Have you ever told a child to "just be still"? And how successful was that? Not very, would be my guess!!
Several years ago, in the torture of physical therapy (PT stands for "pure torture") following a broken ankle, one of the tasks I was assigned by my therapist was standing still, on one foot no less! And on top of one of those squishy half-balls! I think it was supposed to improve my balance or something like that. But since balance was never my strong suit, I did not excel at the task. And standing absolutely still (or trying to!) on one foot was misery for me!
While standing still, in a physical sense, is a challenge, I think standing still in the spiritual sense may be even more difficult. Waiting is hard. I've written about this often, because it's something I really struggle with.
It was hard for us as children to wait for birthdays and Christmas. We wanted to open those packages. We wanted to celebrate!
It was hard for us as children, and still is for us as adults, to wait for a special event or a long-anticipated vacation.
We're conditioned to be an instant-gratification society. We have our instant-on TVs and our microwaves and instant coffee, instant oatmeal, instant grits (and I say a resounding YUCK to all those "instants"). We have 24 hour news channels and the internet and Facebook and all the know-all-about-it-as-soon-as-it-happens media.
All that makes it hard for us to wait for anything. When we read the words of Psalm 46, "Be still and know that I am God," that is a foreign concept to us in our culture. Literally, that verse says "cease striving". In other words, we need to stop our worrying and let God be God.
But that's hard for us, isn't it? We want what we want when we want it. We're conditioned in our culture to believe that we have a right to expect that. But do we really have that right? As I search the Scriptures, I find nothing that leads me to believe that to be true. And I find nothing that promises living life God's way will be easy. In spite of what the prosperity-gospel proponents would lead us to believe, the Scripture does not promise health and wealth and happiness and that every day will be Friday or that every day will be our best day. In fact, a careful reading of the Scriptures will point you in a different direction altogether. There may be tough times. And there may be times when we cry out to God for answers, but we have to wait. Which leads me back to standing still.
Perhaps you are in a "waiting" period. I understand. I'm right there with you. Asking questions for which I have no answer yet. Wondering why not. Still waiting. And it's hard. And as I look back through my journals and back through previous blog posts, I see that this is not a new occurrence in my life. I originally wrote this post more than three years ago, when I was waiting. I've pulled it back out today, because once again, I'm waiting. And it's challenging.
In many ways, I'm a patient person. Like with my grandchildren (see me smile). In other ways, not so much. Maybe it's a personality "flaw". Or it's my personality "type". Whatever. I typically am not good at dragging things out. I want to make a decision, based on the best information I have available at the time, and move on. Often, when in conversation with someone, or when sitting in a class or some type of training, my thought (which I hope I don't actually verbalize!) is "will you get to the point?" So, while I'm patient with my grandchildren, I probably wouldn't be described as patient otherwise!
In a spiritual sense, that is a real problem for me. I want to know everything I'm supposed to know right now. I want answers to my questions right now. I have trouble "standing still". Sometimes it's hard for me to wait and just let God be God. It's hard for me to be a good student and let God teach me what He wants to teach me in His time. It's just hard. I would be less than honest if I said otherwise.
So today, as I'm confessing that to God (and to you!), I reminded of the words of a song by The Isaacs (written by Sonja and Becky). You can check it out on YouTube if you aren't familiar with it. It's a great song. And it encapsulates just how hard it is to wait. To be still. Standing still is hard to do.
But isn't that what God is telling us to do in Psalm 46? Be still. Cease striving. Just stand still. I've got this.
The Father has a plan,
Though it's hard to see it now.
You feel you're walking all alone,
But He is there, no doubt.
When the storm around you rages,
And you're tossed to and fro,
When you're faced with life's decisions,
Not sure which way to go,
Stand still and let God move.
Standing still is hard to do.
When you feel you have reached the end,
He'll make a way for you.
Stand still and let God move.
(Rebecca and Sonja Isaacs, David Marshall)
"Cease striving and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10 NASB)
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