When my kids were little and we would sit in church and they would get antsy and move around or talk a lot, we would say to them, “shhhhh! Be still.” I can remember my mom saying the same thing to my sister and me.
I sometimes have trouble sitting or being still today even as a “mature” adult. If I am in meetings that seem to waste time, my eyes glaze over and my mind wanders to the next thing – “what’s for lunch”, “did I turn the dryer off when I left the house” or “where do I want to go on my next vacation”?
My body may be still but my mind is all over the place. I plan the next thing. I don’t enjoy where I am at the moment. I fret about being prepared for the next moment and worry about what next year may bring. I seem to always be looking ahead and creating the worst-case scenarios to prepare my mind and body as to what MAY be ahead.
But today as I was reading the Bible and fretting about all the weekend holds, I began reading the whole chapter of Psalm 37. I had notes all over this chapter. It seems I have been in this “fretting” place before! haha But apparently I always found peace in this chapter.
Psalm 37:7 says to “be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. Do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.” Very straightforward.
The end of verse 8 of that same chapter says again, “do not fret – it leads only to evil.”
Earlier in the chapter, David reminds us to “Commit our way to the Lord; to trust in Him and He will do this”. He will do this. God will do this. I need only to be still.
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. No matter how busy your day or how hairy your schedule, we must remember to stay calm and be still. The Lord is in control.
Today… every time you feel stressed, whisper “Be Still” and know God is calming the waters and paving the wave. Shhh…… Just…Be…Still………..
