Be Still

“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. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret--it leads only to evil. For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.” (Psalm 37:7-9) 

I have to admit that as a coffee-drinking, type-A, 21st century American, being still is not my strong suit. In fact, I hate waiting, and patience can really require a lot of will power. Fortunately, we are called to “be still before the Lord” and “wait patiently for Him.” The kind of stillness the psalmist urges is not necessarily a lack of physical activity, but a sense of confident peace, a trust that God is aware of and cares about all aspects of our lives. We are able to wait patiently for God to fulfill His promises because He has always faithfully done so. Not only is our fretting futile and our anger counter-productive, they display a lack of faith that the God who provided redemption in Christ will certainly bring about our vindication on the day of resurrection. 

“Heavenly Father, give us the strength to wait for You, trusting confidently in Your promises and empowered by Your Spirit. Enable us to be free of worry and anger, knowing that You are our hope, in Jesus’ name, amen.” 

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STILL DRIVING…

The large sedan was moving extremely slowly, backing up cars on a two-lane highway.

A state trooper noticed the hazard being caused by the slow driver and pulled her over. 

The car was full of fearful looking senior citizens, with a very elderly woman at the wheel. 

“Ma’am,” said the trooper, “I’m afraid you are creating a hazard by driving so slowly.

The speed limit is 55 mph; if you can’t drive at least 45 mph I’ll have to give you a ticket.”

“Oh, my,” replied the driver, “I am so sorry officer! The last speed limit sign I saw said 25!”

“Ma’am,” the officer responded, “that was not the speed limit. This is highway 25.”

“Oh dear,” said the woman, “that explains all the cars honking and passing us. 

Thank you for telling me, officer—I will definitely speed up to 55 then!”

The officer said, “Please do. I’ll let you go with a warning this time, but I have to ask: 

Your passengers are all pale and covered with perspiration. Are they sick?”

“Oh, they’ll be fine,” the woman said, “but I think we just got off Highway 120.”

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God give you confident peace this week! 

In Jesus,

Pastor Kirk