King David was where he shouldn’t have been.  He was on the prowl when he shoulda been still.  He should have been with his troops out on the battlefield encouraging them to remain strong and faithful.  Instead he was on the rooftop and a war was raging inside him (2 Samuel 11).

Remaining strong and faithful wasn’t on his mind.

Bathsheba was.

Had he been doing what he should have been doing and been where he should have been, he could have avoided a whole lot of problems.

Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation?  You end up in the wrong place at the wrong time to do the wrong things with the wrong people and it leads directly to sin.  And then sin leads to more problems and the more you try to cover it up, the worse it gets?

Sin will always take you farther than you want to go, make you stay longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you’d ever want to pay.  David learned this lesson the hard way.

How did he ever get himself in this situation?  Well, one thing is for sure: he didn’t inquire of the LORD on this one.

Life doesn’t give us automatic do-overs.  We make mistakes, sin, fall short, do horrible things that we regret and we simply cannot rewind to the place where we headed down the wrong path and do what is right instead.  Yes, there is grace for the times we fail, but there are also consequences.

How can you avoid being in the wrong place at the wrong time doing the wrong things with the wrong people and end up in sin?  Be Still and inquire of the LORD.  That’s a really good start.  If you follow the LORD at every step of the way you won’t find yourself on the path of regret.

Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you.  (Proverbs 4:6)

There’s an analogy I like to use.  Imagine a westbound train.  You are standing on the platform and have a choice to board the train or stay on the platform.  Once you’re on the train going westbound, you can run eastbound on board the train as fast as you want and you’re still going to end up where the train is headed.  Stay off the train if you don’t want to arrive at its destination.

Be Still.  You can avoid the shoulda-woulda-couldas of life.

Be Still.  I will never steer you wrong.  I will never lead you to sin.  I will guide you clear of it, if you’ll let Me.

Be Still and Know that I AM God.  If you live according to My ways, you’ll never have regrets.

Be Still and Know that I AM God.  The destination of heaven is worth it.  Trust Me.  I live here.

Questions for reflection:

1. What train platform are you standing on?  What train is boarding now and have you considered its destination?
2. What is the best way to live with no regrets?
3. Name a few decisions you’ve made that could not be undone.  How many of them are regrets either in timing or in having made that decision at all?
4. Read James 1:13 “When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”  Progressing from thought to word to action, where is the best place for stopping sin?

Perhaps 15 years separated David’s being privately anointed as king by the prophet Samuel and the time he was publicly anointed and actually proclaimed king following Saul’s death.  King David demonstrated great patience while waiting upon God’s promises.  He even spared Saul’s life on several occasions.

How many of us knowing that destiny awaits could feel as though we were entitled to what God has promised?

There’s a heart attitude here in David’s life of humility and confidence in God.  The same confidence he showed facing Goliath when he taught the Israelites and the Philistines that placing one’s trust in human devices and efforts will be proved insufficient.  Only trust in God will do.  He said to the Philistine,

All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” (1 Samuel 17:47)

I look at David—a complicated man of deep flaws, profound faith, beautiful artistry, and genuine passion—and find one of the most remarkable things about him during this time of his life remains his patience. 

The Philistine is dead and time goes on.

Saul remains king.

Time goes on and Saul is jealous of David and tries to have him killed. 

Retribution isn’t even in the equation.

For David, it was about waiting on the LORD.  Being still even while being a fugitive whose life is on the line.

When David hears that Saul is dead, does he rush into what’s rightfully his?  Does he grab the crown and the band from the Amalekite who brought them to him? ( 2 Samuel 1:5-12).  No.  David inquired of the LORD first.

2 Samuel 2:1 In the course of time, David inquired of the LORD. “Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah?” he asked. The LORD said, “Go up.” David asked, “Where shall I go?” “To Hebron,” the LORD answered. 2 So David went up there with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 3 David also took the men who were with him, each with his family, and they settled in Hebron and its towns. 4 Then the men of Judah came to Hebron and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah.

David was 30 years old when he became king and he reigned forty years in all.  Half of his life had been spent waiting for his moment to ascend to the throne.  Could you wait 15 years after hearing what God is going to do before seeing it come to fulfillment?  Or would you get a bit impatient?  Would you seek instant gratification as soon as you see the finish line?

