Be Still And Wait

Waiting can be hard enough but waiting patiently can seem almost impossible at times, especially for me. Yet in Psalm 37:7 God tells us to not only wait; he tells us to wait patiently. So in learning to wait on the Lord I am to do it with patience. Worse yet, the verse begins by saying, "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently...."

Being still before the Lord has always been a challenge for me. I have attended many classes, seminars and retreats where we have been instructed to clear our minds and be still before the Lord listening for his voice. I had never been able to clear my mind; the thoughts and concerns of things going on around me just seemed to get louder. Then just over a year ago I attended a ladies' retreat hosted by our church. The speaker lead us in a meditation on the verse "Be still and know that I am God". As I was meditating I suddenly realized that my thoughts were clear. Everything was quiet in my head-no concerns, agendas or problems that I felt I had to fix. Then a still quiet voice spoke to me.

I mentioned in a previous post that God and I have been working on the issue of trust for the past several years. My spirit was overwhelmed with God's presence as the voice said, "This is what trust looks like.  There were no concerns, agendas or problems that I had to fix because for the first time in my life I had truly surrendered them all to the Lord.

Father, thank you for giving me a glimpse of what it looks and feels like to trust you completely. On the days that I forget and try to conquer life's problems on my own, remind me of the perfect peace that was mine when I totally surrendered everything to you. Only when I am still before you can I hope to hear your voice as you lead me.