To be still often means to remain calm, quiet, and motionless. But the hebrew meaning of to be still means to sink down, relax, let go, cease striving, or withdraw. In the bible to be still doesn’t mean to be quiet, but rather that we should stop fighting and trust God.
Be still and know that I am God is a famous passage found in Psalm 46:10. Here the psalmist was declaring that no matter what was happening around him, God was his strength. And that is what God wants us to learn from the Psalm. That God is our strength. That we can’t do life without him. And that we need to stop doing things in our own strength and let God take care of us.
UNLOADING OUR BURDENS
Psalm 68:19 says, Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens (NIV).
In order to be still we must learn to unload our burdens to the one who can carry them. When troubles arise we often turn to a friend or family member first to share our problems with. But how much better would it be if we would first run to the Lord who cares more than any human being could.
Psalm 55:22 says, Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.
God wants us to cast every anxiety and every burden upon him. He even says so in his word.
1 Peter 5:7 says, Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
He will not faulter or fail under the heavy burdens of our hearts.
Deuteronomy 31:8 says, The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.
He is more than capable. He is the almighty, the one who has more strength than we need to make it through each day.
As I am writting this I am being reminded to ask God to reveal any burdens that I am carrying that I am not aware of. It is good to ask God this question often because there are times when we won’t know that we are carrying a burden. And that is because we tend to want to fix things ourselves. We wait until we have exhausted every option before we give our problems to the Lord.
Right now I am going through a waiting season and God has asked me to be still while I wait. And it is so very hard to do this when I am naturally an independent woman. I find myself holding on to things that I think I can change when only God can change it. Striving or struggling over little issues. When I know that if I would just give it over to God, he will take care of it.
Why do we do that? Why do we think that we can fix our problems? God is the only one who knows what the outcome will be and knows the best way to help us. So why wouldn’t we want to listen and follow his leading?
BIBLE VERSES ABOUT BEING STILL
Here are 6 bible verses that can help us to be still. Pick a verse and repeat it often. Repeating the verse will train the mind to think the way God wants us to think and not the way the world wants us to think.
The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still. (Exodus 14:14)
The Levites calmed all the people, saying, "Be still, for this is a holy day. Do not grieve." (Nehemiah 8:11)
Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. (Psalm 4:4)
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. (Psalm 37:7)
He says, "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." (Psalm 46:10)
He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still! Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. (Mark 4:39)
HOW CAN WE PRACTICE STILLNESS IN GOD’S PRESENCE?
Here are 6 things we can do to practice stillness.
Journal our prayers
Sing or listen to worship music
Follow a bible reading plan or devotion
Take a walk and pray
Read a Psalm
Meditate on God’s word (repeat his promises)
CONCLUSION
The call to be still is a call to be silent and examine our hearts before God. Where do we need to trust and surrender more?
Maybe God is asking you to wait patiently for him to make the next move. Or maybe he is asking you to stop trying to figure things out and let him do the figuring.
We need to still our hearts and minds. And to do that we need to choose to trust God. And then God will be faithful to do what he has promised us.
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