Be Still

Sometimes ...just sometimes when well-meaning people share certain things they've heard over and over and over again, I cringe. I cringe because no real understanding of "what in the samhill" (Oklahoma word for "what in the world") they are even saying!  "Be still and know that I am God" is one of those things that get thrown around, often.  Please know that I am not discrediting God's Word, I'm just discrediting how we sometimes use it.

The unexplainable happens.  We hurt.  We don't see any outcome riding on the horizon.  We say we will "be still and know that He is God."  What we mean is we are going to ride out in hurt and confusion the fact that God took us by surprise and we don't know how to deal with what's been dealt.

Oh my word, how many times have I been in that scene?!  Today, with no unexplainable happening, I see a new perspective.  What if being still, was not being still at all?  And what if knowing God wasn't knowing about Him but something more ...much more?

To be still, I have to be quiet.  But what if in the quietness, instead of being in a resting position waiting for something to happen, I simply stopped/freed MYSELF from activity to insure a solution and rested on God.  Rested on God's plan, God's timing, God's way ...despite what makes common sense; despite what my family thinks; despite what others' tell me?

I boarded a plane in August of 2014 for Austria.  I buckled my seat belt next to my Chris and our precious Parker and sweet Libby.  We had resigned a comfortable position with a regular paycheck in order to pursue what we knew to be a new direction.  Our bank account had a month of income.  On paper, this was a more than risky move.  All we had was the knowledge that God had given us a direction, and because of our knowledge of Who He was and was not, we were going to trust His plan, His way and in His time.

Two weeks later, an email from a basic stranger affirmed what we knew God would do for us.  A total salary for our work had been provided.

Being still may mean being counter-culture - even "Christian" culture.  Being still may mean to still, to put to silence, the voices in our own head that tell us logical next steps.  Being still may mean ingesting more of God's Word, throwing ourselves at His parental feet and telling Him we aren't going to move until we hear from Him.

Knowing God may mean what the Hebrews meant.  They called "knowing" an intimate relationship based on experience.  If you've walked with God longer than a day, you know that He will never leave.  He may leave you hanging, wondering, and scratching your head ...but He will never leave you alone.  There may be pain, confusion, doubt but He's in the middle of that, too!  He's a good Father.  He gives direction.  It may not be all sweetness and roses but it will be an experience that leaves you wanting more.

Why?  Why does this relationship with God - the invisible One - leave us wanting more?  Easy.  When we are still - we know.  We know that He gives us MORE than we can think, ask, imagine.  We know that in our wildest dreams, the outcome of trusting Him with our stillness of mind gives us rewards that only a segment of crazed followers of God have experienced.  He's worth it.  He's worth being still for.

When I buckled that seat belt, back in 2014 ... I did so with trembling fingers.  Would God prove Himself?  Was I crazy?  Had my Chris led us down a dead end path?  I can say with all confidence, the answer was no!  Trebling fingers were not still.  They learned more of God by buckling a seat belt and going for a wild ride!

Still being still,
Christina