Being Still

“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted 

among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"

Psalm 46:10

Psalm 46 is an incredible passage that speaks peace and confidence into a very troubling experience. There is no clear evidence that reveals the secondary author of this Psalm, but we certainly know the primary author is the Spirit of God. We could look at the life of David and realize that he could have been moved to write these verses, as he was very well acquainted with difficult circumstances in his life. Likewise, Moses could have been the human instrument to pen this testimony of faith rising victoriously over fear. I was moved several years ago to appreciate the possibility that perhaps Isaiah wrote this brief, yet powerful Psalm. Great men of the word like John Stott, Warren Wiersbe and John Phillips have researched and written that this testimony might be about the experience that King Hezekiah and Isaiah shared when the king of Assyria sent his army of 185,000 soldiers to surround, capture and destroy Jerusalem. This time of terror resulted in the Lord sending His angel to put to death this entire army in one fateful night. (For an in-depth look at the faithful life and gracious reign of Hezekiah, you can read 2 Kings 18-20 and 2 Chronicles 29-31) Beloved, there will be experiences in our lives that will remind us that we are helpless and powerless to overcome personal challenges in our own limited and frail strength. Just as Hezekiah poured out himself to the Lord in humility and sincerity as this invading and intimidating army came up against him and his people, we need to have the same mindset as we face challenges, problems, and events that upset us and overwhelm us.

For most of my adult life I have been a man of action. I take pleasure in having an agenda of what needs to be done and doing it. This attitude was placed into me at an early age. Growing up on a farm in the Mississippi Delta meant working from can to can't when precious days of ideal weather gave us a limited window of opportunity to accomplish needed tasks. Many vital activities on the farm could not be rolled over to another day. Whether it was planting, harvesting, or anything in between, we had to work long and hard to ensure agricultural success. Many of these developed attitudes followed me into the ministry. Whatever needed to be done for the glory of God in the body of Christ, I was willing to do it. I despised lackluster attempts at serving the Lord when a job needed to be done while the souls of men were at stake. Dead services, boring sermons, dull music, and pathetic prayers were to be avoided at all costs. As a pastor, I desired and demanded personal excellence in all that I tried to do, and I expected the same attitude from my church leaders. Anything less was unacceptable to me and would not be tolerated. More than once I boldly told people that if they wanted to attend a lifeless church where God never showed up, I would gladly name a few where they could go and be happy in the dead atmosphere of a godless vacuum. In that season of my life, I distinctly remember being approached by one of my church members who was very concerned for my physical, mental and emotional well-being. She was a pastor's daughter and had witnessed her dad suffer a debilitating breakdown that cost him his ministry, and nearly his life. She challenged me to keep a record of my ministry hours per week, and she promised to find out what I discovered at a later time. I assured her that I would fulfill her request, and to no surprise I discovered that I was logging an average of 100 hours per week in ministry. During that time I was preparing sermons and preaching numerous times a week; visiting our local shut-ins and members in area nursing homes; traveling to local hospitals in Booneville, Corinth, New Albany and Tupelo, as well as to those hospitalized in Jackson, Memphis, and Birmingham; maintaining evangelistic outreach in our church community; reaching out to those members who were not being faithful in attendance; and participating in preaching opportunities at other churches in the surrounding areas of Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee. It was during those days that I considered golfing or fishing pastors to be slackers. After all, how could a true man of God take a day off when the Devil was constantly on the prowl? When she finally asked me for a report, tears fell from her eyes as she silently turned and walked away after hearing my testimony. I readily admit that being still in that day for me, did not equate to having a greater, personal knowledge of the Person of God.

It was not long after this encounter, that He began to open my eyes to some incredible truth. In John chapter six, Jesus was asked an important question: "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?" His answer was unique: "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent." In other words, those around Christ wanted to know the secret, or the formula, for doing the work of God. The miracles of Jesus were capturing the attention of everyone. He was doing only what God could possibly do. Therefore, they sincerely wanted to know what they must do in order to perform or accomplish the work or activity of God. But Jesus did not give them a formula, nor share with them a secret. Rather, He told them the truth: FAITH IN THE SON OF GOD IS THE ONLY REQUIREMENT IN FULFILLING THE WORK OF GOD!

