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My little brother often requires calming in order to go to sleep. He is rather hyper, so I usually strap him into his carseat and push him back and forth over the carpet, with harp music playing in the background. If he is tired enough, he goes to sleep pretty fast. One of the instrumental songs is "Be Still and Know That I Am God." That thought has been running through my head all day (understandably, since the baby takes more than one nap each day).
"Be Still..."
What does it mean to be still? Are we to be quiet, silent, unmoving? Are we to enter the presence of the Lord with CALMNESS? My brother has to be calm before he can find rest in sleep. I have to be calm before I can find rest in my Savior. How can I be calm, though?
Cast all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you. (I Pe. 5:7)
Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me. (Mt. 11:28-20)
Do not be anxious about anything...but present your requests to the Lord. (Phil. 4:6-7)
Rest in the Lord and wait patiently. (Ps. 37:7)
We need to give our cares to the Lord.
Well, the next phrase contains this truth: "...and Know That I Am God..."
Exactly, right? What does it mean that God is God? In reference to our lives, I think this verse applies, "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" (Hebrews 11:6). If we desire to please God, we must first believe that He exists, and we must secondly believe that He rewards those who seek Him. Matthew 6:33, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
It's easy to listen to this song mindlessly, as the music repeats over and over again (and I listen to it several times a day), yet I would be missing out on a vital truth to ponder if I continued to ignore it. What did Jesus say when He was calming the storm? Mark 4:39, "And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm." Interesting, huh? He said it, and it happened.
I'm not sure if this subject is totally related to the above (which I acknowledge is rather rambly in nature, since I haven't collected my thoughts very well)...but, anyway...
We got an e-mail today from a ministry in Springville, CA. Most of the letter was devoted to a parable about three brides. I am not very good at summarizing stories, so I'll just tell you what I got out of it. The three brides were "Christians," and the bridegrooms were really Christ. Each bride had two methods of communication with her beloved: His journal (Scripture/God's Word/the Bible) and a mobile phone (prayer). The first two of these brides focused more on one of these than on the other, while the third gave them both the attention that pleased the bridegroom. At the end of the story, they were reunited with their bridegrooms. The first two found themselves woefully unprepared for a good relationship with their grooms, while the last bride was more than adequately prepared for bliss in her relationship with her beloved. I guess I should give the name of the guy who wrote this, lest I be guilty of not giving him credit. It was Jonathan Lindvall. If you would like to join his Yahoo Group (esp. in order to read the parable), let me know, and I'll give you the link.*
Okay, so how did it apply to me? Well, I know that it is easy to get off-track by going to either extreme (focusing on God's Word to the exclusion of prayer or focusing on prayer to the exclusion of God's Word)...so what needs to change in my life? Well, I guess I need to learn more how to hear my Savior's voice through prayer. I know He shows me a lot through His Word (which is certainly valid), but am I listening to His voice? Would I hear Him if He said something that seemed to be different from what I think is true of Him? (Remember how confused Peter was when he had the vision about eating unclean animals.) I am convicted that I really might not obey! I don't know. Again, there is a need for balance here, but I think I may have gotten off-balance in the area of de-emphasizing prayer, or at least the listening part of it. This is where I'm learning...if you have anything to share with me (cautions or otherwise), I'd love to hear it!:-)
By the way, I appreciated the things you all have shared about how God has answered YOUR prayers and worked in YOUR lives. It encouraged me greatly! I should go ahead and answer all those questions I asked, too...maybe tomorrow or something (I do have answers, but I haven't typed them up).
*Okay, if you've heard of J. Lindvall, you're probably wondering, Does she agree with him on everything? Um, no...to put it as simply as possible, but his ministry has certainly encouraged me in a lot of ways, not the least of which was through this "parable."
"Be Still..."
What does it mean to be still? Are we to be quiet, silent, unmoving? Are we to enter the presence of the Lord with CALMNESS? My brother has to be calm before he can find rest in sleep. I have to be calm before I can find rest in my Savior. How can I be calm, though?
Cast all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you. (I Pe. 5:7)
Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me. (Mt. 11:28-20)
Do not be anxious about anything...but present your requests to the Lord. (Phil. 4:6-7)
Rest in the Lord and wait patiently. (Ps. 37:7)
We need to give our cares to the Lord.
Well, the next phrase contains this truth: "...and Know That I Am God..."
Exactly, right? What does it mean that God is God? In reference to our lives, I think this verse applies, "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" (Hebrews 11:6). If we desire to please God, we must first believe that He exists, and we must secondly believe that He rewards those who seek Him. Matthew 6:33, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
It's easy to listen to this song mindlessly, as the music repeats over and over again (and I listen to it several times a day), yet I would be missing out on a vital truth to ponder if I continued to ignore it. What did Jesus say when He was calming the storm? Mark 4:39, "And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm." Interesting, huh? He said it, and it happened.
I'm not sure if this subject is totally related to the above (which I acknowledge is rather rambly in nature, since I haven't collected my thoughts very well)...but, anyway...
We got an e-mail today from a ministry in Springville, CA. Most of the letter was devoted to a parable about three brides. I am not very good at summarizing stories, so I'll just tell you what I got out of it. The three brides were "Christians," and the bridegrooms were really Christ. Each bride had two methods of communication with her beloved: His journal (Scripture/God's Word/the Bible) and a mobile phone (prayer). The first two of these brides focused more on one of these than on the other, while the third gave them both the attention that pleased the bridegroom. At the end of the story, they were reunited with their bridegrooms. The first two found themselves woefully unprepared for a good relationship with their grooms, while the last bride was more than adequately prepared for bliss in her relationship with her beloved. I guess I should give the name of the guy who wrote this, lest I be guilty of not giving him credit. It was Jonathan Lindvall. If you would like to join his Yahoo Group (esp. in order to read the parable), let me know, and I'll give you the link.*
Okay, so how did it apply to me? Well, I know that it is easy to get off-track by going to either extreme (focusing on God's Word to the exclusion of prayer or focusing on prayer to the exclusion of God's Word)...so what needs to change in my life? Well, I guess I need to learn more how to hear my Savior's voice through prayer. I know He shows me a lot through His Word (which is certainly valid), but am I listening to His voice? Would I hear Him if He said something that seemed to be different from what I think is true of Him? (Remember how confused Peter was when he had the vision about eating unclean animals.) I am convicted that I really might not obey! I don't know. Again, there is a need for balance here, but I think I may have gotten off-balance in the area of de-emphasizing prayer, or at least the listening part of it. This is where I'm learning...if you have anything to share with me (cautions or otherwise), I'd love to hear it!:-)
By the way, I appreciated the things you all have shared about how God has answered YOUR prayers and worked in YOUR lives. It encouraged me greatly! I should go ahead and answer all those questions I asked, too...maybe tomorrow or something (I do have answers, but I haven't typed them up).
*Okay, if you've heard of J. Lindvall, you're probably wondering, Does she agree with him on everything? Um, no...to put it as simply as possible, but his ministry has certainly encouraged me in a lot of ways, not the least of which was through this "parable."
