Hi friends and dear sisters! We’re halfway through ‘The Still Series’. It’s been a real encouragement to hear how it has been a personal confirmation for some of you, to let go and lean close into His presence and peace. To simply be still, which can be translated: to let go or to cease.“Be still, and know that I am God.” As discussed in Part 2, we must know the power of God, in order for our hearts to truly be still – in the presence of God.
Because the more we know His character, the more we’ll completely trust His Word and the deeper our trust; the greater depth of peace our hearts will dwell in.
Perched on the porch railing, their melodious sounds awaken me throughout the warmer months. Hearing their cheerful song, leads my heart many mornings to this passage in Matthew:
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? [Matthew 26-27]
Does this truth summon your heart, as it does mine; to let go of worry, abandon fears and fall hard into trust? [Remember in Hebrew, be still can be translated; to refrain, to let drop, to let go, to be quiet. Also: to cease, forsake, withdraw, abandon.]
From battles and burdens, hardships and handicaps, disappointments, adversity and trials; the circumstances of life can at times feel unbearable, unsurpassable, even unendurable. How are we to be still with so many uncertainties in our personal lives, and in the world at large? How do find silence of heart, when the stresses of life scream with urgency, leaving us frazzled, shaken scared and frightened?
Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. [Mark 4:39]
He arose! Can you picture the scene? Imagine every time fear tries to bind itself hard around your heart. Instead of responding to it, the Word arises within you, rebuking the winds of worry that attempt to steal your peace.
But beloved…the Word must be in us; in order to calm the storms that howl around us, from happening inside of us. Otherwise, the waves of anxiety will crash upon us. They are not just idle words for you—they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.” [Deut. 32:47]
I love that verse! Scriptures are not just idle words for you – they are your life! If it takes every minute, of every hour, till our hearts rest still in the presence of His Word, then so be it!
You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.
[Isaiah 26:3]
When our minds are steadfast on His Word, our hearts will be filled with His peace – it’s a promise. The wind ceased at Christ’s command, bringing a great calm; so too, the Word of God commands for our stillness.
[Psalm 65:7] You who still the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the peoples.
[Psalm 107:29] He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. (NIV)
[Psalm 107:29] He calms the storm, so that its waves are still. (NKJV)
[Psalm 55:18] “He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me.”
[Psalm 23:2] He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.
From earthquakes, to heartaches; God is the one who can silence the storm with the still waters of His Word. But we must be steeped in Scripture, so we’re not drawn away by the distraction of troubling concerns. Worry dis-tracts us (gets us off), from the track God has appointed us to. When we begin to follow our feelings there, we’re only a short distance from falling into fear. Worry weighs us down with it’s close companions; frustration, anger, impatience and so on..
Scripture must be in us,
in order to still our hearts from the storms around us.
Real peace is not contingent on anything around us, but rather it’s dependent on the Word of God – in us. His Holy scripture enables us to be still: stationary, calm, steadfast, unmovable. It’s a promised constant, when commotion and chaos circle around us.
“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts..” [Col. 3:15]
Stay tuned as we continue to search, seek and study scriptures on being still, standing still and serving with a still heart….
See here for more of The Still Series:
Part 1 Here:
Part 2 Here:
Part 4 Here:
Part 5 Here:
Part 6 Here:
[John 14:27 ] Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.
I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
