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February 16, 2009

Be Still

There will be times when God has not given you the freedom to go forward or to turn back. He has only given you the reassurance that you can do one thing: stand still and know that He is God. For the most part, we are people of action. We hear a rumor and we can’t wait to pass it on to the next person. We learn of a tragedy, and we reach for our cell phones. A problem comes, and we turn to a friend for advice. To the Lord, it must seem as though our hearts are forever searching, seeking, and working on the events that surround us—not really trusting Him with all the details.

There are times when He sends us out and wants us to get busy. He instructed the seventy to go and minister in His name. But there are other times when the last thing He wants us to do is to reach for a doorknob and rush forward. Instead, He tells us to be still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10 KJV). “Don’t push, or fret, or worry. Just be still in my presence.”

Be still when you are driving to work, when you are listening to a spouse or friend talk about his or her day. Be still and know that I am God. There is no problem too big for Him to handle, no sorrow too deep, no valley too dark, no news too foreboding. Whatever concerns you also concerns Him.

In Achieving the Impossible with God, we read the following: “As the college kept growing, the need for more classrooms and a larger chapel became increasingly acute. One end of the dining room had been left unfinished with the idea that some day a chapel would be placed there. Now seemed to be the time to break ground for this addition.

“Leaving those at home to do two thing—pray for money and dig down to solid rock for a foundation for the building, Dr. Forrest went to New York to preach in a large gospel tent in the Bronx. On the first night there he was introduced to a number of people who were helping in the meeting, including a middle-aged German lady who played the piano for the services. The second night he was there, this pianist, Miss C. F. L. Schultz, asked him if he would walk with her to the car line, as she had something she wanted to speak to him about. . . . They walked in silence up the street.

“He waited for her to open the subject. Finally, she broke the silence and said, ‘I can’t get you out of my mind. I made some inquiries today about where you live and what you’re doing, and I understand you have a school in Georgia.’

“‘That’s right, replied Dr. Forrest. After walking in silence for a few more minutes, she continued, ‘The Lord told me to ask you what you’re doing right now about rebuilding. I understand you’ve had a fire.’

“’Yes,’ replied Dr. Forrest, ‘we are rebuilding—we’re building a chapel.’

“‘How much will it cost?’ was the woman’s next question. Dr. Forrest knew the minimum about and told her, ‘Four thousand dollars.’ He was thinking in terms of a frame building, not daring to hope for anything more elaborate.”

“‘Well,’ said the lady, ‘I was praying for you this morning and the Lord told me to ask you that question and then give you one half of whatever amount you said. . . . If you will go with me, I will give it to you tonight.’ He went with her and got a check for two thousand dollars. With this money, the downstairs, or chapel, part of the building was completed.

Dr. Forrest walked in silence before the Lord. He waited for God’s answer to a very pressing need. But there was no rush of words or thoughts of explaining more than what needed to be told. He had a simple unbridled trust and faith in God, who is in the habit of doing the impossible for those who love and follow Him. Are you waiting—trusting—in restful silence that your deepest desires will be answered? Be still and know that He is God, and He will provide for every need you have.

Taken from the online devotional book Grace in The Wilderness © 2009 tfchistory.com