Tag Archives: Psalm 46:10

Awake or asleep?

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We never know exactly when we fall asleep at night. At some point we close our eyes to the world. Our heart rate slows down and our body temperature decreases. Reality fades away as we enter a world of dreams. In a deep sleep we may even get out of bed and not be aware of our activities.

 

Falling asleep spiritually follows a similar pattern. We become tired of living with purpose and close our eyes to our true calling. Apathy sets in and compromising situations start to take on more appeal. We think to ourselves, “It can’t be bad if it makes me so happy.” If we don’t wake up to our senses we will find our spiritual temperature lowering. What used to be a burning passion for God’s ways cools to a lukewarm condition. And this dangerous coolness allows us to slip into a deeper trance-like sleep where reality blurs into a foggy road where we easily lose our way. Like Samson of old, we allow the Delilah’s of our age to lull us to sleep.  From an outsider’s perspective we may look the same, but inside we find ourselves drifting further and further from our purposed path.

 

The good news is that just as living in compromise makes us drowsy to God’s calling, so does His Spirit consistently urge us to wake up. There are numerous practical ways to stay spiritually ‘awake.’

  • Examine yourself as David did. “Search me O God. Know my heart.”
  • Be accountable to someone in whom you can trust to be honest about your struggles.
  • Stay grounded in God’s Word. Beyond rote memorization, earnestly seek to apply wisdom practically to your life.
  • Rest! Really rest. An effective method of not falling asleep at inappropriate times is to rest when you need to. Jesus is calling you: “Come to me all of you who are weary, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)  Cease striving. Be still. Know that He is God. (Psalm 46:10) Remain intently in Jesus. Your accomplishments mean nothing without Him.  (John 15:4)

 

“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:41

 

 

Know about God – or know God?

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You can know about God and still not know God.

 

Think about a famous person in history. You might know when they were born and when they died, where they lived, and some of their major accomplishments and contributions to this world. Maybe you have done research and are considered an expert! But do you actually know that person?

 

Knowing about someone is not the same as actually knowing them.

 

There are probably people in your life that you think you know. You work with them and see them at the store. You know how they dress and what sort of house they live in. You may even admire and respect them. But if you haven’t taken time to draw close to them and share the things in life that are most meaningful, you probably don’t know them.  Even in church, you see people, smile at them, and chat with them. But we too often let walls of politeness separate us from actually getting to know them. I think it was one of Robert Frost’s poems that said, “Good fences make good neighbors.” Maybe good fences help us to live politely with others, but do they really make us good neighbors? Unless we approach the fences and build a confiding gateway to conversation, will we ever get to know one another, even if we do know about them?

 

This is true about God too. I’ve met people who seem to know a lot about God and yet don’t seem to really know Him or the power of His promises. Some will contest, “Who can know the mind of God? He is too great for us to comprehend with our puny earthly minds!”  I agree. We will never be able to put God in a box and define Him in our terms. But He has revealed Himself to us throughout history and continues to invite us to draw close to Him, to know His character. He wants us to not only know about what He has done and still wants to do. He longs for us to come into His presence and know Him.

 

It’s beneficial to know about God. His great feats of majesty and mercy inspire us to great hope. But beyond the intellectual gymnastics of knowing about God there is peace and joy and power to be found in knowing God as a child knows their father.  And how does one come to know God? Just like you come to know a very close friend: spend time with Him – when you are tired, angry, confused, filled with sorrow, and astounded by joy and grace. When you are dismayed, disappointed or depressed. Put everything else behind you and just start talking, and then be quiet and listen. Teach yourself to hear His still small voice whisper His love to you and His plans for you.

 

“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10

 

 

Are you tired and weary?

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We live in a busy world. In fact, by the way we fill up our lives with so much activity, you would think our goal is a tombstone that reads, “Sure kept busy!” Of course, that is not our goal in life, but it is often our pursuit. All this activity, albeit sometimes necessary in some seasons of life, is tiring, isn’t it? It robs us of energy for contemplation, meditation, prayer – for drawing close to God…and each other.

