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Be Still
- Pamela Davies
- Jul 23
- 9 min read
“Be still and know (recognize, understand) that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth.”
I was sitting on the train once, blasting my music as I usually do. The train suddenly stopped. It remained motionless for a long period of time. I remember my mind trailing off to all the things that could have gone wrong:
Is the train going to move? Could someone be injured on the tracks?
How late am I going to be for work?
I remember my brain revisiting all of the train disaster movies I've ever watched (waaay back then... before I learned to be careful with what I watched). Then, finally, I stopped my music, took my headphones off, and heard a voice announcing that there was a slight delay due to the train ahead of us having technical difficulties..
BOY did I feel silly. In the few minutes that had passed, I jumped from one 007 movie to another with my random thoughts. My mind became an untamed playground of worry, rehearsing scenarios, overthinking, and unleashed misguidance (even impatience).
That, ladies, is what an undisciplined mind looks like (and a heart that does not know how to be still will add fuel to this fire).
The Hebrew translation of the word 'know' means to have intellectual understanding of something, to perceive, and to intimately know. To be still and KNOW that Yahweh (God) is indeed Yahweh (God - Ruler and Creator of all) is to:
tame the mind into remembering that your situation and thoughts must bow to Him.
deeply grasp the full meaning within your soul (mind, will and emotions) of what this looks like in your life/situation/mind (from all angles) and to envision this actively.
believe within your heart of hearts - affectionately so and in a deeply personal way - that Yahweh (God) is God - worthy of all the love, respect, and trust you can give Him.
A relationship without trust is nothing, and it is impossible to please God without it. (Hebrews 11.16)
Romans 12.2 teaches us to be transformed by the renewing of the mind (and not to conform to this world's patterns). For this topic, that means if you want to be still, you need to do things according to God's wisdom in order to get God's peace... but we'll get to the practical steps (i.e., the 'hows') later.
2 Corinthians 10.5 says, "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (NIV)
There's a way that seems right to man, and in the chaos and noise of life, life's circumstances, or tough personal experiences, we risk missing God speaking.
When you imagine taking something captive, what comes to mind? What came to mind just then? Imagine if a burglar broke into your house... would you treat them like a hostile intruder, or would you politely usher them to the door like a guest that has overstayed their welcome (or even ignore them)? The problem with the latter options is that the burglar will most likely overpower you, probably leave you with a bump on your head and short of a few valuables from your home. With the former, the burglar knows that it's not welcome and will most likely not return, especially if you call the police.
How is it then that we forget to apply the Word of God and allow the burglars of our peace to take over our hearts and minds?
Whatever the thought, if it does not look like Jesus and doesn't align with God's Word, don't ignore it (because that will do nothing... it will only come back, grow, or spread like an unwanted infection to different areas of your life). Apply God's Word: take it captive, interrogate the life out of it (no good cop here) and make it bow to the name of Yeshua (Jesus).
The sooner you know your authority in Yeshua, i.e. Jesus, (as a follower of His), the sooner you can start walking on top of the waves of your chaos... in peace... fully confident that God is above it all.
Being still is a choice. It takes practical steps to get there, so here are a few ways to practice being still with God:
Practice the prayer of silence.
Prayer is a two-way conversation. Often-times we think that if we pray many words, things will change. That's actually pride and foolishness - thinking anything we have to say or do can make God move or that what we have to say is more important that His Word . (Ecclesiastes 5.2; Matthew 6.7). God is sovereign. He is holy. He is also all-knowing. When we are silent, we hear from God, we hear His will, and He gives us wisdom for what we ought to do. Being quiet before God is the stance of a teachable heart. It also stops us from speaking carelessly in our wisdom in a manner that will land us in trouble or even damage our relationships when speaking with peers/loved ones. Try this instead: when you pray, thank God, praise Him for all he has done, tell Him briefly what you are feeling, and ask Him to help you. Then, be quiet, and listen... open your bible, and wait for His answer.
Take every thought captive.
You've heard the saying - idle hands do the devil's work. Well, let's go a step further. An idle and undisciplined mind does the devil's work for him. Overthinking and allowing thoughts, ideas, and scenarios to take hold and grow in your mind will only lead those thoughts to lead your heart and onto a destructive path. One of most loving commands God gave us for our own health and well-being is to take every thought captive. This command is also a divine strategy, a reminder to be vigilant, and a defence mechanism to keep our bodies pure and holy before the Lord (yes, your mind can be holy).
Tell me if this sounds familiar:
If you want to be still, you need to discipline your mind to obey the Word of God by following the wisdom in the Word of God.
Take it to God first.
Whatever you feel, hear from others, think or suspect... be it a dream that you think carries a message from God, a prophetic Word from someone, or even 'a feeling' you might be having about something....
....you MUST take it to God before anyone else.
There is an invisible world around us filled with chaos to create noise between our ears and God's voice. Sometimes, the chaos is more subtle voices and is filled with voices that try and mimic the voice of God or the voice of reason. The trick is to wait on God, trust in Him, refuse to take the bait of panic, offence, the pressure to 'act now' or 'hurry' or worry. Instead, choose to grasp His peace. Again, read your bible and test every spirit and voice that comes into your space (1 John 4.1). Ask yourself:
Does it sound like what is in the Bible? (You can't know this if you don't read your bible.)
