Be Still!

For a go-getter like me, it is very hard to follow God’s command to “be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). I often find it difficult to stop thinking about everything that is going on around me and to focus on God alone. I must admit that maybe that’s why I find extended periods of prayer difficult. And yet, “be still” means more than just sitting quietly in God’s presence. Psalm 46 was written during a time of war, so that verse also means to stop frantic activity. It means to lay down your weapons. It means to cease striving. It can even be interpreted as “wake up and acknowledge who your God is!” (Kanoy, 13 August, 2018).

I don’t remember if I’ve ever shared with you about my traumatic move when I was just shy of 16 years old. (If I can’t remember, then maybe you won’t remember either. ☺) I had spent most of my life living in New York where I had a huge group of friends, a school that I loved, and even a boyfriend. I am the youngest of five children, but I was the only one still living at home. Three weeks before my 16th birthday, we moved from a suburban area filled with exciting things to do to New Hampshire, where everything was miles and miles apart. I went from never being at home to not having any place to go. I was miserable. In looking back, I can say that this was God’s way of getting my attention. In New York, I was so involved in frantic activity that I couldn’t hear His voice. By taking me out of the activity of daily life and providing me with a time of solitude, I got to know God in a very special way. I would come home from school and spend hours reading my Bible. I cried out to God and Jesus became my best friend. I was homesick, and God assured me of my eternal home in Heaven. The two years that I lived in New Hampshire alone with my parents changed my life. Why? Because for the first time, I was “still” and that brought me to a place where God could reveal himself to me and say “know that I am God.”

As I write this, today is the International Day of Prayer, so people all over the world are praying. We started the morning with small groups of teachers, staff members, students, and parents praying for ICSV, for Vienna, for Austria, and for the world. We spent 30 minutes in silent prayer, praising God for who He is, bringing our requests to Him, or simply being still in the awesomeness of the Almighty God. I want to encourage you to take some time away from your busy schedules and stop! Lay down whatever is in your hands! Cease striving! And wake up and acknowledge who your God is!

Below is the whole of Psalm 46. Today is very similar to the time when King David wrote this psalm. We are still experiencing wars and natural disasters. And so God reminds us that He, the LORD Almighty, is with us. He is our refuge and strength. What a privilege it is to be still and to talk with God. Even for get-‘er-done people like me. Maybe you can relate.

Because of His Faithfulness,

Sharon Brobst, Director

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. 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.”