Being Still Before God

Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46 verse 10. Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread.

Our reading titled, Being Still Before God, was written by Adam R. Holes and read by Stephen Tabor. Psalm 46. God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall.

God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall. He lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress.

Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes war cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear.

He burns the shields with fire. He says, Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord Almighty is with us.

The God of Jacob is our fortress. Being Still Before God, written by Adam R. Holes. I love the idea of stillness, of quiet, of resting in the refuge of God's care. And an often quoted passage from Psalm 46 teaches us that quieting our hearts, our minds, and our souls is integral to knowing God.

Be still and know that I am God. But being still isn't easy, is it? Being quiet and especially trying to still our hearts before God can sometimes seem almost impossible.

Why is that? One of the most basic laws of physics tells us that objects in motion tend to stay in motion. So shifting from constant motion, activity, and obligation isn't easy because it involves letting the momentum of our activity come to rest. We might think of it like a boat's wake.

Even as a boat tries to stop, the momentum of its wake, the waves it caused that are now catching up to the still boat, still roll beneath pushing it along. If you recognize the value of stillness but struggle to get there, that's one reason why. Our activities and overall pace are like that object in motion. So give yourself plenty of space and grace as you sit before God and rest in Him. It may take some time for the waves of your spiritual wake to wash past you, to settle into being quiet before Him. Let's pray. Father, help us to slow down and find true stillness in your presence, even when life feels like it's moving too fast to stop. Teach us to rest in Your care, trusting that You will calm the waves and quiet our hearts. Thank You, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. As you go about your day, reflect on these questions. What keeps you from being quiet before God? How will you make time to intentionally be still?