Day 5 - Rushing or Resting?

SCRIPTURE
“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, ESV)

DEVOTIONAL
If you’ve ever stepped on an ant hill (and in Georgia you surely have), you’ve seen the little guys running around in a flurry of activity trying to repair their home. This is probably how most of us look to God, scurrying around in busyness, trying to fix our lives. Yet, no matter how fast we run or in how much of a flurry we find ourselves, we really can’t fix our biggest dilemmas. God’s answer is to just be still and know that He alone is God.

The word for “still” can also be translated as cease, abate, or forsake. God tells us to “calm down” (CEV), “cease striving” (NASB), and to “surrender our anxiety” (TPT).

What does it mean to “know” that He is God? It’s to know by observing, reflecting, and experiencing. The only way to do that is to first be still. When it seems life is too hard, too overwhelming, or too difficult to understand, God tells us to stop and dwell on Him. We are reminded “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” (Isaiah 26:3, NLT)

The story was shared during the “Soul Care” series of how, at the first sign of snow, farmers in the Midwest would tie a rope from the house to the barn so they wouldn’t get lost in a blizzard. They knew people who had died because they were lost in a whiteout and couldn’t find their way home. It’s easy to get caught up in the frenzy and distractions of the world. When that happens, we need a rope from the back door to the barn so we can find our way home again. The farmers didn’t wait until a blizzard came, but they prepared before the storm. It’s important that we regularly take time to be still, dwell on God, and be sure our connection to Him is strong when the storms come.
 
 
ACTION STEP
Looking back at your calendar for the past week, how many days have you spent reflecting on God and experiencing His presence? Make a plan (tie a rope in your mind from the back door to the barn) and start to regularly be still before the Lord.

Every morning for the next week, stop for at least five minutes and listen to the Lord. Without asking Him for anything, simply praise Him and exalt Him for who He is.

PRAYER TIME
Write Psalm 46:10 in your own words as your prayer to God.

Father, help me to never be too busy for you. Teach me to be still in Your presence, to listen for Your voice, and to exalt You with my life.