Know this!

God is funny.  How is it that He’s always right?

I feel dreadful this morning, like everything thing is on top of me.  I prayed out loud in half-despair, half-fatigue, asking God to help me write.  The last thing I said, while rubbing my head and my eyes, was:

“I don’t know, Lord, I don’t even know.”

Then I opened up biblegateway.com and this was the quote of the day:

Be still, and know that I am God;
         I will be exalted among the nations,
         I will be exalted in the earth!
      
(Psalm 46:10)

I read that in a new way.  My heart and mind had been fluttering and cluttering with all sorts of “Cait facts”, and the Lord told me to stop.  Be still.  Be quiet.  Halt my thoughts.  Know He is God.  He will be exalted in the earth!

That was His simple answer to my plethora of problems.  And it makes sense.  God is so much bigger than anything I think is difficult.  There is nothing He cannot solve, or turn around.  There is nothing He cannot heal.  And He is worthy of being exalted!  But the cool thing about God is that He WILL be exalted, whether I choose to praise Him or not.  He WILL show Himself to everyone and He WILL be higher than anyone or anything on this earth!  Then, all the nations WILL worship and praise Him!

And how little all of our “issues” or possessions will seem when we see Him exalted.

Be still, my loved one, and know that I am God.  That’s all you have to know right now.

I am forever quoting this verse:

 Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
      And lean not on your own understanding;
      In all your ways acknowledge Him,
      And He shall direct your paths.

(Proverbs 3:5-6)

I tell this to people all the time.  “Stop thinking that you know things, because you really don’t,” I always say.  “Lean on God, because only His knowledge is correct,” I’ll say.  But then I forget it myself.  I get caught up in what I think I know.

I’ll quote Proverbs 3:5-6, yet look at what verse 7 says:

Do not be wise in your own eyes;
      Fear the LORD and depart from evil. (Proverbs 3:7)

For some reason, I hear a cartoon voice in my head saying, “Ohhh, a wise guy, eh?”  Well, yeah, that’s what we are being when we think we know everything.  No one can tell us differently.  If we think we’re heading for doom, then we must be.  If we think we’re heading for prosperity, then we must be.  We know, right?  We’ve been around for awhile, we’ve seen this happen before, we’ve done our research.  We know!  We are wise guys!

The Irish word for idiot is omadaun [aw-muh-dawn].  Frankly, that’s what we are when we think we know more than what God knows. 

If we are wise in our own eyes, then we are building a shield of pride around our souls, which tries to shut out any council from the Lord, whether spoken by Him directly into our heart or by people He sends to us.  But what is God telling us?

Don’t think you are so smart.  Respect Me, and turn away from evil.

If we are know-it-alls, then we are indulging in evil.  Pride is evil. Being so cocky that you feel you don’t need God’s help is evil.  Yet, consider this: being so fearful of your life and what will happen to it, is also evil.

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”

(Matthew 6:24-26)

Yeah, yeah, we’ve heard that “do not worry” quote before.  So?

So, that is a commandment from Jesus.  Break it, and you are separating yourself from Him.  What is separation from the Lord?  Sin.  What is sin?  Evil!

It’s easy to identify pride as arrogance.  Not so intuitive to identify pride as anxiety.  But, there you go.  (Now, I know people can clinically suffer from anxiety, and I do not want you to feel badly.  Striving to get help for that condition is walking the path of humility, so good on you!  Keep running the race, with God’s help!)

The point is that we must live every single day remembering to do this:

BE STILL.  Know that He is God.  He will be exalted among the nations.

• Are you stressed about your relationship?
  Be still.  He is God.
• Are you concerned about your children?
  Be still.  He is God.
• Are you concerned about your friends and family?
  Be still.  He is God.
• Are you upset about your health?
  Be still.  He is God.
• Are you worried about your job?
  Be still.  He is God.
• Are you concerned about school?
  Be still.  He is God.
• Are you thinking that your issues are too overwhelming?
  Be still.  He is God.
• Are you thinking that your sins cannot be forgiven?
  Be still.  He is God.

If after reading this, you are still convinced that it is impossible for you to solve the problems that you face, then congratulations!  You are right:

But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)

Not just some things.  All things are possible with the LORD. 

Be still, and know this.