know that I am God.” In other words, He wants us to let Him be God. He wants to show Himself in our lives and through our lives. The key for me is to let God be God and endeavor not to get in His way. “Don’t worry. Don’t strive. Don’t let anxiety have a place in your heart. Be still and at ease knowing that I am your God. I will keep you and care for you.” This is what I hear God speaking to us.