Be still.

I am writing this now while sitting in Starbucks but going to post it later since I don’t have internet unless I pay for it and that’s not going to happen. It’s been one of those days where everything seems vivid and very real. I can see perfectly what is going on; things seems almost as if they were moving in slow motion. God is teaching me and the other chaperones so much right now and we are growing in Him daily.

The last few days the same thought has been showing up in paper words and in spoken words: stillness. “Be still and know that I am God.” A short and to the point verse that is difficult. Be still: how often are we still? How often do I, not just slow down, but practice the discipline of BEING STILL?

So, step one: be still. Be who you are and in essence shut up. Go before God and be quiet, practicing the discipline of quietness.

Step two: know that He is God. Look at the power in that statement. Know that I am God. He is God. I am not. I cannot control any situation, no matter how much I try because I am not God. Know Him as God, Creator, Savior, King, Lord, Judge, Groom, Almighty.

How do I go about knowing Him? Be quiet; be still before Him. Enter His presence and do nothing, just listen. Listen for His voice and know Him. Hear His heart, feel what makes His heart beat.

In the Old Testament God says who He is by two simple yet powerful words: “I AM.” I am God. I am Creator. I am Savior. I am King. I am Lord. I am Judge. I am Groom. I am Almighty. That’s it. That’s all I need to know because if I truly knew these things about Him my life would be different. I would not doubt or control or question because I would truly know His heart. I would know Him deeply as the I AM. The One who was, and is, and is to come. No other came before Him and no one will go after Him.

That truth changes me. It changes my relationship with Him and others. It changes the way that I live with these 29 other people on a bus for 15 months. It changes things. And while God is perfect and unchanging I am changing because I have not learned it all.

Please pray for me and the other chaperones that we would know God. There are times on tour when we try to figure things out on our own and then realize that we should have laid it at the feet of Christ. He is God and I will trust Him to show me the way and to be confident in whom He is and who I am in Him.

“God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes coma and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge! A river brings joy to the city of our God, the sacred home of the Most High. God dwells in that city, it cannot be destroyed. From the very break of day, God will protect it. The nations are in chaos, and their kingdoms crumble! God’s voice thunders, and the earth melts! The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us; the God of Israel is our fortress. Come, see the glorious works of the Lord: see how he brings destruction upon the world. He causes wars to end throughout the earth. He breaks the bow and snaps the spear; he burns the shields with fire. Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world. The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us; the God of Israel is our fortress.” Psalm 46