David didn’t.  He inquired of the LORD and God blessed David as he reigned over Judah for seven and a half years (2 Sam 5:5).  Eventually he would reign over both Judah and Israel.  He would move the capital city to Jerusalem and he would reign over all Israel and Judah for a total of 33 years.  David was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22).  And that didn’t happen overnight.  It happened by Being Still for the long haul.  Still Waiting and constantly seeking the LORD’s presence.

Be Still.  Seeking Me will keep your heart pure.

Be Still.  Waiting upon Me is never wasted time.

Be Still and Know that I AM God.  In the fullness of time, I bring each thing to pass in accordance with My will.

Be Still and Know that I AM God.  Remember what I told you: Matthew 6:33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.”

Questions for reflection:

1. How good are you at waiting on God?
2. How might worship be an antidote for impatience?
3. What does impatience say about who is on the throne of your life?

For any of us who have ever been called to stand against the crowd, we know what a frightening and uncomfortable place that can be.

It can be humiliating, being a name in the newspaper that people identify with fanatic, zealot, or kook.  It can be embarrassing, having people ostracize you and your family and slink away from you or hide behind shelves at the grocery store so they aren’t seen associating with you.

It can be heartbreaking, knowing that people are talking about you behind your back and in front of people who formerly would have called you “friend”…

…that is, before you became such a controversial figure.

But now you’re too dangerous.

Your very presence might cause some really good Holy Spirit agitation or conscience poking.  You don’t even have to say anything.  The Holy Spirit doesn’t always need you to speak…only to BE.  You enter a room and everyone’s already got an opinion even if you haven’t said a word.

I’ve been there.  Those statements are not a figment of an overactive or paranoid imagination.  That has been part of my life.  So I have great sympathy for those with a more prophetic call in serving God.  Oh, we are not prophets in the OT sense or even in the NT sense of John the Baptist, but there remains a gift of the Spirit and a call for some of us to stand against the crowd and to speak the uncomfortable Word.

Still standing against the crowd.  Speaking the uncomfortable Word.  Being a light–a vastly imperfect one–whom God places in the darkness of a world going to hell in a hand-basket.  To reach out and try to persuade some!  To preach the hard truth…in love…to people who oftentimes would rather not hear it.  To exhibit—by our very existence—the evidence to the contrary of traditions and beliefs commonplace in theological circles and to receive criticism by the status quo.  No one chooses this or willingly selects this role.  We’re compelled and so we do it.  We don’t have many friends.  It’s hard to love people like us.

Samuel—the bridge between the judges, prophets, and priests—had a tough row to hoe.   He was at first a priest working under Eli.  It was while he was ministering before the LORD that he received his call to be a prophet.  Prophets aren’t winners of popularity contests.

In 1 Samuel 8, we see that being a judge or a prophet is not hereditary.  The people…the crowd…came to Samuel, told him that his sons were no good, and demanded a king.

1 Samuel 8:6 But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. 7 And the LORD told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.”

God knew what He was dealing with.  He even told them what a king would do so the crowd would not be acting in ignorance (1 Samuel 8:8- 17).

1 Samuel 8:18 “When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day.” 19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.” 21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. 22 The LORD answered, “Listen to them and give them a king.”

People can be really stubborn. 

People can act in really stupid ways and be led to believe really harmful things. 

People can be unequivocally brazen in their unbelief and rebellion against God.

Be Still.  It’s not a reflection on you, preacher.

Be Still.  I know where your heart is and I know where their hearts are.

Be Still.  I know it’s not easy being unpopular.

Be Still and Know that I AM God.  Matthew 5:12 “Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Be Still and Know that I AM God.  John 15:20 “Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me.”

Questions for reflection:

1. How do you react to people when it becomes clear they have a calling that makes you uncomfortable or doesn’t jibe with your pre-understanding?
2. Is there a distinction between people who take on the role of intentionally being uncomfortable to be around (e.g. unloving, unpleasant, finger-pointing people who pass judgment right-and-left) versus those whose words from the Bible arouse a discomfort or a sense of conviction?  How would you describe Jesus’ role?
3. How can you tell the difference between self-appointed Bible thumpers and those God has gifted for speaking hard truths?
4. If you are equally beloved by the world and by the church how might that be good?  How might it not be good?

Hannah was brokenhearted.  She faced the exultations of her husband’s other wife again and again over Hannah’s infertility and this other wife’s bearing of many sons and daughters.  Hannah wept.  She couldn’t help it.  The love of her husband was profound, but her own failings as a wife—to give him children—loomed great in her eyes. 

