Be Still.....and be patient

"Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;" Psalm 37:7b

As a busy mom, it is hard enough to be still....but even harder to be patient. As our reader mentioned yesterday, it only takes a minute before we wonder what we should be doing. Sometimes I think I'm not still often enough because in my heart, I don't truly believe God is going to act....so a few moments later, I'm back to figuring out how to handle things on my own. God is just too slow for me sometimes.

There are two parts to being still, really. First, there is the physical act of being still....the discipline of taking the time to sit before the Lord. This one literally takes practice. Remember trying to get your baby to sleep through the night? Were you one that went in and patted them on the back and then waited a while before you went in and comforted them again....waiting a little longer between each comfort session?  It is kind of like that with learning to be still. We almost have to practice. "Okay, I managed ten minutes today. Next time I'll try 15."  Sound a little silly? Maybe. But sometimes the act of being still is uncomfortable. It is so new that we have to get used to it. Little by little, we learn to let God talk while we just listen - and little by little we'll crave more and more time to do it.

Secondly, there is the spiritual and emotional side of being still. We can sit in silence all day with a terribly anxious heart. The stillness in our heart comes when we take God at his word and believe that He really does have it all covered. There is internal rest for the one who takes God at His Word.

  

Psalm 7

 ³ Trust in the LORD and do good;
       dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

 ⁴ Delight yourself in the LORD
       and he will give you the desires of your heart.

 ⁵ Commit your way to the LORD;
       trust in him and he will do this:

 ⁶ He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
       the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

 ⁷ Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
       do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
       when they carry out their wicked schemes.

 ⁸ Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
       do not fret—it leads only to evil.

 ⁹ For evil men will be cut off,
       but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.

 ¹⁰ A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
       though you look for them, they will not be found.

 ¹¹ But the meek will inherit the land
       and enjoy great peace.