Be Still

“Be still and know that I am God.” We’ve probably all heard that scripture quoted. It’s comforting to think about, but not always so easy to do. It’s not so easy to be still.

We see something we perceive as a wrongdoing or injustice and we want to make it right. Yet, do we always understand the full implication of our own actions?

The scriptures state that God is in control of all things, and everything is working according to His perfect will.

Do we ever consider that the wrongdoings and injustices of this world are ordained by God? Sometimes things need to be turned upside down before they can be set right. This can apply to our individual lives and to national or global events. Things might seem chaotic. It might seem like our world is falling apart. In reality, things are just as they should be.

The scriptures also state that there is a time for all things. This timing is according to His perfect will.

There is a time for a Christian to stand up for what’s right. If we have a full understanding of the situation and are given the appropriate response from the Holy Spirit, we should be faithful to that. However, if God is not with us in our response and we are serving ourselves instead of God, then we are not really standing up for what is right.

If our response is in defense of our own pride, provoked by fear, or hastily spoken without having the facts straight, we are only adding to the noise.

It’s easy to be noisy. It’s easy to get carried away with all of the opinionated fighting and prideful notions that we know what’s best. Instead, it’s often better to be still. It’s often better to trust in God and know that He will set things right, and this process might be difficult for us to understand. Instead of trusting God, our pride, fear, and confusion cause us to take matters into our own hands or encourages us to place our trust in mankind.

The best way for a Christian to fight against wrongdoings, injustices, corruptions within government and religion, and all the like, is often contrary to our natural instincts. If we just take a moment to be still and focus on Jesus, He will show us what to do. Very often, that means we simply wait it out, trust in the Lord, and focus on staying faithful to Christian teaching in our own lives.

If we cultivate our own Christian walk, others might follow. They might not. They might follow the blind into the ditch—or bottomless pit. Either way, it is God’s doing.

There are scriptures about the desolation of the wicked. These teach us that we avoid this by doing one simple thing: trusting in the Lord. Not by fighting. Not by trying to fix all the wrongs of the world. Not by following an Elijah complex that wants to call down fire from heaven and “restore all things.” We simply be still. If the time comes to speak, and we have shown ourselves able to be still when required, then the words we speak will be effective because God is in them. We don’t want to add to the noise and confusion. Such are ordained by God for a purpose that is not for us.

We need to remember that we serve the God of all the earth, and He has purposed all things. He will set things right. He will take care of those who faithfully belong to Him.

Learning to be still is hard, but it is a good thing to learn. It is a necessary thing to learn. Jesus is good to teach us how.