Being still and calm in the midst of hard situations and circumstances is challenging. Let’s talk about what it means to be still or what it means when God tells you to “be still”.
Walking By Faith, Not By Sight
To get to a place that you are still means that you have reached a place where you completely trust the Lord with all matters. It means you are at peace no matter what is going on around you. This is easier said than done. There is a process to learn not to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7) that is connected to this. You are to learn how not to allow what you see in the natural affect you negatively in body, mind, and spirit. Rather, you are take what you see in the natural and ask: “God, what do you say about this situation?”. Wait to hear what He tells you and then write that down. Once God responds to you, work on believing what He told you.
Aside from believing what God told you, also believe the facts:
- God is my ABBA Father and He does know better.
- He can see everything I cannot.
- There are Kingdom Strategies that He can release for me to apply.
- This process I am in is for my growth and maturity.
- God will not leave me nor forsake me.
- Just because I didn’t hear anything back does not mean He didn’t hear me.
- God will do what He said He would.
- I will embrace this process with joy for the joy set before me.
- He is not a man that He should lie. (Numbers 23:19)
- God is for me and not against me. (Romans 8:31)
- He will bring the promises to pass that He spoke to me in His perfect timing.
- God loves me no matter how I am right now.
- I am not alone, He is with me always. (Isaiah 41:10, Hebrews 13:5)
You will know if you have a hard time believing God or not being able to patiently wait for Him. God knows you are not perfect. Though He asks for you to trust that He has got every detail of your life. Do you trust Him? If you are not able to fully trust Him, then what is in the way? Pay closer attention to how you feel (your emotions, how you respond or react, etc.).
Surrendering Your Way For His
To learn to trust God moment by moment and day by day, it takes daily surrender to Christ. Recognize and surrender your expectations of what your situation should look like in exchange for His. Recognize and surrender you applying your own strategy instead of applying the one He told you to. Recognize and surrender any stubbornness to do things His way. He won’t stop you if you want to do things your way but it will keep you in a loop of frustrations. The way God says to handle your situations will work if you are willing to use it. It starts with believing what He told you. Believe that if He said it then it will work!
If it is something that is hard to do, then once you agree with God to do it, ask for God to help you do it. If you mean it, then tell Him, “God, I want to do it your way but I cannot do this on my own. Please come now and help me through this in your way.” If you have an open heart to be open to HOW HE chooses to do things, then watch how amazingly it will all unfold. Listening to what God says means to do what (and how) He tells you to do it. Doing what He tells you to do means you love Him. Remember, love is an action. If you love the Lord your God with all your mind, might, heart, and soul then you will show your love to Him by doing things His way.
“6 So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God,
and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. 7 Give all
your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.“
-1 Peter 5:6-7
As you listen to God and do what He tells you to do, you will find yourself more peaceful. You will feel the ability to be still (calm). Once you feel that, you will feel even more encouraged to keep doing what He tells you and how He tells you to do it. To be still (calm) takes practice and because of this give yourself grace. God knows it takes mistakes to reach the goal of doing something well. The thing He is looking for is if you are trying your very best. So ask yourself this, “Am I doing my true best in my part of my relationship with Christ?” Be honest with yourself so that you can improve and then give yourself room to improve.
God is patient with you and He does care about all the details of your life. It is just that sometimes there are consequences to your own actions. If you choose your free will, that is your choice. That part He cannot control. Though, what He will do is keep gently reminding you because your ABBA Father is a good, good father.
This brings a deeper meaning to the verse: “Be still and know that I am God…” (Psalm 46:10). It means to stop fighting, be calm, and recognize as well as understand that I am God. To know that He is God means to believe the facts about God. Your walk with Christ is a relationship. In a relationship you spend time together to get to know each other. The more you spend time together trust is built and the deeper details you get to know.
Growing In Relationship & Trust
Take some time on purpose and spend it with God to learn how to trust Him more. Ask for forgiveness for lacking trust, for not trusting Him enough to do what He told you to do. Spend time getting to know Him and practice doing things the way He tells you to do it. The more you do this the more you will grow into being still (calm) in your entire being. Forgive yourself for not giving enough grace to yourself. Just speak out all the things you need to ask forgiveness for. Once you are done, you will feel re-strengthened to try again. Just don’t be so hard on yourself. As long as you are genuinely trying, you will get there.
You’ve got this! Blessings to you in abundance!
