I have spent much time trying to find out to be sure that we are following God. I don't mean in a general sense, I mean in day to day, hour to hour everyday life. For months now I have researched, payed, even sought the help of preachers I respected. This all brought good lessons and nuggets of wisdom, but down deep inside I knew something was still missing.
In our life, we face great uncertainty. With each day that goes by, we seem to sink deeper into a hole work no way out. Every inspiration on what to do to get out ended in failure. It seemed that no matter what I did, it just didn't work. Something always went wrong to block success. Always, in everything that mattered.
Yet, in things that didn't"matter", good spoke to us and lead us miraculously. Every month or so a plain miracle of little things would occur "just in time" but in a chain of "can't be a coincidence". Ironically, as our world send to be falling apart in what matters, all the little things "just fell into place". This went on for many months.
I was bewildered. It can't be that we were not following the holy ghost in day to day lives, because of these strings of "everything feel together beautifully" experienced that only God could orchestrate. Yet, in all the big things, nothing worked. Try and try, nothing"feel together", couldn't get traction anywhere even following the same inspirations as in the little things.
Something.... Missing.
Then one morning I say in bed prayerfully contemplating in the quiet and God spoke. My eyes started at the painting we have in the bedroom wall of a lone tree, fence line, snow. The caption is a scripture, "peace, be still and know that I am god'. I had purchased that painting years ago on deep inspiration and hung it there to start my day with. Yet today, in this moment, it some to me.
I have been concentrating on asking God "what do I do to get out of this mess" and then following anything that seemed halfway useful to try. I assumed that I had to do... Something.... Now. The only question I had was" what should I do now".
Peace, be still. That was God's answer. Don't do anything! Stop trying! I was asking the wrong question... It's not about what to do, but when to do.
A vision came pouring in with strength that overshadowed all else. Imagine that you are a Jew in Bible days. You walk outside you home to a fearful sight... Enemy soldiers with swords drawn, running towards you. You know, with no don't, that these enemy have only one goal, to kill you and your family. You must do something quickly or face certain destruction!
Then the prophet stands up and yells"peace, be still, and know that he is God". As enemy soldiers storm the city, you watch them running towards you, the prophet says to stand still and WATCH God deliver. Watch him fight for you. What do you do?
If you do not arm yourself and the soldiers reach you it is certain death. You are trained by God to protect your family, here it will all end if you don't"do"something. Yet the prophet cried out to stand still at peace. You must choose to do something under your own power to try to save your family, or put total nothing held back trust into God for his Deliverance. Time to choose!
It is only possible to be still, be at peace, in such a situation if you totally trust in God. That's faith. To know that God is able, to know that he is willing, to know that he calls you to be still and watch instead of do. To know that you heard right. To stand, and be at peace as the soldiers approach to strike you down. That is faith.
Such stories are in the Bible, stories of armies winning a real battle without lifting a sword, firstly by God's hand and miracle. In those stories is the message "peace, be still, and know that I am god" to the army itself.
My problem is that I assume I must do something or the soldiers will reach us. I see far enough into the future to know that total destruction is coming, unless I do something, anything. I had already decided that something must be done, Deliverance is within action. I was selling which action to take and yet everything I did failed miserably as if god himself was blocking it. THAT was the problem. I was only asking and selling WHAT path to take, not considering was it TIME to take any path.
Our assumptions are often hidden and subtle, yet devestating. My assumption here was that the challenge was to hear from God for WHAT ACTION to take. Goods word to me in this morning starting at the painting was simple "none of the above", it wasn't time yet. The word I could not hear was "wait".
Why is this so important? Because my demanding to know from good what to do, was actually an act of lack of faith. I want truly seeking his perfect plan, I was seeking to save myself according to his plan. I was there one running into the house to grab my series and defend from the charging enemy. I was ignoring the prophet call to be still and wait.
It take great faith to wait. Imagine yourself standing still, at peace, as a armed charging soldier reached directly towards you. How long will you stand still? It's like a game of chicken! A mile? A hundred yards? Ten yards? When will you flinch? It all depends on how much you trust God and your own hearing off God's instruction. Only faith in both will bring peace.
Peace comes when we know we are following God in a particular situation. When we know he is protecting us. Peace is never based on human ability, it come solely from hearing from good and following, even if that following means to do nothing but watch. This is the peace that allowed Jesus to sleep in the bottom of a small boat in a in a huge storm.
Sometimes it is time to fight, to do, to accomplish by God's might. But sometimes it's time to watch good fight out battles for us. Oddly, it takes more faith to be still when facing certain destruction than to do. It natural drive is to do whatever we can in a panic. But when it's time to wait and watch, we must also be willing to do so.
There is much easier if the Bible. Much. Waiting on God. Being still. Trusting. It all over, covert to cover. And the waiting is almost always directed to us as a command. We are to wait. Just do a search for the word", wait" in the Bible and see the hundreds of occurance of God calling on man to wait.
This was an overwhelming morning. After months of stress, worry, frantic seeking, trying everything, I finally got the message "peace, be still and know that I am god". I had been asking the wrong question all along. The answer of"what should I do" was... Nothing. Not yet. Just wait. Learn to trust God to tell you when it's time to do as well as what to do.
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