Being Still.....

Let me ask you a very simple question....are you ever still?  When you sit, do you fidget or are you simply still?  Let me rephrase that question......Can you be still?  Most people find it very hard to simply sit...still; yes, I mean motionless....no fingers drumming, foot tapping, knee bouncing, hair twirling, lip biting....no motion.....being still.  Now ask yourself this...Why are you not still?  The answer may surprise you!

God says to us "...be still and know..." that He is God....what is He saying here?

The Hebrew word for "still" is raphah...in this verse it is the hiphil imperative verb which means:  to let drop, abandon, relax, refrain, forsake:  to let go:  to refrain, let alone:   to be quiet.  The imperative verb here is meant as an order or command.  Therefore, God is commanding us "to be quiet" !

I think it implies that we are not to complain or grumble as the Jews did while wondering in the desert; we are to be quiet...to refrain from what may be natural....to let go of our desire to criticize and relax in the midst of our troubles.  When we can control ourselves long enough to NOT walk in the flesh...we will "know" that He is God.

The word "know" in this verse is the Hebrew word yada`....in this verse it is the Qal imperative verb which means:  to know: learn to know: to perceive: to perceive and see, find out and discern: to discriminate, distinguish: to know by experience:  to recognize, admit, acknowledge, confess: to consider.

Once again this is an order or a command.

God has given us the answer to why many find it difficult, and even painful, to be still.  It is when we are still....when we relax...that our spirit is allowed to learn to know and to discern that He IS!  How incredible is that!  

Although this is an incredible concept, it is a very difficult task to accomplish.  When we cease from our motion/actions, we are able to perceive that God is there....and that can be a bit uncomfortable for some and down right scary for others.  However, this is when He reaches down from Heaven and touches our brokenness....this is when His Hand takes ours and He leads us to Himself.   The journey is different for each of us yet the result is the same....if we allow Him to touch us in that moment, He will begin the process of restoring us to before we were broken. 

BEFORE we were broken...this is the point in your life before your heart was hardened, broken, shattered, calloused, abused, misused, etc.  You may not be aware of when this happened specifically, but the One who knitted you together and knew you before you were born knows exactly when it occurred.

It is not a coincidence that the One who knows that very moment in your life is also known as Jehovah Rapha....the Lord your Physician!

So again...when was the last time you dared to "be still"?  May I remind you that  this is not a suggestion but rather a command ;)