Weekly Devotional: Be Still (5 in Sabbath and Rest series)

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

When we face trials of many kinds, often our temptation is to talk. To ask advice of those around us; to process the meaning of the situation before us; to wonder and lament and perhaps complain a bit. We need to feel we are seen and heard.

Our loving Lord always sees us and hears us. He welcomes us to converse with him and others when we find ourselves in tough (and happy) situations. But as we see in the psalm we are reading today, at times God also tells us to cease on the chattering front and to be still. Biblical commentators believe the “Be still” in verse 10 probably means “Enough!” The Lord will speak and we must listen.

For the Lord is God and we are not. He made us and formed us, and has the power to still the marauding nations and to make the wars to cease. He can and does intervene in our lives, supremely through his Word, Jesus Christ, coming to earth to bear our sins. And through his Holy Spirit, who lives in and through us, bringing us comfort, healing, affirmation, and love.

The next time you face a trial, why not stop and be still? Wait on the Lord, putting your hand on your heart as you acknowledge that Another lives inside you. As you ask for peace to flow like a river, know that the Lord is your refuge and strength, the One who is ever-present and who will never leave you. As you wait in the silence, open your heart and mind to hear the gentle words the Holy Spirit may impart to you. You might want to jot them down, so that you can chew them over and test them out.

Lord, when it feels the mountains are shifting around me, I need your reassurance that all will be well. Send me, I pray, the peace that passes all understanding. Amen.