“Be still…” —Psalm 46:10
Have you ever tried to talk to children who are hyper and bouncing off the walls? If so, you know it’s impossible to communicate until you get them to stop moving and calm down.
That’s often how it is between God and us. We have to calm down and be quiet to hear Him.
“Be still and know that I am God,” He urges.
The Hebrew word for “still” is raphaw, which means to be slack or relaxed, to faint.
That can be challenging. We’re not good at being at rest, still, and quiet, without movement. We may look calm on the outside, but we’re like ducks on a pond. All very serene on the surface, but underneath we’re paddling furiously. There’s a lot going on inside.
We live in an anxious age; we crave rest. God is saying He wants to bring heaven down to us; He has things He wants to download into us, but we need to relax.
To tap into the power of heaven and the presence God, we need a daily time of stillness. This requires a regular period and place to get alone with Him. “Quiet time.”
Once there, we may have to command our bodies to relax, to tell our hands and feet to stop moving and tapping. When the body becomes still, we may notice that our thoughts continue to whirl. So, we have to tell our minds to be quiet, too.
From a place of stillness, we become aware of Another in the room. One who is always with us. The moment you stop agitating and let God look you in the eye, so to speak, you have communion with your Creator and Heavenly Father. Then something begins to happen.
The Hebrew root word of raphaw —to be still —is rapha, which means to mend by stitching, to cure, heal, repair, or make whole.
Being still heals! God begins to “stitch” all the torn and ripped places; He starts to heal and repair.
You don’t want to squirm when a doctor tries to stitch you up!
If you can take a few moments to be still, God will begin healing you. “Be still, totally relaxed,” God says. “I’m going to start repairing you.”
We have to remember that stillness is not the goal. It’s merely the door through which we fellowship and commune with the Lord, Spirit to spirit. Quiet yourself and be still; let God look at you.
