Be Still
"Be still." Psalm 46:10
It's counterintuitive to be still...in pain. These words, though poetic in timbre, often clash as frothy waves against our daily lives. And as we stare our divine paradox in the eyes, we see an antinomy that brings us to the very edge of our understanding.
Like a schooner in the rough sea, we encounter squalls in life, by which the very fabric of our faith is shaken. As pilgrims in this world, not quite home yet, we face trials that seem to mock in our ears, the very commands of our Master. The heart quakes; the soul fears, and moans. And in that frailty, we concoct earthly salves and self-prescribed elixirs to soothe our woes. Yet, locked inside that paradox of pain lies a hidden treasure. If we would but look and see. "It is the Lord, Rabboni!” And what's He saying through it all? "Without Me, ye can do nothing." It's in the stillness that we begin to perceive that faint, yet familiar sound of His voice, reminding us that He is indeed in control.
And we might find a precious gift in these moments of contradiction if we can but open it. "Be still." But I hurt. "Be still." But I have anxious care. "Be still." But I have no direction, plan, or path! "Be still."
Stillness is waiting, brooding over the quiet. In your prayers, in your reading and hearing, in and by the means of grace. Dear one, the Master's command is not a call to inaction. It’s a call to stillness. It's an invitation to a longing trust, a trust that does not lean on your own understanding, but His. He’s not beckoning you to be still in the absence of trouble, but in your trouble, in His presence. Your pain is His care, dear soul. His Word, His path, His balm, and direction. Our faith, though often assailed by the cold winds of doubt and despair, finds anchor at the bottom of the unchanging nature of God. The Psalmist, in his wisdom, reminds us that God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1). It is in this stillness that we find Him. And in finding Him, the strength to be still.
As we wrestle with the antinomies of faith vs life, where providence seems to contradict precepts, let's remember that our Master is not a God of confusion but of peace. In our weakness, let us cry, "Oh LORD, I cannot be still. It's true, 'Without Thee, I can do nothing.'
“Be Thou still for me. In me."
To embrace the stillness, is to find the voice, the presence of Christ in out trouble. Resting in the assurance, that, our trials are but for a moment, and they work for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory (2 Corinthians 4:17). So, be still, dear soul, and know that He is God.
Thank you. I’ve been medically disabled for 9 years with no medical cure or tonic. Your counsel reinforces what I have found to be true—it is an antinomy, but there is peace in Christ. I went through physician after physician in hopes that I could arise from life in a couch and at least return to assembling with the saints each Lord’s Day. Months turned into years and the real anxieties of life without the ability to engage in normal activities set in. Illness doesn’t remove the responsibilities and stresses of finances, etc. I have found great solace in this verse:
“Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a while in the countries where they have gone.’” (Ezk 11:16, ESV)