{{item.title | uppercase}}

{{item.authdes}}

---

My mother-in-law had died. My husband’s mother. The amazing woman I sobbed beside at a cemetery as U. S. flags were placed in our arms in honor of Dave’s service.

And in saying goodbye to this precious woman, it all came back to me in rushing waves. The early morning phone calls and frantic driving of nine years ago. The eyes of the emergency room doctor avoiding mine as he chose his words carefully, words that forever changed the course of my life. “He’s gone, Mrs. Hiles. We did all we could.”

Death has a way of doing that, you know.

Facing a new loss brings us back to a place we thought was sealed and done. It re-opens old wounds and forces us to re-evaluate once again the truths of God’s Word in face of present circumstances.

As I paced the floors hearing the story of Mom’s last moments, my eyes fell on a painting I had made the week before on the anniversary of Dave’s death (side note: creating something can be a wonderful concrete way to grieve). During that day of remembrance I felt I needed to not just sit and stew but needed to create something lasting. It was simple. Just four words:

Be. Still. And. Know.
Psalm 46:10

In the face of what any given day will cause us to face, sometimes we need to simply do this.

Be. Still. And. Know.

But how is this possible in the face of trials and pain and goodbyes that happen long before we think they should? When the fires of life threaten to consume us…when grief overwhelms and God seems far, how can we simply ‘be still’?

We’re going to look at how to do just that. Four words. Four Posts. Four Sundays.

Be. Still. And. Know.

Today is simply BE.

In Daniel Chapter 3, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were cruising along with their lives, following the one true God, doing what He had called them to do. King Nebuchadnezzar was the ruler at the time, full of self-importance, wanting it to be all about him. He served many gods and thought himself almost god-like!

He had a giant idol built of himself. “Worship it,” he said. “Bow down only to me.”

The three Hebrews refused. They would worship no one but Jehovah. King Nebuchadnezzar ordered the furnace heated up seven times hotter and ordered them to be thrown in.

‘Normal’ life had suddenly took a turn for the worse. They were facing the impossible and there was nothing they could do about it.

Except to be.

And what did that mean to them? Simply to be who they were.

Followers of Jehovah. Serving the one true God. Even when the world turned upside down, refusing to deny God.

In the face of whatever life throws at us, sometimes we need to first simply be. To anchor our shifting emotions on God’s truth even while we feel the flames getting hotter. The ‘no matter what’ truth of His sovereignty and faithfulness.

It is what it is. But He is who He is.

And who is He?

The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.
Nahum 1:7 (ESV)

The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.
Psalm 28:7 (ESV)

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Psalm 73:26 (ESV)

Knowing this, daring to believe this, we can choose to respond as Paul did:

But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
Acts 20:24 (ESV)

And so during this impossible week, faced with both the memory of Dave’s death and saying goodbye to his mom, I needed to once again go back to the beginning and re-affirm His truth.

He is in control. I am His child. For today, I can simply rest in that. And ‘be’.

Be. Still. And. Know. Four words. Four posts. Four Sundays.

Until next time…remember

’Be still and know, that I am God.’
Psalm 46:10