Sitting in church as a young child, I vividly remember snuggling next to my grandma with my arm wrapped around hers because the church auditorium always felt so cold. Sometimes, being cold made me wiggle or become anxious before the service ended. Grandma would lean down and whisper in my ear, “Mandy, be still.”
We did not have a clock on the back of the auditorium wall, so I never knew how long the preaching would last. I just knew I was cold, and in my young mind, I had to get out of there, lest I be frozen to death. I would look down the row to where my mom and dad sat, and Mom would give me “the look.” That meant I had better be still and listen, or freezing to death would be the least of my worries!
Recently, I had to have surgery, which involved a long recovery. This meant I could not do most household chores. My husband and three children would have to step in to do all these tasks so that I could rest. During this time, I had no choice but to depend on them to make meals, do laundry, and keep the house somewhat clean. I struggled with this because I was used to doing most of these things myself. Letting someone else help was hard, but even more difficult than that was making myself rest and be still during this time of recovery. This was such a reminder of the many times in my life, including while recovering from surgery, God has whispered to me, “Be still, Mandy.”
I believe we all go through times in our lives when we must be still. God has a plan for each of us, and sometimes we must be still so that we can pay attention to see what He wants us to do next.
Psalm 46:10 says, Be still, and know that I am God:…
As a mother of three, I can find things becoming a little chaotic at times. We all get busy with the day-to-day that we often forget to be still and listen to the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit. It is so easy to see all of our problems, the piles of laundry, the sink of dishes, and our long “to-do” lists. In the midst of this chaos, God is still in control. We may think we can handle it all, but we cannot. If we try to do it all without stopping to get His help, we eventually will tire ourselves out to the point where we are then forced to be still! When life throws us things we cannot control, God will give us the help we need, just like my family and friends did for me after my surgery, but we must accept the help He gives us. Just like the freezing air that distracted me in church, this life sends plenty of distractions to pull our focus away from God. Let us determine that, when we lose our focus, we will get our attention back on Him. Remember to “be still” to see God’s clear direction. We can take great comfort in knowing it is God who is in control of our lives!
Be still, and know you are in His care!
by Mandy Harper