What does this mean? It means that only God can perform or accomplish the work or activity of God. It is absolutely ludicrous to assume that any humanistic endeavor, no matter how sincere, can accomplish the work of God. He showed me that I, in and of myself, would never be anything but an absolute failure in life and ministry. I cannot save anyone. I cannot change anyone. I cannot sanctify anyone. I cannot grow a church numerically, nor spiritually. I cannot create, manufacture, nor sustain a revival experience. I cannot do anything that has any eternal value. Only God can do these kinds of things, and Jesus did them because He was God, and He can do them now because He is still God today! Our focus and responsibility, therefore, is to trust and obey His voice, because He is the one who will accomplish the work of God through His people as we yield ourselves to Him! Now do me a favor, re-read the previous paragraph, and this one as well, then go somewhere and shout HALLELUJAH!

The Lord also reminded me of the dilemma of the early church when a dispute arose over some of the members being neglected. Instead of doubling and tripling their efforts to minister to everyone, the pastors instituted the deacon body to come along side and assist them. They said, "It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word." Imagine this scenario, the church is multiplying, and a dispute arises that threatens the harmony and unity of the body of Christ. Yet in the midst of this upsetting reality, they recognize that being still in His presence must be their priority in order to rightly divide and teach the word of God. And what was the result? God began doing only what He can do. "Then the word of God spread, and the number of disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith."

I share this testimony to help you understand how God taught me of the importance of being still. Think about it, the great Apostle Paul accomplished more by being still than on his missionary journeys. What do I mean by this? It was after he was arrested and imprisoned that God used him to write most of the New Testament. His "prison epistles" are still being used today to grow churches and transform lives, long after Paul's death in Rome. It was the beloved disciple John who was banished to the Isle of Patmos as an aged warrior of the Gospel. Yet in this horrible environment, separated from family and friends, this man was being still in the presence of God. And what was the result? "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants-things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near." Yes, beloved, being still for John increased his knowledge and experience of God, and the result for us was the Book of Revelation. Another example would be the rugged Galilean and former fisherman, Peter. It was this outspoken, impetuous man who would be filled with the Holy Spirit to provide key leadership for the early church. And it was this man who would also be imprisoned in Rome before his execution that allowed him to be still and experience the inspiration of God in writing his two epistles. Though Peter's physical voice has been silent for centuries, his spiritual voice will reverberate throughout eternity as a human author of God's holy word.

In the book of Ephesians, the Bible says, "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil." The word redeem comes from the Greek word 'exagorazo' and has the root meaning of purchasing, buying or investing. Because the word for time can also be translated as season, this phrase conveys the idea of investing wisely to make the most of every opportunity, or taking advantage of opportunities that are given since they may never be available again. Someone helped me tremendously quite a few years ago by teaching me that we are human beings, not human doings. The emphasis of spiritual development, therefore, should be on our inner relationship to Christ, and not upon our outward activity for Christ. Failure to understand this was the reason the church at Ephesus was rebuked in Revelation 2:1-5. Their focus was so riveted on their faithful performance of certain Christian duties, they failed to spend quality time at the feet of Jesus. The testimony of Martha in Luke 10:38-42 is very similar, as she did not realize that her greatest need was maintaining intimacy with Jesus. And like Martha and the Ephesian believers, I also have to be constantly reminded of this principle, for I easily get caught up seeking to check the boxes of my spiritual to-do list rather than redeeming precious time in His presence.

In closing, please allow me to ask us some serious questions: Are you and I redeeming the time by making the most of every opportunity and practicing the lost art of being still in the presence of God? Are we taking advantage of solitary seasons of life by investing quality time praying, fasting, reading, meditating, and worshiping? And if you are a pastor or serving in some kind of teaching capacity in your local church, I pray that you will understand that you cannot do the work of God, only He can perform His work. May He graciously and wonderfully empower us to do both the impossible and the eternal as we learn to be still, and truly know that He is God. Amen.