The Vulnerability of Stillness (Lent 18-2014)

As we continue in our series Be Still and Know that I AM God, we look today at protection and vulnerability.  Most of us prefer a place of obvious protection to clearly being vulnerable.

Moses was in a basket floating among the reeds.  If the basket had a leak, he could have drowned.  A fish, a bird, or an Egyptian could have tipped it over and the vulnerable baby Moses could have died.  Had a crocodile had been swimming near, Moses easily could have been the happy meal in a picnic basket.

Dangers abound.  Death is just a ripple of water away.  Moses was hidden there by brave women, including his mother, to protect him from the Pharaoh who was the most powerful man around.  Also a man who wanted Moses dead.

God wasn’t about to let that happen. 

He had big plans for Moses. 

But sometimes big plans have their genesis in humble beginnings. 

Vulnerability, that sense of human frailty, can turn someone into a worrywart who sees the world out of control.  Or it can be powerful instrument in the hand of God to build trust in Him.  Vulnerability is the kind of environment in which humility is born.  Scripture tells us that Moses was a humble man–Numbers 12:3 “(Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.)”–and a helpless infant in a basket qualifies as humble beginnings.

Vulnerability says you have nothing with which to protect yourself. 

Depending on God is your only real option.

Have you ever been in a place of being vulnerable?  What did it feel like?

Be Still.  I’ve got the situation under control

Be Still.  Your life is always in My hands whether you’re feeling vulnerable or not.

Be Still and Know that I AM God.  Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Be Still and Know that I AM God. Know what My Word says about Me.  Psalm 72:12 For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. 13 He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. 14 He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight.”

Questions for reflection:

1. What types of things make you feel vulnerable?
2. What is your reaction to that vulnerability?
3. What strategies can you take to Be Still and Know that He is God?  In Psalm 72 :12-14, there is only one thing we do.  In Psalm 71, we see this in action.  Read Psalm 71 and note the different ways we can cry out.