Be still and know that I am God.

Are you going through a hard time in life, do you want to jack it all in sometimes? Maybe you’re struggling to overcome something you have been battling with for what seems like forever. Take heart you’re in good company. We all struggle in life and at times want to throw the towel in. But God has a definite plan and purpose for your life, one that you will enjoy more than you ever thought possible. Maybe just maybe this scripture will help you on your way.

Psalm 46 v 10 Be Still and Know that I am God.
Easy to read isn’t it? But what exactly is God saying there and how can it help us?

Be Still – Comes from the Hebrew verb ‘rapa’ which translated means ‘to cause yourself to let go’ Or in English to ‘chill out or take time away from something’.

To Know – In order to ‘know’ we first have to ‘be still’ otherwise our minds can’t grasp this bit. To’ know’ means to give up trusting ourselves and the ways we want to do things and to start trusting God. The focus should be on him not us.

I am God – We use the word everyday but we often forget the meaning. It is so hard to grasp but put simply it means ‘all providing one’. God knows what we need to change every circumstance we face. We just have to let him help us.

Imagine having an injury that you know needs medical help, say a fractured ankle. However you are enjoying your life so much you continue to run on it. In time it gets worse. Eventually you realise you have to change something and go to the doctor for help. As he examines you it hurts as he pokes and prods and you may start to wonder if this was such a good idea. You need an operation. The anticipation of this can cause anxiety and the procedure itself can hurt. Once the doctor has finished there is a healing time during which you have to be extra careful not to expose the repair to what injured it in the first place.

The point of the story is this - We all have areas that need to be operated on in our lives, things that slow us down or even cause us to miss our destiny. If you need to identify them consider this – What are you defensive about in conversation with leaders or mentors? What subjects does your heart race about when the bibles views are taught?

Step one is to realise admit our issues and take them to God. At this point we need to be still. The next step is allowing God to operate (the ‘To Know’ bit). This involves trusting God knows what he is up to just like you would trust a doctor during an operation. You certainly wouldn’t interrupt him and tell him how to do his job. It can sometimes be hard to see ourselves changing at this time as things don’t make sense. That’s why the scripture tells us to be still and know.

Operations hurt and when God is carrying out one on us often we feel like getting up and running away but it is vital we let him finish the job. Otherwise we soon slip into old habits and lifestyles, and when we have open wounds we often hurt others and drag them into the lifestyle issues we are struggling with.

Once God has helped us over something it is so important we don’t go back down that road. It may be a certain way of thinking or a lifestyle choice. We must protect ourselves as we would an injury.

God has an incredible destiny for YOU, right now it may not seem that way but trust him, let him operate in any way he needs to and you will be stronger and fitter to complete the race set before you and have an amazing time along the way.

By DH

Today this could be....

.....the start of something great. You see today's decisions affect tomorrow outcomes. If you want to have a great future, that starts with the decisions you make today!!

Everyone starts the race, begins something new, decided to live a different life, but not everyone gets past the first 100m of that race. The start is always exciting, filled with anticipation, fueled with hope..... but once gun goes and we get into our stride, we then begin to discover who has the endurance.

Some people will start so many NEW things in their lives, run a few steps and then decide to start something else. Eventually for those people, the start line becomes their home, the place they stay and never venture from, never experiencing any other part of the race and possibly the satisfaction of finishing that race.

So what are you starting today?

by HB