For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
- Psalm 62:5-6
Hello all!
I've been really contemplating on what to write next but I just felt the Lord say "Be Still".
There are times in life we get anxious or overwhelmed because things aren't happening when we want them to happen. Yet the Father says "Be still."
You didn't get the job/promotion you wanted.
Be still.
When you see a job that fits perfectly with you. (literally just found a high school dance teacher job, however, I am a full time student and I can't do it)
Be still.
You are just now going back to school when all of your friends graduated years ago.
Be still....
The friendship or relationship fell apart.
Be still
The person you like, doesn't like you back because "you're a great friend" -__-
Be still.
All of your friends are getting married and having children but you're still at home living with mom and dad!
BE STILL!
I know. That last one seemed a little violent but at times I feel like Lord telling me like that because I continuously ignore Him. Lord knows how hard it is for us to be still. In this society (and sometimes our family) can make us feel as though our worth is in the next relationship, consistent income, a degree, etc. We either compare our lives to others or people impose their beliefs on where they think we should be. It can drive us crazy. Well, I know it drives me crazy.
The past few days I've been reading 1 Samuel. As I came upon 1 Samuel 10, Samuel was giving Saul some instructions on what he needs to do, now that he will be king. Samuel told Saul, "...I will surely come down to you to sacrifice burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, but you must wait seven days until I come to you and tell you what you are to do." (1 Sam. 10:8). Saul's task was to wait. What did Saul do instead? Well, let's just read to find out...
"He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul’s men began to scatter. So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” And Saul offered up the burnt offering. Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived..." (1 Sam. 13 8-10)
If he had just waited 1 more hour, it would have been fine. Saul got anxious because everyone around him was anxious. He saw that life was still moving and people were being proactive but it felt like he was sitting there and wasting time. He decided to take matters into his own hands. He neglected to wait on the full instructions of Samuel and got ahead of himself. He allowed the fears of everyone else to overtake him instead of the promises that God has for him. Samuel exclaims to him that his actions were foolish and it'll cost him his kingdom. The sad part about this is that, Saul never repented of his actions. He felt like what he did was valid. Unfortunately, this was many of the foolish acts that Saul committed that later lost him his kingdom to King David.
There are times we feel like we are missing out on an opportunity and there will never be another opportunity like that to ever present itself. So instead we take matters into our own hands and THEN we ask God to bless it. Have we ever asked Him if this is His will for us? We ask the Lord to bless our jobs or relationships. Then afterwards we ask Him to make it workout. There are times we thank Him for His blessing yet in order to get those "blessings" we had to sin to get them. I'm not saying that the Lord can't bless us while we are in sin and give us grace to get it together. What I am saying is that we are like Saul. He created a self-serving oath that would result in death if people didn't follow it and claimed it was from the Lord.
"Cursed be anyone who eats food before evening comes, before I have avenged myself on my enemies!" 1 Sam. 14:24
The Lord never told Saul to make an oath! In the end God blessed him with a victory, yet his soldiers ended up falling into sin because of his actions. He did not repent because he felt as though his actions were valid. Though he was victorious, his victory could have been far greater if he had relied on God. (1 Samuel 14:24-48)
The crazy thing is, we are all Saul. We justify our actions because the may seem logical and valid, yet they were not God's instructions. To our human brain, the plan we have makes sense. For example, going to get your master's right when you graduate from your undergrad. It seems logical. You can be finished with school and onto work life within a few years. What if however, God wants you to work first and then start a masters program 10 years from now when you are married with 3 children. That doesn't seem "logical" right? Or how about joining a dating website because everyone else around you is getting married or dating so why don't you. Plus online seems like the easiest place to meet someone. You spend all that time trying to talk to people online when you could run into your future spouse in the grocery store. The issue is, God is the one who is planning our life, not us. We believe we know when it is the perfect time for something to happen in our life, but isn't God charge of time? We hear that life is too short and we need to seize the day, yet in the same breath, are these wise decisions that we need to take. We will spend our whole lives striving to please others and ourselves, but never ask God if this is His will for us. We want to prove that we can do it, instead of sitting still and resting in His peace.
So what do we need to do? Rest in the Lord. Live fearlessly. Don't be afraid to step out on faith. Have fun! Yes, life is short, but we have to remember who we are living for. At the end of the day, regardless if we believe this is the perfect timing, God get's the final say so.
Dear Father,
I pray for us to rest in You. Help us to be aware when we are getting ahead of you and not trusting you. Bring to our awareness when we start living for others and our own anxieties and relying on You. The promises You make always come true and we see that throughout Your word. Help us to stand on that and not get discouraged. We are not God. You are. I am sorry for getting in your way and thinking I know better than you. Forgive me. I praise you for your love, patience, and grace and I pray for us to see that.
In Jesus/Yeshua's name,
Amen!
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