"Be still, and know that I am God"
        (Psalm 46:10)

        We are living in a technological age geared to speed. Speed records are being set in travel enabling us to circle the globe in an unbelievably short time. This accelerated tempo is experienced in every area of living today. A twenty-four hour day is insufficient time to complete all we have scheduled on our calendars. We are always in a hurry, rushing from one thing to another. It is no wonder that tensions build up almost to the breaking point. We keep stereo, radio, and television on because we cannot stand the stilless. It is as if we are on a carousel revolving so rapidly we cannot get off.


        As we are now crossing the threshold of a new year, it is an opportune time to reevaluate our lives in the light of the future. How are we going to use this year? For our own interests or for God's glory? Do we have our priorities in the right perspective? What has top priority? Are the things we are doing of most importance in the light of eternity?


        Our Scripture verse for today says,
        "Be still. and KNOW that I am God."

        Ask yourself, "How well do I know God? How real is He to me? Is He only a casual acqaintance, or a dear, intimate friend?" Perhaps our greatest need this year is to deepen our friendship with Him. This will mean spending time with Him. The more time we spend with a person, the better we get to know him. We need a quiet time, a "Be Still" time, each day, alone with the Lord, to become better acquainted.



        It is not easy to be perfectly still in God's presence. The harder we try, the more difficult it becomes. We remember something we have forgotten to do. The phone rings. The noise of the world about us becomes louder and louder. Yet times of quiet are necessary for our spiritual well-being. Dr. Gilbert Little, a Christian psychiatrist, was asked for a simple rule for mental health. He answered, "Be still, and know that I am God." Rest is not only important for our physical life, but for our spiritual life, too.


        The world says, "Be active; be busy; be industrious."
        But God says, "BE STILL------be quiet; don't rush."
        This is not just a cessation of activities, but a quietness of heart and spirit in which we are aware of His presence. In the center of our soul is a place where God dwells, and where, if we enter and close out every other sound, He will speak to us. Someone has said, "It is not in the college or academy, but in the silence of the soul, that we learn the greater lessons of life----and quiet hearts are rare." Many times we do all the talking instead of being quiet enough to listen to Him.


        As we continue to wait before Him, the sounds about us fade away; and we are aware of being in the quietness of
        His Holy Presence.         

        In 1 Kings 19:11 and 12, we read that it was not in the wind, nor the earthquake, nor the fire that God spoke to Elijah, but in a still small voice. It is in the stillness of the soul that
        God speaks to us.


        An explorer went on a trek into the jungle with some nationals as guides. The first two days the group hurried so fast that they were able to cover many miles. On the third day the explorer planned to start at daybreak. When it was time to leave, he discovered the guides were not ready. He asked them what was wrong. They replied, "We must wait." "Wait?" he said "Wait for what?" They replied, "We have been going too fast. Now we must wait for our souls to catch up with our bodies." Have we been hurrying so fast that we, too, need to wait for our souls to catch up with our bodies?


        May we take time this year to be still before Him that we may get to KNOW HIM in a more personal and real way. Be still and reduce self-activity;
        be still and quit rushing about.


        "BE STILL. And know that I AM GOD."
        (Ps.46:10)


        One day a little girl slipped into her father's study. Without saying a word, she quietly sat on the floor close beside him, watching him at work. After a while he said, " Honey, is there something you want?" "No," she replied, "I am just sitting here loving you."


        Soon she left as quietly as she had come in. Little did she know the lesson she had taught her father. She had not come to ask him for anything. She had just wanted to be near him and love him. The thought came to him, "How often do I spend time in God's presense, just loving Him and becoming acquainted with Him? Or do I only come to Him when I have a request to ask of Him?"



        God not only wants us to bring our requests to Him, but He also wants us to spend time with Him. Yet we are so busy and have so many needs that we often rush into His presence, make our requests known, and rush out again without taking time to be quiet enough to hear Him.

        God says,

        "Be still, and KNOW THAT I AM GOD."



        It has been said, "Quietness is not just the opposite of noise. It is not the absence of excitement, haste, and confusion. These dissipate strength while calmness conserves it. The world's mighty men have grown in solitude." As we study the lives of many Bible characters, we discover that they had a close friendship and walk with God. God spoke of Abraham as "My friend" (Isa. 41:8) David was known as "a man after Mine own heart" (Acts 13:22), In reading about the lives of Christians through the ages who were strong in their faith, we learn that they took time to BE STILL and become intimately acquainted with God.


        Suppose each of us would pause and make a list of people that we know. What a long list of names we would have! Some we know only by name. Others we recognize by sight. Some are just casual speaking acquaintances. Then there are others who are very dear, intimate friends. We know their likes and dislikes. We enjoy their company. They know all about us and love us just as we are.


        In which group of friends is Jesus classified in your life? Is He just a casual acquaintance, or a dear, close friend with whom you enjoy spending time?

        Jesus Christ came that He might reveal God to us. "It is true that no one has ever seen God at any time. Yet the divine and only Son, who lives in the closest intimacy with the Father, has made him known."

        (John 1:18)

        To become better acquainted with God necessitates spending time with Him. It means more than hurriiedly reading a verse or two of Scripture and quickly asking God to bless us. We need to enter our spiritual closet, close the door, and become quiet in His presence, meditating on who He is and what He has done for us.


        As we become quiet before Him, He can begin to speak and reveal Himself to us. He may say, "Be still and know that I am the all-powerfull God. Your need today is not too hard for Me or beyond My power." Or,



        I know all about you, your weaknesses, failures, and mistakes; but I still love you. And My love is steadfast and unchanging." Or, "Be still and know that I am interested in every detail of your life. I wnat to enter into every need you have---even the need you have today." As we ponder on His greatness and His holiness, yet realize that His love and concern for each of us is very personal, our hearts are filled with
        worship and adoration.


        Often we become so involved in the fast pace of life that we fail to take the necessary time for such fellowship with Him.

        How well do you know God?



        "Be still, and "KNOW GOD"

        by Millie Stamm



             



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