1 Samuel 1:8 Elkanah her husband would say to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?”

It was true, but to the grieving Hannah, it was insufficient consolation for all the judgment, inferiority, and barrenness she faced.

Have you ever been judged?

Hannah knew it all too well.  She was grieving, came to God in her grief and what did she get?  More grief—from the priest!

1 Samuel 1:12 As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk 14 and said to her, “How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine.” 15 “Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD. 16 Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.”

I am not going out on a limb here by suggesting that religious people can be among the most judgmental ones.  In ways both subtle and overt, religious people can place themselves as judges over their neighbors, friends, and families. 

And it’s wrong.

Be Still.  I see your heart and know your grief.

Be Still.  I know what it feels like to be judged by others.

Be Still and Know that I AM God.  I’m the only real Judge out there.  Everyone else will eventually be called to account by Me.

Be Still and Know that I AM God.  This is what I think of judging:  Romans 14:10 You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 11 It is written: “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.'” 12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. 13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.”

Questions for Reflection:

1.  When others judge you, does is say more about them or you?  Why do you think that?
2. Hannah, in today’s Scriptures, brought her grief to the LORD.  1 Samuel 1:17 Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.” 18 She said, “May your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.”  Hannah’s womb was opened and she gave birth to Samuel whom she devoted to the LORD.  How did worship of the LORD and prayer to Him in the face of judgment turn into blessing?
3. What is the best approach to take when others are passing judgment on you?  What did Hannah do?

Moses was a hard act to follow and Joshua, having been Moses’ right hand man all these years, knew that better than most.  It’s no wonder that he might have experienced a bit of trepidation about the whole lead-the-Israelites-into-the-conquest-of-the-Promised-Land thing.

God gives him the bad news…

…and then He gives him the good news.

Joshua 1:1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them– to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates– all the Hittite country– to the Great Sea on the west.

The bad news is that Moses is dead. 

The good news is that the LORD was going to have Joshua lead the people in the succession plan. 

Or was that bad news, too?

The Israelites weren’t known for being easy to lead.  Joshua had already seen that up close and personal.  But the good news was that as the LORD was with Moses, He was prepared to be with Joshua.

Joshua 1:5 No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them.”

There’s just this little bit of advice:

 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:7)

Obedience is the key to being still.

Be Still.  I AM prepared to lead you all the way.

Be Still.  I AM not going to leave you.  I AM not going to forsake you.

Be Still and Know that I AM God.  I AM going to fulfill all that I have sworn and promised.  I AM the very essence of faithfulness.

Be Still and Know that I AM God.  Remain faithful to Me and you will have strength and courage for anything I call you to do.

Questions for reflection:

1. How are you doing in the obedience-to-God’s-ways category?
2. What steps could you take today to become more obedient?
3. Why do you think people resist being obedient to God?
4. Read Joshua 2.  How did Rahab show obedience to the LORD, confessing His greatness, even though she was a prostitute? What does that say about human imperfection and what matters to God?

Men have a somewhat notorious reputation for not liking to ask for directions.  Deserved or not, I suppose, depends on the man. 

This man, Moses, wasn’t afraid to ask God for direction. So, the forty years of wandering about the wilderness weren’t Moses’ fault.  Moses was going exactly where God was leading the Israelites.  

Maybe aimless geographically, but with a very clear and direct purpose. 

Thousands of rebellious Hebrews were wandering all around the Sinai Peninsula killing time, or being killed by time.  This was the end for any of the ingrates who could only think of their stomachs and their safety even after God brought them out of Egyptian slavery… on dry land… miraculously…through the Red Sea and refused to enter the Promised Land because of unbelief in God.

How easily they and we forget!

Hebrews 3:1 Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. 2 He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. 3 Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. 4 For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. 5 Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, testifying to what would be said in the future. 6 But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast. 7 So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert, 9 where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did. 10 That is why I was angry with that generation, and I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.’ 11 So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.'” 12 See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. 14 We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. 15 As has just been said: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.” 16 Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? 17 And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? 18 And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? 19 So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.

What about us?  Where are you?  Are you wandering around in unbelief?

Have you thought of asking God for directions?  Have you been grumbling in the wilderness of your life?  How often do we imagine that all this aimlessness is pointless?  When is God finally going to act?

God’s ways involve a circuitous route to a straight line destination.  Life is what happens while we’re busy planning; and it is life, true life, that He desires to give us by taking us on the scenic route, building our faith..

