Be Still, and Know That I Am God (Lenten Devotional Series 2014)
When is the last time you were still?
Ceasing the squirming…and the wrestling…and the constant planning in the turmoil of life.
When is the last time you were still? Allowing yourself to be shielded by the mighty and comforting hand of God.
When is the last time you were still? Feeling refreshed and finding healing in the presence of the LORD.
When is the last time you were still? Taking the burden of carrying the world off your shoulders and trusting God to be your fortress.
When is the last time you were still? Confessing the sin that God knows you have (and you know you have) and finding forgiveness in Jesus Christ.
During the forty days of Lent this year, take time. Be still. And know that He is God.
Breathe deeply. Take in all the fullness of life He gives. Let the Living Water quench your every thirst. Let the Bread of Life provide all the sustenance you need.
This devotional series is designed to bring you to that place of stillness, to the Cross where you can lay your burdens down, and in the stillness, know that He is God.
Psalm 46:1 For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth. A song. God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. 5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. 6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. 7 The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah 8 Come and see the works of the LORD, the desolations he has brought on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire. 10 “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” 11 The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
You can receive these devotional studies in your email (Monday through Saturday during Lent) by entering your email address on the SeminaryGal.com home page in the space provided in the sidebar. Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, is March 5, 2014. Get ready to be still.
===note: You will find all the Be Still and Know that I AM God items archived beginning in March 2014.
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4 Comments
by kathy Pinkney
On March 7, 2016
Peace and blessings … Please pray that I get busy in my youth ministry while I wait in the stillness of my lord. I thank God for your prayers and response to my comment
by seminarygal
On March 7, 2016
Yes, Kathy. I’m happy to pray for you. I love praying for my readers! We all experience both blessing and difficulties, particularly in ministry. It can be hard to be still and know that He is God. I have saved your full comment in my email so that I can pray according to your specifics, but have edited your comment for posting. Be blessed today knowing that I’m praying for you as you have asked. The “contact me” button sends emails directly to me for private correspondence. 🙂
by guin
On June 10, 2016
Psalm 46:10 is very precious to me – the last scripture dear loved one spoke to me shortly before their death. Am still having hard time coming to terms with the death. Please pray that I come to acceptance and assurance of salvation. Jesus seems so far away. Thank you
by seminarygal
On June 11, 2016
Grief over the death of loved ones is something we never truly get over, but by God’s grace we do get through it. The grieving process requires time and there are factors which make death harder to reconcile. If someone was young, died suddenly from natural causes, or if they died tragically at the hands of someone else, committed suicide, or if a person died but their body was never visible as proof (e.g. killed in an explosion, lost at sea, buried in an avalanche, or went missing and was never found, etc.)…these factors can always add time to the grieving process because questions and doubts arising from a variety of places can complicate the process.
Rest assured that God knows death is hard for humanity. It’s why Jesus died for us. The great reassurance we as Christians have is that Jesus was the firstborn among brothers. In other words, He endured death and was resurrected bodily…and paved the way for you and me. Coming to grips with whether a loved one was saved goes straight to the heart of our belief that God is good. God’s goodness means that He will reach everyone who is reachable. To fail to reach someone who was reachable would make God imperfect and not really good at all. So everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved. It can be a calling out from within a coma in a voice only God can hear. Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord, therefore, it can be a calling out from within an agnostic’s Parkinson’s or from within a professed atheist’s heart attack nanoseconds before death. God isn’t limited by specific words or audible speech. While it is true that some will rebel against God all the way to the last moment and unto death and hell, here’s another truth: If they were reachable, God’s love ensured that they were reached by the Name of Jesus and His salvation.
Therefore, when my daughter died, for example, I could come to grips with the fact of her death by having assurance that a good God would not create a baby only to destroy her and allow her to go to hell without His attempting to reach her in utero. And so I trust in God’s goodness. I choose to believe that she is in paradise (in spirit, maybe more) waiting for her bodily resurrection when Jesus returns. Therefore she is not dead, but very much alive. And while she’s alive, the fact is that she’s not here. She will never join me, but by God’s grace and the blood of Christ, I will join her someday. She will know me and recognize me and our reunion will be a happy one because of what Jesus did on the Cross.
Jesus is not far away though you may feel like He’s silent and far away. In the Spirit, He’s as close as the nearest prayer. He resides in the heart of all who believe upon Him. That was the promise paid for by the blood of Christ on the Cross. I’m praying for you! May you know God’s grace and His love this day and always, Barbara