Tag: Psalms 46:10

Being Still

On By femmefuelIn April 2012, FemmeFeatures by Bindu Adai-Mathew1 Comment

By Bindu Adai-Mathew

 

Be still and know that I am God. Psalms 46:10a

For me, this is one of the simplest yet most profound scriptures in the Bible. In a world where we are inundated with so much “noise” in our lives—texting, Instant Messaging, FB msgs, FaceTime, emails, voicemails, tweets…it is hard to be still anymore. It is hard to still the noise in our heads, the chaotic thoughts, worries, fears in our mind and know that despite the chaos in our own lives, our God is there, as He has always been…The same God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob…He is all powerful, fully able to provide everything and anything we need.

I remember when 911 happened. In one morning, life as we Americans knew it changed so dramatically. In one instant, the cocoon of safety we had believed surrounded us evaporated like the morning fog. When the first tower was hit, we all thought it was some freak accident. But when the second tower was hit and then the Pentagon, we knew.  The news of that morning revealed one crushing blow after another, and we knew we were being attacked at the very core of our country. As we watched those World Trade towers crumble like dust to the ground, we momentarily had to remind ourselves that we were watching the news and not some science fiction movie.

But I also remember something else that people talked about over and over again in the coming weeks and months. Where is God? How could He have allowed this to happen? Why us, God?

Be still and know that I am God.

The peace we experience in our lives is not a result of a worry-free or peaceful life. Peace is initially fighting through our disappointment when things and life are not going our way and getting back to that point where we trust God again and give him the benefit of the doubt.  It’s asking how do we fit in His plan.

Be still and know that I am God.

The peace we experience during turbulent times comes from the knowledge that God, despite all appearances, is always in control, and although His ways are not our ways, it is in hindsight, His best for us.

Being still doesn’t mean being passive and waiting for your answer to arrive served on a silver platter. Being still means knowing you’ve done your part and then waiting on God to do the rest. But therein lies one of our fundamental challenges as believers…waiting on God’s timing.

Often as we wait, doubt creeps in…perhaps God has forgotten us…or maybe He is not going to do anything anyway…our thoughts and fears can often run away from us and lead us into disbelief.

Be still and know that I am God.

What personal “911s” have you endured in your own life? Not all of them have to be catastrophes or epic in scope. But all of us experience our own life questioning moments.

Perhaps like me, it’s a company layoff…or for some, it’s a marriage that is on the brink of divorce…or a sickness…

Wherever you are and whatever you are going through, take a moment today…even if only at the stop light on your commute to work…to know and experience God in the quietness of your soul.

Be still, my friend…Allow Him a moment to speak to you, if only to remind you of His love for you and that He has a plan for your life.

Our God was, is, and always will be the true, only, living God.

Revel in that knowledge. Remind yourself, if God is for you…who can stand against you?

Be still…

 

Hearing God’s Voice in the Rain

On By femmefuelIn Best of JMathis, FemmeBytes by JMathis, May 2011 (Motherhood)Leave a comment

By JMathis

The whole world feels differently when it rains outside. We hurriedly rush indoors to stay dry and warm, and we often bemoan the fact that it’s so dark and dreary outside.

At the same time, when it rains outside, it’s the only time that I allow myself to really.slow.down on the inside: the inside of my house, the inside of my mind. When it thunders and roars outside, I cancel plans with friends and opt instead for prolonged cuddle sessions with my family, catch up on Academy Award nominated films from six years ago, or make indulgent comfort food from a cookbook that has been collecting dust on my shelf for years.

These storms are the only times in my life that I give myself permission to Eat. Pray. Love. No regrets, no worries, no stress and no counting calories. I fling the front door of my house wide open, stand in the overhang of my porch where I am safe and dry, and just watch in surrender as the rain pours down onto my driveway.

It is in these times that I hear the Lord.

AbbyA hears Him in her car, but I hear Him when it rains.

I hear words of safety, peace, healing, forgiveness and love.

How is it that I hardly ever hear Him at any other time? I don’t hear Him in my commute, I don’t hear Him when the phones are ringing off the hook in my office, and I don’t hear Him at the end of the day, as I attempt to clean up a house that manages to destroy itself daily with toys, laundry, and sticky, gooey fingerprints that pervade every nook and cranny of my domestic existence.

Yet I hear Him when it rains.

Perhaps that is the only time I actually create a space for Him where He can be heard.

After all, He is always speaking. Unfortunately, the pulsating rave beats of my daily life drown out the tender whispers of His presence.

Find your safe, comforting, creative and forgiving space, ladies, wherever it may be: cars, thunderstorms or while getting a massage. Find a space where time is not of the essence, and where keeping up with the Joneses is not a priority.

Go to the quiet and hear the voice of the Lord, even when it is raining fear, pain and worry outside. Hear Him speak healing over your infertility, your impending bankruptcy, your depression, your unemployment, your failing grades, your inability to find your soulmate, your low self-esteem, and the unforgiveness sitting in the deep recesses of your heart—unforgiveness towards yourself, your family, or your cheating spouse.

He is always speaking. Just create a space for Him where He can be heard.

Psalms 46:10: “Be still, and know that I am God…”

2 Corinthians 3:17: “…where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”