BE STILL IN THE STORM! GOD
IS AT WORK!
Psalm 46:8-11
8 Come, behold the works
of the Lord,
how he has brought
desolations on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease
to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and
shatters the spear;
he burns the chariots with
fire.
10 “Be still, and
know that I am God.
I will be exalted among
the nations,
I will be exalted in the
earth!”
11 The Lord of
hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our
fortress.
Selah
Because God worked on behalf
of the Israelites, they should have called attention to their Lord: the God who
had power to make the other nations desolate and to bring victory to them.
God desired that they
would recognize Him and find peace in Him. The natural reaction would have been
for them to praise Him above all nations, above all created things.
True believers frequently
experience the tender care of their God, who has consistently shown His power
and love through the many difficulties of their lives. Those who know Him are
continually encouraged by His loving care and tenderness.
As His children, we are
well aware of our helplessness and dependence upon our Lord. We came to Him as
desolate and broken people deserving nothing, and in God we have found our rest
and our refuge.
God wants our thoughts to
be informed by truth, but we are surrounded by lies that want to control our
thoughts, which then affect our feelings.
Our hearts are both deceived
and deceitful. The father of lies rules the world and so our hearts can quickly
embrace his lies.
Jeremiah 17:9
The heart is deceitful
above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand
it?
Left to our human
thinking, we are not even able to judge our own hearts and our feelings. Only
God’s Word can inform us about what is true and what should be driving our
decisions and reactions.
1 - When Christ invites us to come to Him, He
promises to provide peace and rest.
Matthew 11:28-30
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn
from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest
for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
2 - God’s provision is inexhaustible.
Philippians 4:19-20
And my God will supply every need of
yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our
God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.
3 - We have a Comforter.
John 14:25-27
“These
things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But
the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my
name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all
that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to
you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be
troubled, neither let them be afraid.
4 - He prepares us to help others.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts
us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in
any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by
God.
The Psalmist reminds us to
be still and wait upon God. Let me tell you the signs that we are not doing this:
when we have no rest, no peace, we are troubled, we are not close to God, and
we are unprepared to help others.
Why should we be still?
Because when the waves are the focus of our thoughts, we are in turmoil. When
the clouds are the focus of our thoughts, we live in fear. When other people’s
opinions are the focus of our thoughts, we live in confusion.
We need to stop, redirect
our thoughts, meditate on the truth of the Scriptures and trust in what we know
of the character of God. Even though our surroundings are fluctuating, our God always
remains our sure foundation.
When in a storm, don’t
doubt what you know about the Lord. Be still and your fear will turn to trust,
your anxiety will turn to peace.
This Psalm has walked us
through the reality of life as a believer: that we live in the midst of real
storms, protected by our true God, and our faith will direct us to trustful dependence
and true peace.
WE ARE SO BLESSED!
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