BE STILL

by Angie Piepenburg

“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

This Bible passage from the book of Psalm was one of my Grandma’s favorite Bible passages. She shared this verse with us often as my siblings, cousins, and I were growing up. As a kid, I can’t say that I fully understood the meaning of this passage. Most of the time we all just thought it was Grandma’s way of getting us to slow down and sit still for a bit. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I truly appreciated my Grandma's wisdom of this Bible passage.

It was my first pregnancy and we were expecting “triplets”! At about 27 weeks along, I was having contractions. The contractions did not stop. So now I would spend a little over a month in the hospital on bedrest. Talk about time to be still. So many thoughts and worries started to consume my mind as I lay there day after day trying to do my best to keep our babies growing in my womb as long as possible. My Grandma’s verse kept invading my thoughts. I finally reached for the Bible to look at this verse.

The words to be still in Hebrew mean to let go, stop striving, slacken and let drop. These words in Psalm 46:10 was God addressing Israel. Most likely, during a time of war. God commands them to “stop fighting” and open their eyes to see who He is. He is God and He is on their side. He is their strength and refuge, and ever present in all circumstances.

The words in Psalm 46:10 enlightened me. God was clearly trying to tell me He is God. He was there to be my strength and refuge. I didn’t need to think I had to do all this by myself. He wanted me to let go and know that He was working for me and that His plans were clearly in the making. I just had to be still and let Him be the amazing and wonderful God that He is!

As I gave God the reins, my worries ceased. Our triplets were born healthy. They are now 28 years old, all happily married and doing very well. God be praised! Letting go and letting God be in control is not an easy thing to do by all means. But as this Lenten season is upon us, try to be still and see just who God is. He is our God working for us. He wants to be our strength and refuge in all circumstances. He loves us! He has a beautiful and an amazing plan for each of us. He has given us His only Son to be our Savior. Journey to the cross this Lenten season and know your sins are forgiven because our gracious God is always working for us!

Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask that you help me to be still, so I can know and trust you are God. Let me let go and trust that You are always working for my good. Forgive me
for not putting You first and trusting Your process. In Your holy name, Amen