On the scenic journey, we will see things and experience things that prepare us for the Promised Land ahead.  The scenic route is a journey of relationship and of formation and of purification.

Be Still.  I see the straight line because I’m in heaven.  The only reason you see pointlessness is because you can’t see My point. 

Be Still.  I have things planned for you along the journey.  You don’t need to take out a map as long as you have My guidance.

Be Still.  I’m not making you make your own way.  I’m asking you to seek My way.

Be Still and Know that I AM God.  Isaiah 55:9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.”

Be Still and Know that I AM God.  I’m perfectly serious about how you view Me.

Questions for reflection:

1. Are you still in the hand of God, seeking His direction by faith?  Or are you wrestling, squirming, and wandering in your unbelief?
2. Are you trying to make your own way in this life?  Or are you seeking God and His kingdom first?
3. Read  Jude 1:5 “Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe.”  All of the ones who crossed the Red Sea alive were Israelites.  Not all of those ethnic Israelites entered the Promised Land.  What does that say to those of us in the Church and our responsibility to be faithful to God?  Is it enough to call yourself a Christian?  Why or why not?

I sometimes wonder what it would have been like to be up on the mountain top for 40 days with Moses while God was giving him the Ten Commandments. 

Was the view of the surroundings–both the panoramic view and God’s presence–so amazing that it made it hard to concentrate for that long? 

Was God visible in some way or was the scene like a giant fog? 

Was Moses frightened? 

What made Moses’ face shine?

Scripture doesn’t answer any of those things for us.

Exodus 34:1 The LORD said to Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. 2 Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain. 3 No one is to come with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain; not even the flocks and herds may graze in front of the mountain.” 4 So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the LORD had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands. 5 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming,

The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.”

8 Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped. … 28 Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant– the Ten Commandments. 29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD. 30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. 32 Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the LORD had given him on Mount Sinai. 33 When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. 34 But whenever he entered the LORD’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD.

Take some time today to remind yourself of the privilege of being in Christ.  How we can access the presence of God because of His work on the Cross–for us!  Remember that we were once on the outside of this special relationship with God.  Separated by our sin.  But that God, in His goodness, chose to make Himself known to us by both His Living Word and His Holy Spirit.  We, too, can know what it’s like to be still in the radiant knowledge of God.

Be Still. You’ve been privileged to hear from Me in special ways: in prayer, in Bible reading, and in song.

Be Still.  My presence is an amazing place.  Enjoy every minute of being with Me.

Be Still.  When you’re in the habit of worshiping the LORD and Me alone,  I will bless you.  This light of life will show in your eyes and on your face.

Be Still and Know that I AM God.  Knowledge of Me makes you radiant.

Questions for reflection:

1. Moses was up on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights with no bread or water.  Read about Jesus and His disciples in John 4:30 They went out of the city, and were coming to Him. 31 In the meanwhile the disciples were requesting Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 32 But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.”  What about the presence of the Father must be sustaining?
2. When is the last time you were still in His presence and knew that amazing place?
3. Have you ever been there?  If not, how might prayer and Bible reading take you to that place?

Herding cats is a good image for how Moses must have viewed his function in leading the Israelites.  They resisted his leading them.  They went their own way at every opportunity.  They didn’t listen to what he said.  They promised to obey and then promptly did what they wanted instead.  They forgot any allegiance to him or to God.  Their independence and finicky nature caused them to be grouchy and picky eaters.

To make matters more difficult, he was outnumbered. Yet, he was place in leadership over them and told to lead them.

Exodus 17:1 The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the LORD to the test?” 3 But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?” 4 Then Moses cried out to the LORD “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.” 5 The LORD answered Moses, “Walk on ahead of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the LORD saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”

At times, leadership is a seemingly impossible task. 

But we can be still in those times knowing what it says in Matthew 19:26 Jesus looked at them and said,

With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Be Still.  I put you in leadership and I’m prepared to bring you through it.

Be Still.  Leadership is a privilege and a gift.  I gave you both.

Be Still and Know that I AM God.  I specialize in the impossible.  Your testimony will shine when you are still even while others who don’t know Me would panic.

Questions for reflection:

1. What task seems impossible today?
2. How can God minister to you when life seems out of control and you feel outnumbered by the rebels you’ve been called to lead?
3. How does a testimony shine more as a genuine Christian is squeezed?