BE STILL

"Tremble, and do not sin; Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still." 

Psalm 4:4

In today's world, being still has become a challenge.  In a modern culture where technology seems to have total control of our life, cell phones, fun apps, computers, TV's and web surfing can be fun and enjoyable.  Sadly, many of these gadgets and distractions take us away from being still in the presence of God.  Let us consider what it means to be still in the presence of God.

We forget that being still in the presence of God brings us direction from God’s Word and breathes life into us.  It helps us not only to speak to God but to listen to Him through His Word.

I am not going to deny that technology is essential in today's world.  It makes things much easier for us, but we all have to choose and decide how much time to spend on any given activity and determine what the priorities in our life are.  Often many waste away their precious God-given time on the Internet and various diversions.  These will rob us of our peace and wholeness. It will also leave us lacking the wisdom of God's Word and will.


I.   STILLNESS AND QUIETNESS:

It is so vital in our walk as Christians to listen to God and learn wisdom from Him.  Straight from His Word, the Bible.  Nothing in this world can replace God's wisdom, not even all that you learn by searching all the four corners of the earth on the Internet.  We forget that God often reaches us amid our stillness and quietness as we meditate on His thoughts and ways.

We must make time to listen to God.  We must strip away all the unnecessary layers of distractions.  We must ask God humbly for wisdom to judge what stays and what goes!

It is living in the stillness that allows us to contemplate prayer as an essential part of our life as modeled by Jesus and the apostles.

"But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray"  (Luke 5:16).

If our Lord Jesus had to retreat from all earthly distractions to call on God, where do we stand? Are we making time to pray, study God's Word and meditate on it so that we may be strengthened and gain wisdom to save us from the dominion of darkness?  I am afraid many of us don't! 

We fail to retreat from our unnecessary busyness, and our activities become a stumbling block. If our Lord Jesus found it necessary and vital, how much more is it necessary for us?  How are we going to be grounded in His Word and learn how to teach others who are lost in sin if we don't take the necessary time to study and pray?  All layers of earthly distractions must go away!

"It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God"  (Luke 6:12).

It is so easy to miss living a life truly for God.  We must go against the grain of constant clamor!  The noise of this life can only make us miss the purpose of what God really wants for us.

It is of great importance that we make time for God and His kingdom of righteousness.  What that means is that we must choose to have days with "nothing" on our schedule.  Nothing does not mean being free from basic daily tasks, but it can simply look like not adding extra activities, extra busyness for a period of time.  Let us not fill up our life with unnecessary earthly activity, which causes us to avoid being in the presence of God by studying and meditating in His Word and reaching out to Him in prayer.

We don’t need for our days to be jam-packed to feel good about ourselves.  A full schedule does not necessarily mean that we have a purpose.  God already has a great purpose for us, and that is to do His will and further His kingdom for His sake.

"There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven"  (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

God is the Author of time, and He gives it to us to do His will and do everything He sets before us in each designated season of our life.  Each season will require time well spent being still in His presence.  Otherwise, we will never know what it is that we must do with that time of life that God has given to us.  Let us not deceive ourselves and find ourselves ashamed by the great Judge of all.

During each season of our life, God will give us abundant life if we do His will.  Thus we must not fill up all of our time with distractions because we are afraid that maybe God has planned more for us.  It is His will that we walk our path of faith here on earth.  He only has our good in mind.  He is a flawless and unselfish God.

 "Who shows loving kindness to thousands, but repays the iniquity of fathers into the bosom of their children after them, O great and mighty God. The Lord of hosts is His name"  (Jeremiah 32:18).

Nowhere in the Bible does it say that we all have to use the latest technology there is out there and be involved in every useless earthly activity which bears no good fruit for His glory.

"The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh"  (Ecclesiastes 4:5).

Idleness is dangerous!  Let us be careful and not fall into Satan's trap by doing those things that do not bear good fruit, those that are unfruitful, and make us lose our souls.  They are real-time wasters, and we will have to give account to the Judge of all.  God wants and demands that we be not idle or negligent in seeking His wisdom and His kingdom of righteousness.  We must not be idle in living righteously and blamelessly for Him!  We must not be idle in the tasks or duties He has put explicitly before us to do with all diligence (family duties, the task of raising children, the obligation to further His church or kingdom, doing the work that bears good fruit, honors and glorifies Him).

If we do not pursue the right things diligently, using our time wisely, we will be walking as fools folding our hands even while being busy.  When we waste the work of our hands, not pursuing what God has given us to do, our hands are going to be idle in God's eyes, and judgment will come to us.

When we are still, we can learn of His holiness.  We can see His majesty.  We can see His good works in our lives and all that He has blessed us with.  We have time to reflect on all these things, not leaving room to ignore what He has done for us.  We learn all that He is to us.  We learn all the plans He has for us.  Plans to restore and mold our souls into His image.  To become and think like Him in His steadfastness and love.

"I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well"  (Psalm 139:14).

Sadly our souls will not know this blessing if we are never still in His presence.


CONCLUSION:

Let us purpose in our heart to find time to be still in His presence, whatever season we may be in. I assure you that the way you see life will be different.  Your perspective will change.  It will bring you peace, contentment, and great understanding.  And most importantly, it will help you de-clutter all the unnecessary layers of earthly distraction in your life.

Let us meditate on these words.

"Be still, and know that I am God.  I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"  (Psalm 46:10).

May the Lord help us to tremble at His Word and be still in His presence.


Luci