Be Still and Know

“The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

Exodus 14:14 NIV

Of all the four-letter words in the world…

Quit is the dirtiest.

I’ve seen so many people say it in moments they felt buried under their circumstances. Where there seemed to be no way out. In the very breath of “God, how could you let this happen to me?” In the moments heaven fell silent. When “Be still and know…” was the very last thing they wanted God to say and the very realest thing He could say.

What else WOULD He say?

Been there.

There’s nothing harder for me to hear when I want to hop up out of circumstances REAL fast than “Be still.” I long to hear that it is almost over. I want to hear the plan. I want to know what we are doing next…

But it’s never really about the we… and that’s the entire point. In ourselves, there are times there is literally nothing we can do but stand still…

Even if it is the last thing we want to do.

But trust and believe, God never says this almost dreaded phrase to spite us, to hurt us or to upset us. He says it because it is the only thing we can do in the moment. And who knows more than God how to overcome things we can’t even see. Grief. Loss. Depression. Anxiety. Sickness. When the odds stack up against us, God can SEE the odds. He knows when to tell us to walk and when to tell us to run…

And when to tell us to stand and fight using nothing but our unrelenting faith. Here God teaches us about rest. And here He shows us, eventually, always…

That He was right all along.

The beautiful thing about the words “be still” is that God is literally telling us there is no other way but through Him. We simply don’t like the sounds of it because somewhere we think He won’t do what He said. Somewhere we go to spaces where we felt hopeless…

Even though this is an entirely different situation.

Far too often we compare God to the people from our past. We are afraid He won’t show up. That He won’t come for us. That He will forget us and move on. But that just isn’t the God I serve.

“Be still” is never uttered in abandonment. It is the heart-cry of a Father who is taking care of your situation, and your heart, reminding you that you don’t have to do anything. He is working on your behalf, operating behind the scenes, and moving in your favor.

Today I pray you know how very loved you are and that you stop seeing seasons of stillness like sitting ducks. Make no mistake. You aren’t made vulnerable. Just still. No matter what surrounds you, you are held in the hands of the Most High God. Highly revered, forever loved and never left behind.

You can’t quit today.

Today…

You simply need to be still and know.

What are some areas you struggle to trust God in due to past hurts?