Be Still and Know God

One interaction in the Bible I love is what Naomi said to her daughter-in-law Ruth who had just proposed marriage to Boaz.  Ruth 3:17-18 reads, "Then she said, "Sit still, my daughter, until you know how the matter will turn out; for the man will not rest until he has concluded the matter this day."  Ruth was the antithesis of a sedentary person, one who would work all day in the field to gather food her mother-in-law and herself.  She was industrious and had an impressive work ethic.  Sitting still required her to stop pacing, exerting nervous energy or bustling around the house.  There was no need for her to prepare to leave because the matter had not been settled yet, nor would her toil advance her desire to be married.  In that moment she was wise to heed the words of Naomi, having committed the matter and her future into the hands of the LORD and her future husband.

Naomi knew the quality of character possessed by Boaz and she knew he would not forget nor neglect the task set before him.  There was a potential kinsman redeemer who was a closer relative than he, yet he did not throw up his hands or procrastinate.  At the breaking of the day he went and assembled the other relative and required witnesses, and as Naomi predicted the matter was concluded that day.  Much profitable progress was made in short order even when Ruth sat still.  Whilst the biblical account does not explicitly say Ruth sat still at Naomi's request, it would be entirely consistent with her character as revealed throughout the narrative she was obedient.

There is a difference between sitting still and being still.  Psalm 46:10 brings a sudden shift of perspective to the song as God spoke in first person:  "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"  Sitting still describes a physical posture and being still goes much further and includes the mind, heart and soul.  One focuses on doing something and the other is state of being, choosing rest by faith and reliance upon God to accomplish all He has promised to do.  The only way a person can truly be still and at peace with God is by finding the rest only Jesus Christ can provide by faith in Him.  We can cast our cares upon Him because He cares for us, and we need not worry, be afraid or troubled.  There is nothing we can do to earn forgiveness and salvation from God, for He has already concluded the matter by providing salvation by grace through faith in Jesus.  Our union with our Redeemer and Saviour is according to His promise, and our knowledge of Him is a partial fulfillment of what He intended to do when Psalm 46 was penned by the sons of Korah.

Let us hear and obey the word of the LORD to us today:  "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"  Faith demonstrated by obedience is an intentional action and in no way is it lazy or careless.  We are still knowing God is God, and we are not.  He will do all He has promised and we can rejoice with assurance of salvation, righteousness and redemption through Jesus Christ.

Mere Edges of God's Ways

"Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways, and how small a whisper we hear of Him! But the thunder of His power who can understand?"

Job 26:14

Job spoke to his friends of the awesome power and might of God, how He sees all things, hangs the earth on nothing, binds water in clouds, conceals His throne, makes heaven tremble and smites the proud.  The things Job could see as God's handiwork he referred to as the "mere edges" of his ways.  The word in Hebrew translated "parts" in the KJV is connected to fringes, scrapings, off-cuts and outskirts.  When we see the power and wisdom of God at work in nature, we are seeing a very small part of what He can do.

There is a lot I find amazing about the world God has made, like the fact the earth hangs from the north on nothing.  Everything I hang must have something to hang on or it will fall to the ground.  I have hung many pictures on walls, and even a wall alone is insufficient in itself for me to hang a picture on.  Frames require hooks, nails or screws fasted to the wall to suspend it in the air, yet God hangs the entire earth upon nothing.  As the earth hurtles through space in its orbit, it does so according to God's glorious design and governance.  The power and wisdom to do this are the scrapings, the off-cuts of His ways.

When a woodcarver skillfully scrapes away shavings of wood to produce an image of a recognisable object, our eyes do not marvel over the bits of wood that pile up on the ground.  We are drawn to wonder of the skill of a carver to use sharp tools to make quality furniture or decorations.  If carving is a skill we do not possess ourselves, we are amazed by the ability of the carver.  Anyone can make sawdust, but it takes real skill to make a bear or eagle appear from a log with a chainsaw.  Job compared the majestic, precise movements of the planetary bodies as God's off-cuts, the outer fringes of God's ways that are beyond understanding or reckoning.  Knowing the science behind gravity in no way diminishes the wisdom of God Who designed and employs it to demonstrate His power, glory and creative genius.

Job pointed out the irony that despite God's amazing wisdom and ways, we don't hear much of Him.  He is not like the bells of a church that ring or a call to prayer over a loudspeaker at set ours:  His glorious creation is a continual reminder to those who know, love and fear God of His existence and goodness towards all.  May our praise and thanksgiving be like thunder so all will hear of His grace and the Gospel.  What is impossible with men is possible with God, and Jesus Christ rose from the dead so all can understand the love God has extended to us so we sinners, by faith in Jesus, can receive forgiveness and salvation offered by God.  Since the mere edges of God's ways are beyond compare, how great and glorious God is!