 

Being a rather ‘Type A’ personality with a high metabolism, much of my life has been driven by goals and activities. “Idle hands are the devil’s playground,” I was taught. While there is some truth to that, the constant weariness of Leukemia has taught me that only idle hands can be offered to God when seeking His presence. “Stop striving. Be still and know that I am God,” He calls to us (Psalm 46:10). “Come to me all you who are weary, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)  The world tells us “no pain, no gain – push to the limit.” But Isaiah counsels us, “The Lord gives strength to the weary. Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.” (Isaiah 40:29-31)

 

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out? Give it a rest. Stop striving. Stop worrying. Give it up to God – again and again. Practice resting in His presence. Find His grace and rediscover your light.

 

The Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.  Numbers 6:25-26

 

 

Starved for solitude

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“We live, in fact, in a world starved for solitude, silence, and privacy, and therefore starved for meditation and true friendship.” CS Lewis, The Weight of Glory

My first thought in reading this quote is just the opposite; how much we need each other. I found this to be so true in the first nine months of leukemia treatment. Suddenly pulled from my normal routine of vibrant interactions with dozens of people daily, I found months of relative solitude to be a rather ‘painful’ experience. In fact, Lewis does address this earlier in his message. “We are forbidden to neglect the assembling of ourselves together. We are members of one another.” The Christian experience, without the building of true community is an oxymoron. We are meant for one another.

But what is it about our soul that leaves it starved also for solitude and meditation? We live in a world that makes constant demands for our attention. A steady flow of never-ending electronic beeps calls us to tasks, appointments, and endless access to news, social information, and status updates.

God designed us not only for activity, but also for stillness. “He MAKES me lie down in green pastures.” (Psalm 23) He prompts us: “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10) “Meditate on (His Word) day and night so that you may be careful to do everything in it…to be prosperous and successful.” (Joshua 1:8-9) The psalmist writes, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14)

Probably, the busier we are in our current season of life, the more we need to take time to find an oasis throughout the day where we can find restoration and peace. Reformer Martin Luther commented, “Work, work, from morning until late at night. In fact, I have so much to do that I shall have to spend the first three hours in prayer!”

Imagine going for days without any food or water. Soon you will discover the depleting effects from lack of nourishment: weakness, lack of productivity, confusion, irritability. The more you work, without replenishing your resources, the less you will accomplish. The less you accomplish, the more you will be tempted to work harder and longer. But it will not satisfy. The vicious downward spiral always works against us.

Meditation and prayer nourishes our soul. They lift us out of the depths of despair, refresh our perspective, and lead us on the path to wisdom and understanding, to peace, and renewed strength. God describes it like lifting us as on the wings of eagles! (Psalm 91)

The truth is we need both the solitude of meditation and the true friendship and community with others. We cheat ourselves when we neglect one or the other. I hope you will intentionally pursue both of these today. It is the path of experiencing God’s best for you.

The answers you seek are found in being still

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Everyone is looking for answers. How do I find peace? Where do I find happiness? What does a fulfilling life really look like? Why is there pain and suffering in the world? When will it ever end? How can I make it through this day/week?

As many questions as we have, we tend to try many paths to finding answers: we roll things over and over in our minds, we search our hearts, we listen to those around us, we revert back to what our parents did, we read articles and books. Sometimes, we actually go to God, which is always our best first choice!

But consider this before frantically searching out solutions and answers:

“The answers you seek never come to mind when the mind is busy. They come only when the mind is still.” (Author unknown)

Being still is such an unpopular and uncharacteristic state of being in a society that seems to worship activity and self-effort. Ask that of someone who is near the end of life and I’m pretty sure they would concur; busyness is not the goal that rewards.

But how do you cultivate the discipline of being still? Maybe there are daily activities and habits you really could stop or slow down in order to create islands of peace and quiet throughout the day. I used to be tied to checking emails and messages all the time, as if the world would stop spinning if I didn’t respond to something within a minute!

Even if it seems impossible to stop any of your spinning plates for fear they will all come crashing down, who doesn’t have a few seconds before moving on? That’s literally all it takes to pause, take a deep breath, say a word of thanks, or remind ourselves who we are in God’s sight and who He is. And if we don’t take small moments to recharge throughout the day, how effective will we be anyway?!

We have limited choices: seek Him in stillness or go our own busy way. (And we only have to ask how going our own way is really working for us to realize how much we need to learn the art of being still before God!)

In The Secret (Chris Tomlin)
In the secret, in the quiet place
In the stillness You are there.
In the secret, in the quiet hour I wait,
Only for You,’cause I want to know You more.

Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

The Desire of Your Heart

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What is the deepest desire of your heart?

Be careful in answering too quickly. We may say what we want it to be: world peace, family time, nurturing or mentoring others, or a restored kingdom. But the desires of our heart are closely tied to where our thoughts and our time most frequently take us: escape from the world to the sofa, to sports, to the news, to time alone.

That isn’t to say that we don’t aspire to greater things. We do. They just so often get drowned out by the pressures of life. It is at times like these that we need to be still and hear God’s counsel and direction for us.

There is a true story recorded in 1 Kings 19, where Elijah is running for his life because Jezebel had threatened most severely to kill him. “I have had enough, Lord. Take my life,” cried out Elijah. Then there was a mighty wind, but God was not in the wind. Then an earthquake but the Lord was not in the earthquake. This was followed by a fierce fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire was a gentle whisper that spoke to Elijah.

We have to turn off the other noise of the world to hear the whisper. Otherwise, we miss out on God’s direction for us. Find a quiet place each morning and throughout the day to “Be still and know that (God) IS God.” (Ps 46:10)  There you will find the desires of your heart.

Life Is A Jigsaw Puzzle

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And God knows where each piece is supposed to go.

Do you know that we all hold pieces of each others‘ puzzle? And have you ever wondered whose pieces you’re holding and who in the world has your missing pieces? How would you ever find them?

There is a way to know, although I’ll tell you it may require a life journey and adventure. A good starting place always is to slow down; actually stop from your busyness. If you are not willing to develop this daily habit you will never find all the puzzle pieces you are longing to find. (And others will never find the pieces you are holding onto because you are too busy to notice.) Take time each day and throughout the day to cultivate “being still.” God wants you to be complete and whole, in health and in sickness, when you have some money in the bank and when the bills stack high, when everyone gets along and when there are tensions, in good times and in bad.

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10

Take your focus off your to-do list, your struggles, and your worries. Find a quiet place and talk with God in a conversational way as you would with a close friend. Ask Him to reveal who He wants to bring across your path today. He may reveal the answer as you pray. Or He may reveal it spontaneously to you later in the day. I almost walked away from such a God-provided opportunity at the grocery store a few days ago. An acquaintance was sharing their struggles while we waited in the checkout lane. When we finished talking, I turned to put my items on the checkout counter. But feeling God’s nudge, I turned back and asked the person, “Could I pray with you about this situation?”

  • One prayer: One minute of my day
  • Tears of appreciation: Will be embedded in my memory for a long time
  • The power of God to work the next step in this person’s life: PRICELESS

Whose puzzle piece do you hold today? As it becomes more and more of a habit to give away your ‘extra’ pieces, you will discover some of your own puzzle pieces along the journey. Learn to expect the unexpected and in time you will find yourself more and more sensitive to the world around you.

Be still. Find thanks.

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I can tell I need a blood transfusion. The last two days have been increasingly tiring. I found out I can’t shovel even a little snow. A 90 minute midday nap didn’t restore my strength but it did do something. Let me see if I can show you. It would help to find a quiet place.

Stop and be still.

Do you notice that in your quietness you can hear your heart beating? You don’t have to think about it or make it pump; it just keeps on beating exactly as it was designed to do, giving you life even when you are too busy to notice it.

Be still. Do you notice that your body wills itself to breathe? Again, without any intervention or planning on your part, every breath brings you life. Breathe deeply and relax in the gift you are freely given.

It’s harder to imagine this, but as you go about your normal routine, your bone marrow is making specific types of blood cells that function by created design. Some stand guard to fight infection. As you work, play, or sleep, red blood cells are being made by the millions to bring oxygen to your whole body. You wouldn’t be able to read this without them. Likewise, platelets also stand guard to repair any injury to your body. All this happens, seemingly without any effort on your part.

In my quietness, I am thankful for the way God designed our bodies to function. All the years I donated blood, I never thought about being on the receiving end. I’m thankful for those who gave up twenty minutes of their day so I could receive blood and platelet transfusions, and live.

In your stillness, what thanks come to your heart?
People who care. The power of prayer.
The promise of spring flowers.
Safe drinkable water; a land free from war.
A roof over your head, protection from the cold.
Being loved; people TO love.
A great and merciful God who loves you.

Be still; find thanks.

“The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:14

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10