Is this edifying me, or making me more like Jesus?
Is this causing me to obey God or pull away from what He tells me to do in His Word?
Does this bring fear and panic, and make me want to take matters into my own hands, or is this making me want to trust God more?
There are a million other questions you can ask, but the ultimate way to test the spirits and voices that come our way is to ask - does this look and sound like the God of the Bible? If not, then you can adopt the wisdom of my mother here - "Just throw it in the bin!" (there's some free African mama wisdom for you, hehe).
Ask God to create a clean heart in you.
Psalm 51.10-12 is a beautiful passage to use as a prayer. I use it all the time (the heart is deceptive, and I admit that my heart needs God's truth). Good intentions flowing from an unhealed heart and an unyielded spirit can be dangerous. Your feelings have a voice, too, and out of the abundance inside your heart, the mouth speaks and your actions flow. You're probably well aware of the damage a wounded heart can do, but do you know what the voice of a wounded heart and unyielded life sound like? ...
Self piteous. Urges to self-harm. Creates suspicions that are unfounded and unrealistic. Fearful. Overreactive. Misplaces trust and mistrust. Causes you to become unsettled and unbalanced. Deceptive. Self-centred. Proud. Self-righteous. Identifying with brokenness rather than seeking help to break free from it. Misplacing shame and putting it on yourself or causing you to put shame on others (in harsh judgement)... the list goes on.
(Side note: Just to clear this up - any shame placed on you is misplaced by the way... the only place shame belongs in on the devil's head - booyah - write that down).
Calm down.
The very essence of being still is to calm down. The Lord wants to bring you peace, wisdom, stillness, but He will not compete with the noise. Something practical you can do is to ask Him to help you to calm down inside. Sometimes, this will need to be a conscious choice, e.g. telling every intrusive thought that brings you anxiety, hopelessness, desires to sin, depression (etc.) that it cannot be there and just refusing to dwell on what I like to call 'brain junk'. Some of those thoughts and feelings are caused by demons, and when you speak out with your mouth to tell them to go, you are addressing the head on and drawing a boundary line around you using the Word of God.
However, for some, this might require some practical steps like deep-breathing, seeking help from a psychologist, limiting daily social media, calming exercises that actively help regulate your nervous system, getting help and support from peers, being in an environment that is uplifting, or even leaving an environment that is toxic. Here's the kicker... it might even mean that you need to change the people you hang out with - bad company corrupts good character and poor counsel is dangerous and not every voice is meant to access your space. (Psalm 1; 1 Corinthians 15.33)
Whatever the step, it is hard to hear when the chaos is loud. However impossible this may sound, God sees you. He made you, so He knows you (and how to help you).
Take a moment with me... let's take a deep breath in... hold it for 3 seconds.. and breathe out. Do it again. And again. Now say this with me, "Yahweh/Father, I'm choosing this moment to be still and trust you. With you at my right hand, I will not be shaken (Psalm 16.8). Please take my (name the emotion) and give me your peace. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for being here to help me."
As a follower of Jesus, when you trust in God, He gives peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4.7). Now this is great news for the person walking with Jesus, but if you have not actually decided to follow Jesus, then first, you need to take a moment to go to Him and ask Him to be in your life. God is a good God; that means He will not force His love on anyone. His love and salvation is a gift that He gives to whoever wants to receive it. It is a door open to all who will choose it. If you want Jesus to come into your life and give you peace, simply ask Him (in your own words) and ask Him to give you His Holy Spirit so you may know what this 'peace' I'm talking about look and feels like. if you do decide to pray this prayer, please get in touch with us - hello@lwap.com.au - if you have any questions or would like help finding a church community :).
Control yourself.
Half of the trouble that results from not being still comes from what we do when we are anything BUT still. The Holy Spirit gives us a special gift called self-control (Galatians 5.22-23). The fruits of the Spirit are counteractive to the works, habits, and desires of the flesh. You can ask God for all of the fruits of the Spirit, but self-control is my favourite (and most personally challenging) one because when you have self-control, even when you don't feel like it, you can:
love when you don't feel loving
choose to be joyful no matter the circumstance
embrace His peace when panic surrounds you
be patient in long-suffering
be kind to others no matter the circumstance
demonstrate God's goodness in moments when you feel like being the opposite of good
be gentle in nature/speech/conduct
stay faithful to God (trust Him and stay with the process), and
control yourself in times when you want to step outside of being Christ-like when the chaos (internal or/and external) gets a big much.
Friends, Holy Spirit can be your best friend, if you let Him. In order for this relationship to work, you have GOT to step down from knowing it all, doing it all, feeling it all... put God on His throne in your life, and be still so He can show you the way. He did it for me. He can and will 100% do it for you (if you invite Him to).
If you're struggling with being still right now and would like for us to pray with you or pray for you, please click here and fill out our prayer request form. If you'd like for us to pray with you over the phone, please leave your phone number and request a phone call in the comments.
LWAP is a community, so let's do this together. Comment your thoughts below.
Jesus loves you [.... so do I].
- Pamela.
Jeremiah 29.11
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