His Encouragement #192

Welcome to His Encouragement Thursday! I don’t know about you, but Thursdays are my struggle day of the week. By Thursday, I have already been working hard at school and at home, and I just wish it would hurry up and be Friday already. LOL! I definitely need a little extra Jesus time on Thursdays.

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Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!

Psalm 37:7 (ESV)

Be still…it’s so easy, right?

Just be still. Do nothing. Wait.

Sometimes, being still is the HARDEST thing in the world to do. It’s difficult because we are made to act. When we see something wrong in the world, like evil men carrying out their nefarious plans on innocent people, it’s our instinct to do something. We want to make the bad stop. We want the bad men to be punished.

Isn’t that the point of every super hero movie that we love? Good defeating evil. That’s the literal plot behind most every Batman story — a man with no superhuman powers (just like you and me) taking out the bad guys.

Psalm 37 gives very specific direction — be still BEFORE the Lord. It’s not just be still, don’t move, and God will act. It’s stand before God, be still AND patient, and He will act. Give fealty to God. Recognize that He is the Boss, He has everything under control (even the bad guys), and that He is the actor of Justice, not us. God is also in charge of TIME. He acts at the exact perfect moment.

Yes, there are bad guys. Evil abounds. Getting rid of evil is a good desire. But when we act when we should be still we tell God that we think we are in charge. Telling God that we are in charge NEVER works out. Pride always goes before the fall.

Perhaps, at this moment, you’re saying to yourself, “But, Nicole, I’ve read the Bible many times. God tells me to act. I’m supposed to obey and DO His commands. I’m supposed to go out and share His Word. I’m supposed to act.”

Yes, this is a good point. There are times when we are commanded to act.

Psalm 37:7 says, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently.” You know what I think? I think this has a lot to do with prayer. What is prayer? It’s us going before the Lord and talking…and then waiting patiently for His response. Sometimes, we get a response quickly and we know what to do. Many times, though, we get what seems like silence and we are not sure how to act. But God tells us…be still and wait. Wait on God and His timing. We are also told not to fret — don’t worry. God’s got it. Trust Him.

A lot of bad happens when good people act when they really should just be still and wait patiently on God.

Today, dear reader, take a moment and reflect on yourself. I’ll do it, too! Are we prone to acting before waiting for God? Are we any good at waiting? Do we take our worries to God and let Him deal? Do we need to go to Him today and ask for forgiveness for putting Him second in our valiant attempts to be Batman? If we respond “YES” to any of these questions, take heart. God is waiting to have a little chat. This time, though, be still!

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NOW, IT’S YOUR TURN!

WHAT BIBLICAL VERSE IS ENCOURAGING YOU TODAY?