Be still and know that I am God.

This is a short blog. It was just something that was floating through my mind, and I wanted to share it. What I’m writing about is stilling the mind, but in order to do that you need to first still the body.

I have found that decisive life choices and character shifts happen during a state of mental stillness.  It quiets the mind and creates an emotional calm. Many thoughts come to us daily, and stillness helps to make them clear and more distinct. Stillness reduces anxiety and increases our awareness and improves our quality of life. I know those are issues many people struggle with today.

In my young adult life, my thought was so chaotic it was difficult to make choices as my thought kept shifting.  I had to learn to calm my thought and be still, and it took a mighty struggle. I did eventually learn to meditate, and to this day, I use a form of meditation, which I refer to as communing with God.

When I had my first success with meditation, I was amazed. While meditating, I do not use any aids like sounds or focusing my thought on some idea; I simply focused on clearing my mind of all conscious thought. One day I became aware that although I was awake, I was unaware of my body; at that moment, I was clearly in a state of pure consciousness — what an experience. I would have liked to stay there forever, but it did not last long. I do not reach that state of consciousness every time I commune with God, but when I do, it is always when I need it most. In that still, calm moment I get ideas (messages from God) I need to resolve whatever is going on in my life.  “I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” (Jer. 29:11)

In the Bible, Jesus was always calm. He never got excited about events. Even when his friend Lazarus was dying, he didn’t hurry. And Elijah learned that God was not in the earthquake, wind, or fire, but in the “still small voice” And from Psalms 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.”

II Chron. 20:17 “Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord…” I love this quote; it says it all. I think we humans spend to much time trying to fight our battles, instead of turning them over to God. If we live by the law of God, which is to love our neighbor, everything will fall into place. Now that doesn’t mean we will never have problems, but when we do, stand still, listen for the still small voice, and let God lead you through to salvation. He’s there to guide us even in our most troubling times. Trust Him.