97 - Be Still and Know that I Am God

Pslam 46:10

"Be still and know that I am God." NIV

"Cease striving and know that I am God" NASB

"Let go and know that I am God" NASB

"Relax and know that I am God" NASB

To be still before God we must first believe the profound truth of His existence. In believing He exists we must know that as our creator He loves us. In believing that He loves us we must know most assuredly that in His care for us as His children His power is great. His power is so great toward us that He asks us to cast all our anxiety on Him and to be anxious for nothing. - 1 Peter 5:7 Philippians 4:6 In letting go and releasing our anxiousness we believe that He will take care of us in all things. For He promises to work all things out for the good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. - Romans 8:28 As the source and sustainer of the intricacies of all life, nothing is too small or too great for Him. Being still is not just a physical response, but a state of mind. Understanding the mindset behind the act of being still is the foundation and power of being still. Being fully convinced that He is God and holding to the truths revealed through that belief we trust in Him.

To quiet one's mind and spirit. To stop striving to do with our own strength and fortitude what God says He will do. And to rest in His hands are all part of being still before God. In so doing we loosen the grip we have on our need to sustain our own existence. Leaning on our own understanding and guiding our own steps. "For a man’s way is not in himself, nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps." - Jeremiah 10:23 We have spent enough time living in light of our own understanding and experiencing its fruit to know this to be true. What is it that holds us back from taking Him at His word? Believing in the things He tells us as true, the extent to which we can trust in Him.

Those of this world seek to find their own way, doing what makes one feel good, striving to fulfill and satisfy themselves, dependent upon their own strength, wisdom and understanding. Although they have felt the hand of God in their lives, mercy and grace through difficulty and His graciousness in their need many still do not acknowledge Him. We are animated by His power and our very breath is from Him. His intentions are only good toward us. He has prepared what is right and pleasing for us to experience and enjoy through our trust in Him. The extent to which we release ourselves from ourselves, our own doing, is the extent to which we will experience Him. What has been meant for us before the beginning of time.

It is hard for us to release from the lingering patterns of mindset we have lived so long within. Self-generated patterns that testify to a notion that truth and sustaining power lay within ourselves and not our Heavenly Father. Have we not seen His faithfulness, His workings to know that it is not within us? We must stop. We must change our minds in order to see beyond what we have always seen. To believe something other than what we have always held to be true, taking hold of His perspective, His view. If we are called to be still, to cease striving, to let go and relax then we know there is a truth that transcends all that would trouble our hearts. He is faithful even when we don't understand, and when we can't see. Nothing in any way nullifies the faithfulness of God. No matter how dark, or how blind we may feel we can always look to Him as the one caring for us.

So, reliance on oneself transforms into a reliance on God. What we once held so tightly to in order to fix, to make right we cast upon Him. We present our requests before Him and move on in thanksgiving, His intentions becoming our intentions. We acknowledge Him in all our ways. As He goes before us our eyes fix solely on Him. We are convinced that His desire is for us to release all to Him. It is His intention to hold us in His care. It is what He means when He asks us to let go. It is clear to us His motives in regard to our well-being. He who has brought all things into being, even our spiritual standing and position, is willing also to carry us on to completion. We acknowledge and understand the extent to which we are asked to trust in Him, the degree to which we are able to trust Him.

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 NASB

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.