Be Still And Know

What Does It Mean to “Be Still and Know?”

Be still and know

We can find the answer in Psalm 46.

YHWH speaks through His Word to His covenant people throughout the ages.

With Christ as Our Savior and, by His death and resurrection, we are now His covenant people.

Here’s just a portion of this beautiful psalm of peace and praise written for the younger sons of Korah.

Psalm 46

We can have peace knowing that God is our fortress and that He is “with us.”

The God who moves mountains

Who created the smallest and the largest living organisms

The God who created you and me

No problem, whether emotional, physical, or spiritual, is too big for our God. If we will learn to take refuge in Him and lean on Him alone for strength, then with the psalmist we can face the most extreme crises with quiet confidence, because God is with us and He is sufficient. – Steven J. Cole, author and theologian.2

God allows troubles, frustrations, and hardships in our lives.

Don't lose heart

Minor molehills to sky-high mountains.

But we have to trust and take our refuge in Him.

“Quiet confidence”

“Be still”

That’s hard sometimes, isn’t it?

In our quiet moments of prayer, we want everything fixed in our timing.

We may seek out Christian friends, perhaps a Christian counselor – all of whom can be helpful and supportive through the rocky journeys we may be experiencing, but ultimately, God is our strength.

Don’t Lose Heart – We Will See Eternal Restoration

Referencing Isaiah 40, Pastor Mike Fabarez reminds us that some day, at the appointed time, the Glory of the Lord will be revealed. He is the Restorer of all things.

Keeper of promises

No matter where in the world we are at that time, we will all see it.

That should give us confidence that our Lord is a keeper of promises and everything wrong going on will be made right.

Count on Him!

“Have you read the news? Things are not as they ought to be – in the world, in the country, in our state, in our county, probably not in your home and certainly not in our lives. It’s broken and it’s painful and it’s frustrating, and I recognize that. But, as Christians, we don’t lose heart because the mouth of the Lord has spoken, and we understand what He says and we believe what He says and we have confidence in what He says and He’s proved that He can do what He has promised. As a matter of fact, when we study the gospels, we recognize that Jesus assures us of an absolute permanent fix to all things, an eternal restoration of all things.”– Dr. Mike Fabarez, pastor and teaching minister.3

Be Still and Know That I Am God

If you haven’t yet heard Steven Curtis Chapman sing “Be Still and Know”, you’re in for a real treat.

It’s simply beautiful.

This is the song I listen to before I start my Bible study every day.

I hope it blesses you as much as it blesses me.

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1 Scripture quotation is from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

2Steven J. Cole quotation, courtesy of  bible.org, from the series “Psalms.” n.d. 1993. para. 9. Web. Accessed 3 January, 2020. Retrieved from https://bible.org/seriespage/psalm-46-our-sufficient-god.

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A Spiritual Treadmill

Exercising Your Faith

Do any of these criticisms sound familiar?

Christians think they’re so perfect

Hypocrites!

God is aware of our suffering and trials

Verbal slams like these are often blurted out in high volume and, let’s face it, are purposely meant to be an insult.

Why do people say those things?

It’s emotionally exhausting and you may feel all alone, or like you’ve failed in your spiritual walk.

Christian, you are not alone.

God is aware of our suffering and trials.

Please never forget that.

True Christians know they are not perfect and that it’s only through the saving grace of Jesus Christ that we will be redeemed.

The Bible warns us that we would be mocked for our faith. We can’t act like we didn’t know.

So how, then, can we persevere in this upside-down world?

A recent podcast from Pastor Mike Fabarez encourages us all to continue pressing on, no matter what.

And I tell you what, no matter how you’re losing in your life right now, because you’ve stood up and maintained what the sermons have said week after week, that Right is Right and Good is Good and Bad is Bad and Sin is Sin.

When you maintain that in the world and you lose because of it, it’s not uncommon. The world is an upside-down place.

Just remember this – God says when they mess with you, when they set you back, when they ridicule you, persecute you, they’re messing with Me. There’s some comfort in that.1Pastor Mike Fabarez, Focal Point Ministries

Don’t throw in the towel because being a Christian in this world of darkness is too hard.

Persevere anyway.

We have an assurance that the world doesn’t have.

spiritual treadmill

Pray For Your Enemies

Christians search the internet all the time to find out how to pray for their enemies. I see the search results every week.

Why do we have to pray for our enemies?

It seems unnatural and that’s because it is.

Only God can give us the supernatural strength that we need, in the midst of our emotional pain, to pray for our persecutors.

We must ask Him for strength.

No one said it’s going to be easy.

We are in a spiritual war with a deadly foe tracking us every hour of the day. We need to be in the best shape possible to cope with the darts and arrows he hurls our way. Flabby, overindulged, pampered Christians just don’t have the stamina to fight this battle. Thus, the Lord puts us on a spiritual treadmill every now and then to keep us in good fighting condition.2 Dr. James Dobson. [Newsletter, April 2019].

A Spiritual Treadmill

We’re on a “spiritual treadmill” – I like that analogy.

At the end of the day, even if it feels like a horrible day, remember to Whom you belong.

Keep on pressing forward, and pray for God to guide your steps.

You are who God says you are, not who your persecutor says you are.

It can help to memorize what John told the believers in 1 John 3:1, ESV. –

the reason why the world does not know us

Child of God, have courage!

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1 From Fabarez, Pastor Mike, host. “Why is There Evil in the World.” Podcast, [20:19]. One Place Ministries, May 10, 2019. www.oneplace.com/2019/  https://www.oneplace.com/ministries/focal-point/listen/.

2 From Dr. James Dobson, Family Talk. [Newsletter]. Retrieved from  https://drjamesdobson.org/about/april-newsletter-2019?sc=FEM&mc=FEM0419NL&utm_source=SilverpopMailing&utm_campaign=20190404%20Newsletter%20(FEM0419NL)%20(3)&spMailingID=21287810&spUserID=MzA5NTY5NTAzNDUS1&spJobID=1480209475&spReportId=MTQ4MDIwOTQ3NQS2 /April 10, 2019).

3 Scripture quotation is from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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