Be Still? I don’t know how to be still

It’s one of the most called upon Bible verses. Simple and short, it makes for easy remembering. Plus, it looks beautiful in a modern calligraphy typeface.

But beneath the subject matter of all those Hobby Lobby/Etsy/Pinterest lettering projects, in our world of hustle and bust-your-buns bustle, the two words of advice “Be Still” stand out like a serious sore thumb. First, let’s get one thing straight— it’s more than just advice. You see those two words pulled out by themselves so often because it’s more like a way of life. A stance you take. A lifestyle shift. It’s the original and yet now trendy again way to say, “Let go, and let God.”

This is my friend, Jessica Barker’s stylish bedroom with her own calligraphy featured on the wall!

Let go and let God what? Are we talking about something in particular? No. That’s the point. Be still. Let God. In everything.

But you want my honest thoughts? It. Makes. No. Sense. It’s a popular piece of Scripture, but it’s also one of the most bewildering. How do I live it out? What does it mean practically speaking? How am I supposed to “be still,” when my faith is meant to be worked out in action, according to James 2:14-22 (the “faith and deeds” passage)? How do I simultaneously “give it to God,” and still be faithful in my part, as we are reminded of in Colossians 3:23-24? How could I possibly honor God by working hard and also honor God by being still all at the same time? Those are inverses of each other, or at least it would seem. Yep. All the questions. Bottom line, what am I responsible for and what is God responsible for?

So, today when my morning devotional brought me to those two words, I wrestled. What do you mean, let God work out the details? What am I supposed to do in the meantime? Sit in a comfy chair and wait for divine intervention to take place? Where is my active participation?

Devotional graphic courtesy of Mops International

If you couldn’t tell, I’m someone who struggles with not letting her to-do list become an idol in her life. I rely on them heavily, not just as a tool for getting things done, but if I’m honest I’ve also relied on them to give me a sense of worth. The checking off equaling my personal value.

When my best friend who loves shopping at Target found a kitchen towel that said Every Day I’m Brusselin’ with cute little cartoon brussels sprouts on it, she got it for me. Why? Because I’m the first person she thought of when she read the words. Insert awkward teeth clenching emoji.

I have three kids who are in their preschool or elementary years. There is a lot of hustling just to get the “dailies” done- those things that should just get done: laundry, dishes, cooking, picking up, supervising, playing, planning, packing, disciplining. The kids also have activities they are a part of and daily duties as well that have to be overseen. Then there are the things outside of mothering that I am passionate about and feel called to. Finally, there are just the things. The things that distract. The things of escape. The “just because” things. And I haven’t even touched on some of the most important things in life: finding joy and being in relationship with others. Communing with God and resting in His presence. In all realness and rawness, I’ve actually experienced physical ailment and sickness in some really busy seasons of my life because of a lack of being able to properly manage stress.

So, with this heart-wrestling in mind, I finally went hard at studying the details of the context around which the famous two words were said. There are at least two places where “Be still” is found in the Bible: in a psalm and in a story.[i] The context surrounding both are hard things, impossible things, miraculous things. In Exodus, they were Moses’ words. They were spoken to the Israelites during one of the most memorable miracles in all of the Bible. No, I take that back. Not during. I am tempted to think it was during the miracle because I know the ending of the story.

I can read all of Exodus 14 in one quick sitting and know the ending to the fear-inducing, pulse-beating-out-of-your-chest, story. But they did not. The Israelites are in the middle of a war scene, only most of them aren’t warriors. They are former slaves. They are ordinary people that God has chosen to call His. They are men, women, and children. And yet 600 chariots are following them, and they are terrified. They are cornered. They’ve run as far as they can. And now they have Pharaoh’s foaming-at-the-mouth army on one side, the sea on the other. They are on foot. There are no boats. What are they going to do except excruciatingly wait like prey? So, they cry out to their leader. It would have been better, they say, to have remained slaves to the Egyptians for the rest of their long lives than for them to be cut short on their way to freedom.

And then Moses’s famous response: “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still.” (v. 14:13-14)

So, what happens next? Did they just sit down on the ground and that was that? Well, not exactly. In reviewing the entire story, you will see a pattern: 1) God asks Moses to do what Moses is capable of doing, 2) God promises to do what only He is capable of doing, 3) Moses obeys what God asks him to do, and 4) God does what He promised He would do.

So, first, Moses receives instructions from the Lord. My active participation?  Listen. Then, the instructions are for Moses to do something. Wait, I thought you said “be still?”  Be still until you hear from God what to do. And God tells Moses to raise his staff and stretch out his hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites could go through the sea on dry ground. Though He could have commanded the sea solo (asked them Himself to move out of the way), He uses Moses’ staff to command it. In the same story that says “be still,” He chooses to make people active participants in the miracle.

There are a couple reasons I believe He does this. One, it gives Moses an opportunity to practice obedience. As the leader of God’s people, He must listen and obey well. God asks us to follow Him (active), and then watch Him do the impossible part (passive). We participate in the physical; He drives the spiritual. Moses was capable of stretching out a staff. He was not capable of creating a dry aisle for the Israelites to walk right through a sea.

Our faith stands in the gap between our part and His part. Will we do our part so he can do His part? What if I can’t visualize the outcome? Or if the one I do visualize looks like a disaster? What if I do my part and God doesn’t come through? I will look stupid. I will be disappointed. I will have failed. We aren’t given that inner dialogue from Moses, but I have to think it was tempting. Because the truth is, no matter how hard we try, we don’t know the details around how God will answer. It could look exactly how we envisioned or it could look very, very different.

So, I think “Be still” is an instruction of the heart. In a culture that loves to put this Bible verse all over Pinterest but shrugs it off in real life, it can be a confusing but life-changing heart shift. A shift in remembering who is in control, and truly believing it is God. It boils down to knowing what is God’s part and what is yours.

Oh, and one more thing. This story involves clouds too. As God prepared the Israelites to walk right into the water-wall miracle, it says, “Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel.” (v. 19-20) Sometimes, God will go before us and we will have to follow. Other times, when it is too hard, He will stand behind us to keep us going. Finally, when the battle ground has gotten ugly, He will stand in between us and that thing that threatens to overpower us.

Luckily, I’m not the only one who has had to learn that “Be Still” is actually a message to be written on your heart. There are many characters in the Bible who had to learn what it meant to Be Still and rely on Jesus: the disciples who were stuck in a boat out at sea during a storm, those who had sick and dying loved ones, Peter as he tried to walk on water by faith. The Psalmists declare the evidence of God’s trust-worthiness in “being still” by listing in lyric form the wonders of His creation. If He can do all that, He can get you through.

So, while most of this is a heart shift, it is one that involves action. One practical application I’m putting in place is this: I know someone who once told our congregation that he prays over his calendar regularly and asks God to help him decipher what needs to stay on it, and what should go. I have been mindful of this ever since. Pray. Listen. Decided to obey. Act. Trust.

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

In what ways will you choose to “Be Still” this week and month? How will you practically live those two words out? LEAVE A COMMENT! I want to hear your thoughts!

[i]Psalm 46:10, Exodus 14:14

POSTED BY

Jenna

Jenna Kruse is a teacher but not in a classroom. She loves to think outside the box and inside the Word and is daily in need of an attitude adjustment. She is a wife to Justin, a mother to three children ages 10, 8 and 5 and a mentor to teenagers and young adults. You can learn more about the heart behind her blog HERE.

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