Be Still and Know that I am God In the Stillness of Your Heart, Listen to the Voice of God “Be still, and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10) speaks about being tranquil to listen to the still small Voice (1 Kings 19:21) of God in total silence. What precisely does it mean to ‘be still?’ Various translations of the Bible translate the term ‘be still’ differently. ‘Cease struggling, stop your fighting, Be in awe of, Be at peace are some of the translations. It sure does not imply immobility but rather a spiritual disposition to hearing the Voice of God. Be still means not to be agitated, disheartened. God cannot speak to an agitated soul. To listen to the Voice of God, we must, in the first place, shut up. Be still means not flinching in faith. The Psalm reminds us of God’s promise of never forsaking us. It suggests serenity and tranquility. Be still does not imply we will be free from troubles. It means we will be able to keep our serenity amidst troubles. How are we supposed to remain still in our frustrations, bitterness, anger, etc? His Grace is sufficient for us. We keep on pestering God with questions but never stop to listen to His answers. Unless we remain still, we will not be able to hear God’s voice. Unless we remain still, our clogged senses will not be receptive to God’s Voice. The simple rule is, we have to spend time with God and shut up to listen to Him Speak Be still clearly means When God is in control and in command of our lives when we surrender to Him, we can afford to rest in Him amidst the storm. Know that I Am God simply reminds us that God is God, that is, He is Omnipotent, the God for whom nothing is Impossible. When God leads our path, we can rest in Him for He is our refuge and strength. If we can listen to His Voice, we can discern His purposes and plans for our lives. If we can train ourselves to listen to the small still Voice of God, we will not divert our focus from His plans. It is God’s ardent desire that we should live as per His plans and His plans for us are always good. (Jeremiah 29:11). ‘ But this thing I did command them: Listen to and obey My voice, and I will be your God and you will be My people; and walk in the whole way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’ Jeremiah 7:23. Psalm 32:8-9 says, “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.’ How important is it to communicate with God? How do we listen to the Voice of God? How does God speak to us? We definitely need to communicate with God because our God is a Living God and is desirous of a heart to heart relationship with man. We need to communicate with Him to discern His plan for our lives, to be guided by Him step by step in accordance to His plans and purposes for our lives, that is, to align our will with His. Our salvation depends on our communication with God. God speaks to people in myriad ways. He cannot be limited to any single medium. Moses heard the audible Voice of God (Deuteronomy 5:26) and there was a dialogue between God and Moses. In fact, the Bible is full of stories of God speaking to man in different ways. God spoke to people through prophets through angels, through dreams, through visions, etc. When Jesus called Paul, not only Paul but all those around heard the Voice. After that, Jesus spoke to both Paul and Ananias in dreams. Later, instructions were given to Paul through visions and revelations. So God used multiples ways to instruct Paul. In present times, unlike Adam and Eve or Moses or Samuel or Saul, we may not be able to hear the audible Voice of God but God has not stopped speaking to man. Of course, there are exceptions where people have had visitations. Listening to the Voice of God is a heart to heart and spirit to spirit communication. We cannot hear the word of God when we are too busy, too preoccupied with materialistic thoughts. There are many things that hinder us from listening to the Voice of God. The primary would be disbelief. We can’t believe that God Almighty can speak to us. If someone says God spoke to his heart we wander if the person is hallucinating. Our intellectual pride and our pride of reasoning too hinders us. God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. Out of this pride would come refusing to let God lead our lives for we think we are capable of leading our own. But when we fail to lead our own lives, we turn to God. God’s Voice is absolutely dependable. We may not understand His Wisdom but we simply have to trust His Will. Heaven and Earth can pass away, but the word of the Lord can never fail. A classic example of interfering with God’s plan is given in the Bible when Abraham, encouraged by Sarah begets a son through Hagar. They would have done well to just wait on the Lord till his promise was realized. Precisely for this reason, Jesus warns: ‘take heed how you hear’ (Luke 8:18). It’s not merely about listening but it is equally about obeying His voice. “My sheep hear My voice and I know them, and they follow Me” says Jesus. (John 10:27). Blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it. In these last days God has spoken to us by his Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the worldGod speaks to us by his Son, through his Spirit in the Bible. The book of Hebrews makes it clear that Jesus is superior to everything in the Old Testament. As such, the voice of God speaking in the Bible is definite and we can discern God’s secret plan for our lives in the Bible. If we are in the Spirit, we will be able to clearly hear His voice. Does this mean that God does not speak to man in any other medium? God may use any medium that pleases Him because He cannot be limited. It is observed that most often, God speaks to people in the medium they are familiar with, in the medium they understand. Let’s remember that when God leads our lives, we can never fail. Knowing God’s purpose for our lives simplifies, focuses, and gives meaning to our lives. Let us let God use us for His purposes and let us not use Him for our purposes.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Mar 2014 10:23:11 +0000