Be Still

¹ God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
³ though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
⁴ There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
⁵ God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
⁶ Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
⁷ The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
⁸ Come and see what the Lord has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
⁹ He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
¹⁰ He says, “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 Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

– Psalm 46

Have you ever been sick so badly you couldn’t move? There are those times that we catch a cold, the flu, or possibly even more serious – a disease that is a long term battle. It is a major interruption to our daily lives, and causes us to put everything we “need to do” aside and rest. At times, our body just needs to take rest and heal from the damage of day to day hardship and labour, and find complete peace. Some people call these events in life “inconveniences”. But something I have to think about today is – how busy are we that it is rare to have those moments of rest?

Psalm 46 tells us in verse 11: “Be still, and know that I am God”. We spend most of our days doing everything else except just that. It is usually a seldom event that we actually slow down in our lives, stop everything we have going on and be still to think about the Lord. But in our sickness, whether minor or major, there is an opportunity: to be still, and know that He is God. The nine verses previous to that explains and exalts the Lord’s power and authority over all things in our lives – and for the most part we have pretended to be, and acted as if we were Him. We’ve been trying to conquer and resolve wars, and fight the storms that have been pouring rain.

When we are ill, it is the greatest opportunity to be still – since that is all that we can do. To be still and know that He is God in our lives. Think about what He has done for you, and have time to grow in deeper thought and conversation with Him. May he bless you, touch you, and heal you today. Not only of your sickness, but also the pain that runs deep within you heart – bringing down mountains, making the roaring seas settle, and causing the wars within you cease.

Dear Readers,

I apologize for those who have hoped for the devotional this morning. I have been sick since last night, and am recovering. I hope in my small time of sickness, the Word given to me today will heal you as the Lord has also spoken to me.

In Christ,

James Yang.