“Be still and KNOW…”

Before you take the time in your day to read what I might say, it is truly more important that you read Psalm 46, & what God says:

God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble.
² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
³ though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quake with their surging.

⁴ There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy place where the Most High dwells.
⁵ God is within her, she will not fall;
    God will help her at break of day.
⁶ Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
    he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

⁷ The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

⁸ Come and see what the Lord has done,
    the desolations he has brought on the earth.
⁹ He makes wars cease
    to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    he burns the shields with fire.
¹⁰ He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.”

¹¹ The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress. (NIV)

Some days I really do feel like I am in a war. And with world events, our own wonderful nation seemingly trying to elevate itself in its own divided power, I do get distracted from what I know is true & Who I know has & always will speak the truth. That is just an excuse.

In the past, I have rolled my eyes or, at the very least, felt that people who seemed to spend their day working & taking care of their families in short increments when they weren’t pouring over the Bible, singing praise songs & praying for – hours, were excessive in their faith. Then things began to happen in my life that directed me down a new path & a new evaluation of my priorities.

I was a child raised in a God-loving family. We went to church every Sunday. I went to a parochial school for eight years & Sunday School for four years after that. I began asking clarification questions during those four years & never received any satisfactory answers, in my mind. That may have been due to answers that came from church rhetoric, not the Bible & God’s words. After marriage & relocation, I received my first Bible from a caring woman of God & began to attend study groups. It was awesome to find so many answers, guiding answers, in the Bible! I read it like a parched woman who had been traveling in a desert! And then –

I went to a revival – The Pensacola Outpouring it was historically named – in our Florida hometown. I went because I saw such a huge, Godly change in my twin teenagers, and I wasn’t sure about the ‘why’! I found out. I attended for 3 weeks & marked my Bible & took notes. Then I would go home & read some more, & pray. And one night, when Rev. Steve Hill, spoke of Jesus’ great love, only He could be enough to die for my sins. Jesus did that, died, for me & my huge, disgusting sins! I stood up & walked forward. I knew, I knew I was clean of my sins in that moment. That was 28 years ago.

Since then, I have walked with my Savior. He has been with me through some of the darkest times of my life. Jesus has been there every time I have called out to Him. He & I have had some conversations! He is faithful. He is honest. He is always right!

Today’s psalm has spoken to me many times. “Shhhh, Jody! Stop talking & listen!” because I can just keep talking like what I have to say will bring answers! Now sometimes that will show me that I have blown something out of proportion. But, for me, I hear best when I read a passage in the Bible & then be still. Be intentionally still to hear wisdom from God’s Spirit.

[Jesus said,] ¹⁵ “If you love me, keep my commands. ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— ¹⁷ the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” – John 14: 15 – 17 (NIV)