Discovering strength to thrive in every season of life, has everything to do with finding our true source of strength. Now faith, is the holy habit of choosing to trust God and hang onto hope. Faced with difficulty, our first inclination is to do something to save ourselves, to fix the situation. Psalm 46 has words of wisdom for finding our strength in God.
We learn to focus on God rather than fear when we truly believe He is our refuge, our place of safety and security that does not change no matter what is happening around us. Psalm 46 teaches that God is our strength, and our present, findable help in the troubles and distresses of our lives.
We find our strong as we choose to come and behold to works of the Lord. Today we complete our reflection on Psalm 46, which is filled with practical ways to discover your strong.
When the nations rage and the kingdoms totter, it is our great temptation to give into the rising tides of trouble. Striving within, we often give way to fear and any other fix we can find to win the battle at hand. Yet in the middle of our mess, God commands us to be rather than to do. Be still and know is one simple choice that opens the door to God’s strength.
Cease striving.
Cease striving is often translated, be still. Stop the striving and the battling. The Hebrew word for be still is raphah, meaning to sink, relax, sink down, let drop. It also means to let down your hand and to desist from any person or thing.
Oh friend, sink into this quiet place of inner stillness that has laid down every self-effort, every resentment, every false source of strength. This is the two-fold command:
Be still
and
Know…
I am God.
When the battle rages and my emotions strive within my soul, I cannot hear the quiet strength of God. It’s hard to see, and hard to know by experience that God is my very present source of strength.
Why is it hard to find our strong when mountains are slipping into the sea? What difference can one simple choice to be still make?
Think of trying to find good reception on a radio station. As long as we are frantically turning the dial, we only hear static and the incomplete broadcast before we move the tuner again. It is only when we slow down, tune in, and be still that we can receive a clear station.
The knowing comes as the striving stops.
It is in that place of inner stillness that the streams of God’s presence calm my heart and I can know the He really is God Most High, God Right Now.
This knowing isn’t an intellectual or a casual knowing. It isn’t a far off in the distance as in I know about…
This knowing is a deep, inner knowing that comes through our experience. It points to a process of learning to know, to become aware of, to discover, and to become acquainted with. This knowing is deeply personal and present, right in the center of our need, our hurts, and our fears.
Settle your soul and sink into Him.
Take your hands off the lever that cranks and twists your fears like churning butter. Pry your fingers off the problems and lift your eyes to your Most High.
I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
From beginning to end with all the problems in between, God is our refuge and strength.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Psalm 46:11
For thus says the Lord, “do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but Gods.” 2 Chronicles 20:15
The burden of proof is on Him.
He is with us, right in the very midst of us. Let this truth be your strong hold of faith as you let God fight the battle. Grace for this moment is for the attitudes and choices that we make to focus on God rather than fear, to come and behold His works, and to be still and experience He is God.
How can you choose the simplicity of stillness to live full of God and full with God as you find your strong in this moment?
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Ginger,
What a great reminder on one of my favorite verses…I loved how you reminded us part of being still is sinking into God…thankful we can trust Him to catch us as we sink into Him…blessings to you 🙂
Looking up the definitions of key words often gives such a strong visual and deeper understanding. I’m really grateful for online sites that make it easy to do deeper into a word. Great point about God catching us. Thanks for visiting today.
Ginger, such beautiful words: “settle your soul and sink into God.” Thanks for encouraging me to do just that on the #raralinkup today. Have a great one!
Thanks for stopping by, Kim.May God bless you with peace and strength as you settle into Him.
This really resonates with me, Ginger. My One Word for 2015 is DWELL and God is teaching me much about how remaining next to him requires rest. Stillness. Sinking into Him, as you so beautifully put it. So glad we found each other’s posts today.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the source of a Christian woman’s strength lately, and how she reflects that strength compared to a woman of the world. This post gave me a whole different perspective, as I hadn’t considered the aspect and necessity of stillness in order to gain strength. Thank you.
I believe God has blessed us with several ways of finding strength, but they are all grounded in Him. If your thoughts on this subject result in writing, I’d love to read it! Thanks for visiting today, Kate.
Loved the “settle your soul and sink into God” what a wonderful portrait of true peace.
Visiting from #TestimonyTuesday
Blessings, Jana
So glad you stopped by. How hard we fight settling into God at times. Blessings today.
Hi, Ginger… what a great thing happened to me this morning. Reading this post. I need it so much. Through the trial I’m passing right now, I need it this words, encouraging words. The moment to set back my opinions, my way of doing things and let God work on my messes. All I need to do is Be still. I choose to be still and recognize God, trust Him and He will do. Thanks for sharing such a powerful and encouraging words. GBU / Tayrina from TGAWrites.
I’m so glad that our hearts crossed paths in Psalm 46 today. What a privilege to see God work through the ministry of encouragement. I’m praying that God will encourage you in a special way this week as you settle more deeply into Him.
Ginger, I love your reflections on Psalm 46 and ‘finding our strong’. Wonderful reminders to let go of ‘every false source of strength’, God is enough. Glad to have dropped by from TellHisStory. sandraj
So glad you have enjoyed your visit and hope you come back often. Sometimes it’s hard to let go of those false sources of strength.
So. This is the third post I’ve read today that come back to this verse, which was ALREADY on my mind. Seriously. God knows I need to learn through repetition. Thanks for being part of the learning experience. 🙂 I’m glad you link up at #ThreeWordWednesday.
I’ve been having that same experience today. Sometimes we just need help getting a message loud and clear. So glad God sometimes tells us as many times as we need to get a fuller picture.
This is beautiful. These are the same lessons that God has been teaching me lately. Be still. Cease striving. Trust. You put it into words so well.
These are lessons for us all, aren’t they. I’m grateful you have been encouraged today.
I love this message…that we don’t have to try so incredibly hard. We don’t have to please, to win, to do more, to be better, etc…we can just sink into the comfortable arms of the Lord. What a beautiful image to think about!
Learning to let go of this “try hard” life and settle into Christ with practical trust makes all the difference. I’m still working on this concept in my life. Blessings today, Laura!
“Settle your soul and sink into God.” I love that! I will be adding this to my thought process. A beautiful post. Yes, be still! Have a blessed weekend! Tammy
So glad this has added value to your day! Thanks for visiting, Tammy.
I enjoyed this post because I loved thinking about the sinking part. How stillness means dropping my arm (and what I hold so tightly in it and opening it) to him. It is saying, Come Jesus! Love these words. I cheer your heart from the #RaRalinkup on Purposeful Faith.
I love the idea of opening our arms to Christ as we choose to let go of what we’re clinging to. Each comment adds a fuller picture as we bring our perspectives together. Thanks Kelly!