My brother recently led a devotional in which he shared a few verses on stillness. I loved the verses he chose, so for this blog post I’m going to share three of my favorites and some quick thoughts on them. This post is a bit shorter than most, in the hope that after you read it you’ll take a few minutes to be silent before God, listening to what he has to say to you this morning.
Psalm 46:10—“He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’”
I love this verse because God gives us something to think about. It’s hard for me to just be still, but if I take some moments to try to grasp the fullness of God’s exaltation, I can much more easily be still before the Lord as I let him invade my mind and heart. It’s such a good starting place for our times and conversations with God. In the Old Testament, before God gives his people instructions or promises, he usually reminds them who he is (Ex. 20:2). So what a beautiful way to begin our time with him today, by remembering who his is.
Exodus 14:14—“The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
This just blows my mind. I so often feel like I need to prove myself to God, others, and even myself. I worry that I’m not “the best” or “enough” or loved. But this beautiful verse gives me permission to let Jesus be my refuge. (God is described as a “refuge” and a strong tower against our foes all over the Psalms…it’s amazing.) We don’t have to fight for ourselves. Jesus already did. (Romans 8:31)
Luke 10:38-42—“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!’ ‘Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.’”
Which will we choose today? Today I’m acting in a couple of shows, and it’s so easy to let the spirit of comparison wash over me and spend the entire time beating myself up and comparing. What if instead I ditched my own voice and listened to Jesus? What would that look like for me? What would it look like for you?
(Some other verses on stillness include 1 Kings 19:11-13; Psalm 37:7; Isaiah 30:15, 32:17-18; Lamentations 3:25-31; Habakkuk 2:20; Zechariah 2:13; Matthew 26:62-63; and Mark 5:49)
Today, let’s not get so carried away on the winds of hustle and business that we forget about stopping to listen to the voice of our King.
