Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

The anesthesiologist said to me, “I am going to insert this needle into your spine and administer the anesthesia now. Be still.” The words scared me, I froze in fear. “Relax. You are tensing up your muscles and making it more difficult for me.”

The instruction “be still” did not produce the desired reaction. There is more to being still than just not moving. I had to trust someone I did not know. My back was to him, I had not even made eye contact. The doctor told me what he was about to do and that caused me to be tense.

Psalm 46 does not say what God will do, only that God will be exalted. No instruction is given, so how can we do anything but be still? Perhaps God doesn’t tell us what He is about to do because He doesn’t want us to be tense. Tension is a sign of lack of trust. It causes hesitation, stiffness and can result in the shakes.

Being still is perhaps one of the hardest things to do as a Christian. We are servants looking to serve. We are followers seeking to move. We have a calling and we want to respond. If we are not doing something, we feel unused. For most of us, we do not get to “be still” because in those moments God reveals Himself in power and majesty, He becomes exalted.

For most of us being still is only accomplished in our prayer closets. There God can speak to us in the quietness of our minds. That is so hard to do. The only thing busier than our hands and feet is our minds. Be still, do not be so tense, relax, trust, know God. Practice being still in your quiet time and perhaps, just maybe, God will ask you to “be still” outside the closet.

2 Samuel 22:31 As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.

Jeremiah 33:3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.

When you open yourself up to God two things happen. One is exposure to self. You see yourself for what you are which causes you to understand the need for repentance and confession. You have to make a choice to respond to that awareness. It isn’t performed by awareness alone.

The second is exposure to God. What God shows you will always have purpose. What you do with that knowledge is a matter of choice also. Is it meant just for me? Is it meant for another? Is it sound, is it real or imagined? The answer to that might come from a deep personal relationship with God. The answers might come from fellow believers.

Fellowship within the body of Christ implies a closeness and awareness of each other. We develop the ability to see each other in the natural and in the spirit. Grace is extended to the natural and praise is given to the spirit for He is God. What we share in the body which is spirit will always serve us according to God’s purpose, His will.

Did it comfort? Did it clarify? Did it exhort? Did it edify? Did it confirm? Did it give you peace? Did it set you free? Then praise God for He has touched you by touching fellow members of the one body.

You are part of something bigger than self.