“Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” Psalm 46:8-11
Seventeen days ago, a lone shooter attempted to assassinate Donald J. Trump, and later in the evening, a friend of mine sent me a text with a photo of a group of storm clouds with the words; “Be still…and know that I am God”, Psalm 46:10. I replied to Dave, that it was one of my favorite passages in the Bible and shared the above verses back to him. And then the next day, I woke up to a thunderstorm at 1:28 AM and couldn’t get back to sleep so decided to sit down at the PC and work on a devotion over these verses.
That early Monday morning, we had dark storm clouds with lightning, rain and strong wind blowing here in Normal. There are stormy conditions found in many places in our fallen world; Be still…know that I am God. Our Pastor Smith spoke about the ‘storm clouds’ that had shaken the event in Butler, PA late on Saturday afternoon. We all face ‘storm clouds’, and sometimes daily and perhaps once a week while living on this side of Paradise. We can be sure that there will always be ‘storm clouds’ moving in, but we believers can take courage and remain faithful as we recall; Be still…know that I am God.
In my congregation, we have members battling cancer, recovering from cancer, living as shut-ins in a lonely shelter, facing death, still mourning the loss of a friend or family member, having financial challenges and facing challenges that cause people to worry; Be still…know that I am God.
The ever present ‘storm clouds’ in Haiti still rumble as Haitian police and UN Police forces patrol the streets of the cities, trying to bring a calm and restore some semblance of order to men, women and children who have endured so much chaos the past several years; Be still…know that I am God.
I have spent several days thinking about these verses and writing down a few thoughts now and then. Today, the heat index in Normal is supposed to reach 95. Going to be a scorcher. I would like to see a ‘storm cloud’ bring a cool breeze to Normal and bring relief to my cucumbers and tomatoes and the cattle a few miles West of my house, and the corn crops to the North and South and the soybeans to the East; Be still…know that I am God.
Are you expecting ‘storm clouds’ today? You are probably aware that they can appear in the blink of an eye, with a phone call or a text message. Consider the above verses from Psalm 46; the longing of one's heart for a time of quiet peace is always found when we meditate on the greatness of God’s Word. Need to find some peace? Read the above verses and step outside on your deck and look up into the heavens. Experience the coolness of the evening. Don't speak, just listen to the sounds of His creation. Just be still and gaze into the night sky as you take in the beauty of His creation. Be still and know that He is God.
Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
May God be with you,
Jay