BE STILL! These are not words we have never heard before. In fact, I am sure I use them all the time at school. "Please just be still and listen." Today as I was walking I was listening to The Wind (a christian radio station) they said the verse Exodus 14:14. "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still."
I started thinking about what does it mean for me to be still before the Lord. Me... Be Still...I always have to be going or doing or thinking. It is hard for me to slow down. My schedule is always packed. If I have a day where things aren't planned I still have things I am doing to fill my schedule. Even when I am spending time with God it is hard for me to be still. I pray, read, sing, but it is so hard for me to just shut all of that off and to listen. This summer God has taught me a lot about just slowing down and taking in the beauty of the little things. I did not do this by choice but, I believe He took all the busy things of my life away so that I was forced to be still. If you are at full speed all the time you miss out on things and grow weary. God has shown me that when I take the time to enjoy the little things like just sitting outside and listening to the bugs and looking at His beautiful creation like flowers, trees, stars, animals,and yes even weird bugs I find peace in where I am and in my life. Now when I am sitting with someone I catch myself thinking man this is nice to just sit here and enjoy my time with that person. If we are talking or just sitting I can just enjoy there company. I am trying to figure out in a busy world, how to "be still." It is something that I intentionally have to do. Which yes, in a way is planning and something else to do. If I am not intentional about just sitting in front of the Lord and being still I miss out on how that fills me and sustains me.
I began to read Exodus 14 because I didn't want to take the verse out of context and miss the purpose of the whole thing. This is a familiar passage where Moses is leading the Israelites out of Egypt. The Israelites are getting scared as they are running from the Egyptians who have enslaved them. They start to question why they listen to Moses and God. Interesting to me how sometimes stories just mean something more or something different depending on where you are in life. In life I think I sometimes try to run away mentally from all the endless thoughts in my head. They lead me to anxiety and fear which is not from the Lord. So lately I have felt like the Israelites running into the desert. They ask Moses if he has led them out there to die because it will be easier to dispose of their bodies. We all feel like this sometimes. Like we are being led somewhere and we don't know why or where. It is easy for us to go to fear first. This is when Moses tells them, "The Lord will fight for you; you only need to be still." Powerful words right there. Shut off your worries, anxiety, fear and know that THE all victorious one is fighting for you! He wants you to succeed and follow his will but, to do so you must have full confidence that God is working on your behalf if you are still and listen. Take in His peace so that He may show His power. When the Israelites calm down and trust God, he uses Moses to part the sea, give them a way to escape, and kills their enemy. Guess the teacher in me comes out because I just stinkin' LOVE when God uses a simple story to teach a powerful lesson. "The Lord WILL fight for you; you NEED only to BE STILL." Exodus 14:14 So in a busy world where I feel like I am loosing.....God is fighting for me I just need to be still in that and trust it!
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