Be Still

My friends and I started a new Bible study tonight, Becoming a Woman of Simplicity by Cynthia Heald. We had a wonderful time of discussion tonight about what it means to "Be still and know that I am God" from Psalm 46:10. One of my friends pointed out that the next two lines, "I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" often get left off, but are important clues to the meaning. God will work His will, He will triumph, He will glorify Himself. So, since He has everything under His control, and nothing is happening outside of its appointed time, we have no cause to fear or worry. That knowledge, and it takes faith to believe it, leads to peace. Not the kind of peace where you're on a deserted island with no cell phones or internet (I know, I couldn't stand it either), but peace amidst the busy circumstances of our lives. God's not telling us to literally stand still, but He's trying to get our attention and remind us that He is in complete control and for us to rest in that knowledge.

Another one of my friends pointed out that "being still" is related to submission, like when you bit and bridle a horse. The horse can either buck and fight you, or just stand still and let you lead it where you will. Only we're the horse and God is our master. We can fight against Him and lead a miserable life in the process, or we can stand still and wait until He leads us where He wants us to go. Either way He's going to accomplish His purposes in us. We do not choose many of our circumstances, but we all do have a choice. We can choose to trust and obey the Lord or to rebel against Him.

I'm looking forward to the other lessons in this study on becoming a woman of simplicity. It couldn't have come at a better time now that we're all gearing up for our busy holiday schedules. Let's all try to "be still" during the upcoming weeks and rest in the knowledge that the Lord is sovereign over all so we have nothing to fear or worry about.