“Be still, and know that I am God! – Psalm 46:10 (NIV)
This 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting is an opportunity to slow down, remove distractions, renew your focus, and connect to God in an intentional and powerful way. In the chaos of life, it’s essential that we take time to be quiet and listen. But what does “being still” look like in practice? Is it more than a temporary pause? I think looking at a few different translations of this verse might open the door wider for us to see all that God desires when He tells us to “be still.”
“Stop striving and know that I am God;… (NASB)
When we’re striving, we’re putting forth great effort. When we’re striving, we’re using up a lot of energy. When we’re striving, we’re trying very, very hard. Striving seems to have a sense of perpetual motion and ongoing endeavors. What if God wants you to stop exerting force and instead, experience His rest? What if God is wanting you to trust in His power, faithfulness, and grace to make things happen? If you were to stop the grind, how could that positively impact your relationship with Jesus?
“Be quiet and know that I am God…. (NLV)
Getting away from the noise in our lives seems like an impossible task. We go to noisy jobs, we spend time with friends in noisy places, our homes are filled with noisy voices, we have giant flat-screen noise boxes mounted to the walls of our homes, and of course who could forget – the pocket-sized noise device that beeps and dings all day long as we get texts, calls, and notifications from 15 different apps. What if, like Jesus, you withdrew to lonely and quiet places to pray? What if you began to ruthlessly eliminate and control the outside noise that you allow to bombard your ears? Is it possible that God is wanting so desperately for you to hear His voice that He’s inviting you to quiet down all the lesser things? What difference would clearly hearing from the Lord make in your life?
“Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God,… (The Message)
While The Message isn’t exactly a translation (it’s more of a commentary), it conveys a fantastic way to think about “being still.” The busyness of our lives is often the biggest killer to our relationship with God and knowing Him more fully. We cram our schedules full with hobbies, activities with the kids or grandkids, work responsibilities, and every retiree I’ve ever known has said they’re busier now than when they were working. And we haven’t even added in church responsibilities. Instead of living a life that resembles playing in traffic, what if God is inviting you to step away from the 8-lane superhighway and walk the straight and narrow road with Him? What transformation could take place in your life if you made the conscious decision to take control of your calendar? What would your time with Jesus look like if you made more time for Him?
During this 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting, what choices and changes will you make in your life in order to “be still”? How will you make them part of the regular rhythm of your life beyond the 21 Days?