Be Still . . . And Know!
Do we ever find ourselves trying to “fix” the world?
We may attempt to fix:
- Other people
- Our career
- Our marriage
- Our children
- Our friends
- Our . . .
We strive to fix and reconstruct and reconfigure so many “things” within the world when really we are instructed through the Scripture in exactly WHAT WE—MERE MORTALS—SHOULD DO!
“Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; . . .”
(Psalm 37: 7a NASB)
[Be Still in the presence of the LORD and wait patiently for Him to act; . . .]
Is it not quite amazing how—God only needs half of a Bible verse to grab ahold of our attention?!
Once God has been presented to us, and once we have chosen to accept Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as our Savior and Redeemer, then God begins a rebuilding project. If we have ever been part of a remodeling job as a “good” home is transformed into a “better one,” then we know how exciting that time can be & just as excruciatingly frustrating as we see the “mess” of the construction site. A Christian life is being rebuilt much like a rebuilt dwelling place.
Go with me for a moment to my grandparents’ home that sat directly on Indiana Hwy 231. The white-sided house had as builders say, “Good bones;” nevertheless, my grandparents did not want to live within this house as it stood when they purchased it. They wanted something “more” so they hired a builder, a man who had the necessary skills to remodel their “good house” into a “better home.”
I remember going to visit them at the construction site. It was a mess! Boards were strewn everywhere, new light fixtures were sitting in boxes, and new windows were propped against the studded walls that awaited the new drywall that was to be installed. New doors, new handles, new flooring—NEW EVERYTHING!
We took photos during the remodeling (as did grandma), and the TRANSFORMATION was REMARKABLE! It was a beautiful “old” house re-done into something brand “new.”
A Christian life is a bit like being a rebuilt home, much like a rebuilt dwelling place. What once housed “good” bones now houses the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit. The “good” has become “better,” as we are “TRANSFORMED.” God does not stop there.
God continually works on us as we spiritually mature, as we learn from our time digging into His Word, as we spend daily time in prayer, and as He walks close by our side, holding our hand as we go through this life.
Along the way, God fixes the leaky roof, unclogs the drains, repairs a squeaky board, adds on new rooms, constructs a new corner watchtower, lifts off the roofline to install new floors, and even gives us new courtyards, new gardens outside the back door. God even takes charge of the “junk room” where we discard everything that we don’t really have a need for anymore. This is the process of God’s Sanctification, and it’s an on-going process until the day God comes to our house so that He can walk us into our mansion waiting for us in heaven, in our eternal resting place. God does all that! All that we need to do is quiet our minds, quiet our wayward spirit, quiet our racing hearts, & Be Still in the presence of the LORD.
God fixes everything!
God makes us into a house we could not even imagined!
God does!
Do not believe me, though, but believe the Word of God. Let us see with our heart the TRUTH of GOD as demonstrated through His prophet Elijah, a man who walked with the LORD. As we read, we should remember how it was Elijah who God took him home to heaven one ordinary day while Elijah was daily living his life. Yes, Elijah did not need to die because God merely reached down and lifted Elijah out of this earthly world. An Amazing Miracle of our Heavenly Father. Read with me & Let us Be Still in the presence of the LORD.
“So He said, [God said to Elijah] “Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD was passing by! And a great and powerful wind was tearing out the mountains and breaking the rocks in pieces before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
(1 Kings 19: 11-13 NASB)
And after the earthquake, a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing.
When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
May we not strive to “fix” ourselves trying to “repair” all the broken parts.
May we not pull out our tools, intent on “reconstructing” and “reconfiguring” all our many “things.”
May we not race around failing miserably in trying to “fix” the world.
We have been instructed through the Scripture exactly WHAT WE—MERE MORTALS—SHOULD DO!
- Pray without ceasing.
- Study the Word of God.
- Listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
- Testify, sharing the gospel wherever we go.
- Praise the goodness of the Father.
“Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; . . .”
(Psalm 37: 7a NASB)
[Be Still in the presence of the LORD and wait patiently for Him to act; . . .]