In the midst of a really tough situation, God clearly gave me the verse from Psalms "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). As I thought about this verse, I saw that "be still" could be translated "let go, relax." It also means not moving and being quiet. How often do we ask God for everything, but we don't stop to listen or to be still? The act of being still and getting quiet becomes more of a challenge in our hectic world.
I had been doing everything I knew to do, everything I could do, in order to fix this painful situation--and then came the Word of God: "Be still, Joel... let go... know that I am God." God's Word was clear. I couldn't fix it, and I needed to stop trying. I had struggled. I had prayed. I had tried to make things right. I had searched my heart, rehearsed all my failings, and experienced the pain of them all, nothing had worked. The situation hadn't changed; the frustration and disappointment had not gone away.
Now it was clear. If I were to walk in faith, and live by faith, I had to let God be God. I had to be the person God created me to be and trust Him to guide my steps. I was to quit trying to fix it and allow God to see it through as He saw fit. I thought God wasn’t moving but I failed to see "the rest of the story." My part in this situation was simply "to be" rather than "to do."
Terri and I have learned many things through this journey. We stand in it together and have seen God do the most incredible things--things we couldn't dream of--and we know that He, and He alone, has done them. He has done them apart from my planning, my control, my manipulating. My part was simply to allow the unconditional love of God to flow through me.
Whatever happens, I know that I am to continue to rest, relax and remember that He is God. I am to walk by faith and remember that I am not God, that I cannot fix this situation or any other in my life. My responsibility is simply to trust, obey and to be what He wants me to be. I am to embrace truth and live by it. I can't live by my emotions, my dwelling upon my past, or by focusing on my inadequacies, weaknesses, and failures. I am not to fear what the future holds, for the future is God's. I am just privileged to live it out. So... be still... and know... that He is God.
Psalm 23 says, “Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”
(Psalms 23:6 NIV)
Blessings,
(Psalms 23:6 NIV)
