Be Still
By Peggy Kleckner
“The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
Exodus 14:14
(NIV)
Still: without sound; silent; not moving;
tranquil, calm (Webster’s New World
Dictionary)
What battle is raging in your life
at present? In the lives of those around you? What fear is tapping incessantly
on your shoulder or nipping at your heels? What chaos is threatening to
overwhelm you? What concern dogs your every
moment?
How do we be “still” in the midst?
While the words of Exodus 14 were
spoken by Moses to the Israelites, I believe there is a beautiful principle for
us, as well. This verse says that the LORD will fight for us, and it also gives
us our instruction, “be still.” Why are we so willing to try and do the LORD’s
part but fail to practice our part?
We, as believers, seem to be willing
to do, to go, to take up, to take on, but we are not very willing to be still.
Stillness feels unproductive. Keyword in that sentence: feels.
I think God would be pleased to see
us lay down our doing and come before Him in stillness. He would delight to
have us step away from our doing, to lay aside our pleading and to get quiet,
to get comfortable, in His presence. Certainly lay before Him our concerns, but
then just be still with Him. Give Him the gift of our time and our presence and
accept the same from Him. Time set aside to let Him search our heart and for us
to search His.
There is a time for doing, but not
until after we have become still before Him. Stillness denotes trust. We aren’t
still when we don’t feel safe. We must learn to feel safe in Him. It is to Him
that we surrender our all, not to our enemy. It is to Him that we bring our
time and our efforts. It is Him that we seek for counsel, protection,
direction, fellowship, love. He is the answer that we seek.
To be still in the midst of our
present chaos is to have practiced being still in the midst of all of our other
days. We must be like a batter who can hit when the crowd is booing or
cheering, because he has practiced when no one was watching.
Practice: to do or engage in frequently; make
a habit of, to do repeatedly so as to become proficient
May we each spend time practicing
our part: stillness, so as to better trust Him to do His part: fight for us.
GOING
DEEPER:
1
Will you come and sit before Him long enough to become still?
2. Can you let go of your painful circumstance
and trust that He will fight for you?
FURTHER
READING:
Peggy is a wife and mother of four
adult children - - two sons and two stepsons, and is an active encourager at
Oakwood Church in Delafield.
