“Be still…….”
How hard this is just now. With all that is going on in our personal lives and in the wider world. I’m guessing that, like me, your default position in recent weeks is more likely to be described by words like – frazzled, in a tizzy, and frantic, than it is by the term, STILL. With all of the cacophony of sound and pictures coming at us from social media and television news. Amidst the uncertainty of these days – the threat of unemployment, the likely closure of some businesses, the possibility of serious illness (either for ourselves or our loved ones), the numbers of reported deaths growing daily in our nation and across the globe – can we truly BE STILL?
To do so requires that we take on board the rest of verse 10 in Psalm 46 – “Be still…….and know that I am God.” Elohim, YHWH, God, the LORD, reigns on His throne. He remains Creator over the ends of the earth, sovereign over the nations, despite what prevailing circumstances might urge you to believe. God can be trusted to bring us through this present crisis, as He has done with previous generations of His people. We may not know what the future holds, but we do know WHO holds the future.
And, perhaps an understanding of the image that lies behind these two words, “Be still,”may be helpful to us all at such a time as this?
Imagine that you are watching the Olympic Games. It’s the start of the main event – the 100-metre sprint final. The official calls all athletes to their marks. Each one settles into their blocks. Poised, they await the starting gun. For what can seem like an eternity, they hang there, suspended in time, yet completely motionless. Then, at the sound of the pistol, the competitors explode from their hunched position and begin to stride out towards the goal, which is the finishing line.
That split second or two of total stillness is what God is calling us to just now. It seems unproductive, wasted time, especially to those with a type-A personality, the activists among us, who are used to getting things done. But this is not a time for TO-DO lists. This is a time for stillness. Waiting upon God. Staying safe and keeping well, so that, when the starting gun fires, we are ready to spring into action.
In short, tough as it feels right now, this is a time of preparation for what lies ahead. When boiled right down to a basic level, the very essence of faith is “being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11, verse 1)
“BE STILL…”
Prayer
Dear God.
Jesus taught that You are our Heavenly Father.
And, just as a child trusts a loving earthly father implicitly, we trust You.
The situation we face at this time is desperate and difficult.
But it is for such a time as this that You have gifted us with faith.
And so, we bring to You now all of the feelings that arise within us –
our anxieties….our uncertainty….our fears for the future…
We ask that, as we still our spirits before You,
You will relieve our inner rumblings
just as surely as Jesus calmed the wind and the waves.
AMEN.
