Be still and know that I am God

I can still hear the tune of the well known song as my mother’s voice sings these words to me in Afrikaans and I wonder, just a silent thought, how many of us, actually become still and know that He is God…?

Or what is it that we know when we become still?

When your mouth is still, do your thoughts scream out?

When your heart is still, does your mind shout loud?

When your house is still, does your aching heart wail?

“Surrender your anxiety. Be still and realize that I am God. I am God above all the nations, and I am exalted throughout the whole earth. Here he stands! The Commander! The mighty Lord of Angel Armies is on our side! The God of Jacob fights for us! Pause in his presence”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭46‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭TPT‬‬

The question however that comes to mind is HOW? How do I surrender my anxiety?!

When we look at the beginning of the Psalm it points us in the right direction.

Verse 4-5

“God has a constantly flowing river whose sparkling streams bring joy and delight to his people. His river flows right through the city of God Most High, into his holy dwelling places. God is in the midst of his city, secure and never shaken. At daybreak his help will be seen with the appearing of the dawn.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭46‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭TPT‬‬

A River that flows through God’s City, A River, a body of rushing water, fresh, alive, moving, nurishing, water that is alive… water that gladdens the hearts of the city? Joy, complete joy, A river that runs from God to the city and brings joy… This can only be Christ! Christ flowing through us, Life flowing through us. God in the midst of His city, God with us, Immanuel! Jesus, the River that runs through us, us who are His dwelling place, flowing from the heart of the Father.

But HOW?

Blessed is the one…

“…whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭1‬:‭2‬-‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

A river that runs through me that causes me to bear fruit… John 15… The Vine! Jesus!

““I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

‭‭John‬ ‭15‬:‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

““As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”

‭‭John‬ ‭15‬:‭9‬-‭12 NIV‬‬

But what is it we should do, what is it that I should meditate on, what command(s) should I obey so that I can get what God offers? These seem like the right questions and yet the Word says we should “remain” or “abide”, this sounds a lot like “Be still and know”… And as you become still, as you abide, as you remain, meditate on this: The Living River, Jesus Christ flows through me and causes me to be secure and never shaken, bearing fruit in season. He brings joy and delight to His people, He makes my joy complete. Love - understand that you are loved, tended to, refreshed and therefore able to love.

Our own anxious thoughts and busywork lives rarely produce the fruit God desires in our lives. Is it that He frowns down on us as we “try our best”? No! It is to the advantage of the Farmer that His Vineyard bears much fruit, for He greatly cares for every branch and He is one with the Vine in giving the branches everything needed for it to grow and prosper. The tender Tender of the branches is the one who comes in close to lift up every branch, the patient Pruner is the one who prunes away for His glory and makes room for more fruit, a greater harvest.

What is it we should be doing, thinking, trying to make it in this world, this week, this day…?

Reading these passages of scripture helps me to understand it is not so much about what I should be doing to make things work or make things better but more about what He is already doing and continues to do in and through me.

Can we today pause in His presence to hear God say: ‘Be still and know, that I am God, I fight for you, I am the River of Life that runs through you, living sap in you, restoring and refreshing your joy, I love you! Meditate on this until you know that I am God, God with you, God in you, God through you and then love as I love!

And as the tune drifts in and out of memory I am reminded by a beloved voice that there is One, always closer, even nearer, more alive, interwoven, whole, vibrant, abundant and real than even the most familiar anxious thought I may feel. What is greater is that He gushes forth life in and through me. This is worth meditating on!

““And I will send you the Divine Encourager from the very presence of my Father. He will come to you, the Spirit of Truth, emanating from the Father, and he will speak to you about me. And you will tell everyone the truth about me, for you have walked with me from the start.””

‭‭John‬ ‭15‬:‭26‬-‭27‬ ‭TPT‬‬

In Him

katryn