BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD

I need to learn to quiet myself before God.  It’s easier to pour out all the things that are on my mind than it is to listen to what my Father has to say to me.  Have you ever tried to get your point across to someone who wouldn’t let you get a word in edgewise, and when you finally did get to speak, you knew that they weren’t hearing you because they were too busy framing their next comment?  That’s how the Lord must sometimes feel about us.  Faith, God says, comes from hearing - not speaking - and hearing comes from the Word of God.  It’s only when God can reveal Himself to me through His Word that I can see myself in truth and be changed more into Christ’s likeness.  Then it is that I relinquish the control of my life to Him and truly begin to perceive that He is God.

 

As I was praying before church one Sunday morning I became aware of a stinging sensation in my finger.  Looking closely at it, I found that I had driven a wooden splinter into the flesh of my right index finger.  I was amazed at how much it hurt and yet I had not noticed it before.  Thinking back, I realized that I had probably done it days before and had been carrying it with me since then without even being aware of it.  As I became quiet before the Lord, however, the presence of this little thorn in my flesh became very evident and commanded my attention.

 

That’s when God spoke to me.  He made me realize that the splinter wasn’t the only hurt that I carried around with me, but was too busy to recognize.  I was carrying frustrations, hurt feelings, stress, disappointments, and a myriad of other wounds, and was not even aware that I was hurt.  In that quiet time before the Lord, I was able to see these “wounds” in my life that, with the Lords help, I could give to Him to heal.  Tenderly, He removed each "thorn" and restored peace and assurance to me as I relinquished each hurt to Him. 

 

Needless to say, I left that prayer session feeling like a new man.  I also came away with a better understanding of who God is, and of how dependant I am on Him for my spiritual health.  I could see that in my busy life I need to be still before God and listen to what He has to say rather than always presenting MY demands and then missing where my true needs - and His will - really lie.  This is the only way that I can really know that He is God.

 

“The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge…Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.  The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.” (Psalm 46:7-11).

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