Be Still Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46:10 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Psalm 37:7 Somebody, stop the voices. The sky isn’t falling. Anxious moments are tough. Projecting outcomes is hazardous to one’s health. Especially mine, especially earlier in life. The outcomes in my head were usually disastrous. Well, is there a word that fits between usually and always that would be the more correct word to use? I seemed to worry about everything. What was going to happen? When I was about twenty-one years old and had just stopped drinking, I was a very new member in a twelve-step program. I had to learn to live life without drinking. My way was not working. The man that brought me to the twelve-step program became my mentor and best friend. He would sit and listen to me. I bet it wasn’t much fun at times. When I would finish my tale of woe, Henry would say, “Ken, be still.” I seemed to always be in a hurry to get somewhere. Somewhere was a quite unknown and scary place for me. But I was in a hurry to get there anyway. “Ken, be still.” What does that really mean? Where did it come from? Was Henry telling me nicely to shut up? No. Over the years, I have learned what “be still” means. Let me tell you just a few more stories first. I’m a storyteller. There was a man I knew who was a kind and patient man living in Hawaii. One time, when I was about twenty-one, I was lying by a lake while at a function; I was wearing jeans, cowboy boots, and a shirt. This same man asked me what I was doing. I told him I was working on my serenity. He laughed and smiled at me. He told me serenity comes from a spiritual lifestyle, not something you just get by magic. Another time, at a twelve-step gathering, the chairperson asked if anyone was celebrating six months of sobriety. I quickly raised my hand and said I was now sober six months. Everyone clapped and whistled. This same man later came over and said, “Ken when you said you had six months, I was waiting for you to say, ‘But I am going as fast as I can.’” An older lady in San Diego used to tell me to stop spinning my wheels. Okay, you know me better now. Of course, over the next few decades I have learned what these statements mean. I have a spiritual way of life, I have stopped spinning my wheels as much, and I learned what it is to “be still.” I have added, “Be still and know that I am God.” This is right out of the book of Psalms. This verse is so meaningful to me. This is a short verse I can use constantly, when those wheels start spinning, and I am on the quick road to somewhere. Remember, for me, that somewhere can be a scary place to me without God. Knowing that God is always with me and nothing comes to me except through God, I feel much safer and secure. This day is all I have, and God is with me. If God is for us, who can be against us? Being still is a lot easier this way. Anxiety is not something I experience when I know God is here. If I forget these things, guess what. I am on the road to somewhere that is not a pretty place. Reading God’s Word on a daily basis, reading devotionals, praying, meditating, and speaking with those on the same path makes it a lot easier to “be still.” Knowing that he is God and he is here now, I am going to be fine.
Posted on: Tue, 28 Oct 2014 14:12:57 +0000