Experiencing God's Presence #205

Experiencing God's Presence #205

Be still, and know that I am God.

Psalm 46:10, NIV

Sometimes in Scripture, God wants us to stand still and see His salvation—to simply receive. Other times, He tells His people to move forward, to take a step in faith. Both are legitimate scriptural approaches. But He never tells us to allow our insecurities, doubts, and anxieties to drive us obsessively into the future. We can’t seize our destiny on our own, and we can’t receive the fulfillment of God’s promises restlessly or by striving. Yes, we may wrestle with Him, endure, and persist in faith, but in the end we have to depend entirely on His strength. We experience Him and His provision by resting in who He is.

The place of God’s Presence is a place of stillness. When we know who God is—not just intellectually, but in our core—we have the peace that passes understanding. We know His will is good and His power is able to carry it out, and we’re fine with however He works it all out. We’re able to calm down, stop striving, and rest in Him. It may be an active, intentional rest, but it’s still rest.

How do we get to that place? By choice, for one thing. We simply decide to believe in His wisdom, power, and love. But it also helps to focus on the words that follow this verse. God will be exalted in the nations, on the earth, and even in our own lives and circumstances. It’s guaranteed. And in whatever we go through, “the LORD Almighty is with us” (v. 11, NIV). As always, His Presence is the key. If we really believe that, if it really sinks down into our hearts, if we live in that place of knowing and sensing the Presence, the peace comes. We can take a deep breath, be still, and know that He is God.

Lord, my heart is restless. I worry. I know You’re on Your throne, but I don’t know what You’re going to do. Help me trust—and give me rest—in who You are.