Prayer is Giving

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:6-7

Prayer is an action believers in God are held responsible by Him to practice ourselves.  While painting today I started thinking about the exhortation I have heard at the end of sermons, to find fellow believer and "get prayer."  The more I thought on this phrase, the less I was comfortable with it.  Prayer is not about receiving, nor should we look to others to pray for us:  we are called in everything by prayer and supplication (with thanksgiving!) to let our requests be known to God.  Corporate prayer is a wonderful blessing, to be led by the Holy Spirit in our praying together in unity.

It is a strange thing how a personal spiritual discipline that is to be embraced continually could be reduced to Christians being conditioned to seek others to pray for them.  Of course there is nothing wrong with having people pray for us, as this exhortation is seen in scripture many times.  Yet we ought to be careful not to convey prayer is something that we receive from others when it is something we ought to do ourselves.  It is good for us to humble ourselves before God and man when we make our requests to God.  We have God's full assurance of what He will do when we choose to cast our anxieties upon Him and pray with thanksgiving whether we are accompanied by others in prayer or not.

I believe it is important that people pray for themselves, not just submit to being prayed for.  Better for a person to simply say in sincere prayer to their Father in heaven, "God be merciful to me, a sinner!" than to have a brother or sister pray for 10 minutes over them.  We have the capacity by our embrace of routines and rituals to create a culture in church that veers from the main point.  Baptism in water is an example of this.  When Philip met the Ethiopian eunuch in the desert who desired to be baptised, he was not enrolled in a Sunday School class nor was there a public ceremony with family or friends invited.  We can put a large emphasis on a public display of faith before witnesses when Philip placed all the emphasis on personal belief in Jesus being the Son of God:  "If you believe with all your heart, you may." (Acts 8:37)  Baptism and prayer are personal acts of obedience as we align our hearts and lives with God.

A key to prayer is not making a public show but a heart humbled before God privately.  In the parable Jesus told the grandstanding Pharisee who prayed with himself was ignored, whilst the tax collector who would not even look to heaven due to his contrition for sin went home justified before God.  Prayer puts us in a humble posture before our God we desperately need for all things and prayer with thanksgiving aids our hearts, minds and lives align with His will.  God responds to prayer by guarding our hearts and minds with His perfect peace.  Prayer isn't something we "get" from others but what we give to God.  Praise the LORD we can pray with others as we give thanks and really give ourselves to the God who is our peace.

God at Work

After Jesus miraculously healed a sick man who was unable to walk for 38 years due to an infirmity on the Sabbath, He was a man marked by the Jewish authorities.  John 5:16-18 reads, "For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath. ¹⁷ But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working." ¹⁸ Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God."  The Jews persecuted and sought to kill Jesus because He broke the Sabbath, for keeping the traditions of their fathers was the good work they aimed to do.  Jesus claimed equality with the God the Father because the works they did were the same:  miraculous, supernatural and for the good of others in love.  The people in Nazareth saw Jesus as the son of Joseph the carpenter, but the works of Jesus demonstrated God was His Father.

God created the earth, heavenly bodies and all living things in 6 days and rested from His work on the 7th day.  He spoke the world into existence by His wisdom and power, and though the act of creation was finished the work of God did not cease.  God continued to do wonders to speak to people, reveal Himself and His power, delivered the Hebrews from slavery, provided for their needs and brought them into the promised land.  The works Jesus did as Messiah and servant of all were accompanied by miraculous works only God can do.  The Jews understood certain works are strictly limited to God.  When men brought a paralytic to Jesus Luke 5:20-21 says, "When He saw their faith, He said to him, "Man, your sins are forgiven you." ²¹ And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, "Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  Forgiveness of sins is a work only God can do, and Jesus showed He was no blasphemer when He demonstrated His power to forgive sins by healing the paralytic with a word.

We may not see or know how God is working in a given situation, but we can rest assured He is at work in ways beyond our comprehension.  John 9:1-7 reads, "Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. ² And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" ³ Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. ⁴ I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. ⁵ As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." ⁶ When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. ⁷ And He said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing."  While disciples wondered who was to blame for the man's blindness, Jesus went about doing God's work to open the eyes of the blind as the scriptures said.  As the Light of the World Jesus worked to shine bright to those in darkness and give sight to the blind.

The Jews asked Jesus, "How can we work the works of God?"  John 6:29 says, "Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."  God was not done working after the creation of the world, and the work of Christians to believe in Jesus is not finished at conversion.  We who have believed Jesus is the Son of God, the Living Bread God has sent from heaven to forgive, save and give eternal life to all who trust in Him ought to continue believing in Him.  Faith in Jesus prompts us to walk in obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit and lay God's word to heart.  The night is coming when no man can work, but as long as we remain in the world we ought to work the works of God who saved and redeemed us.  As it is written in Ephesians 2:10, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."  By faith in Jesus may our lives be masterpieces that reveal His glorious wisdom and works for all to see.