Exodus 14:14 – “The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still.” NIV
1 Samuel 12:16 – “Now then, stand still and see this great thing the Lord is about to do before your eyes!” NIV.

Years ago I had a friend who loved Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God …”. It is similar to the verses I am writing about today.
The first thing God tells us to do is be still and know that He is God. Don’t question. Don’t try to talk God into being. Don’t try to do it on your own. Just be still and know that God is God. Take the time to know God. Take the time to acknowledge Him.
The rest of that verse says that God will be exalted among the nations and in the earth. That is important to remember.
God is God and He is and will be exalted here on earth and among the nations. He is exalted because He is great. All of creation cannot help but sing His praises and we do well to follow. These are essential statements of our walk with God.
These two verses I am focusing on today are an extension of this. We have been still and sat with God, coming to know Him. Realising that He alone has the power in this earth to intervene. Now as we face a fight we need only to be still. We can be still and observe what God will do before our eyes.
God has the situation in hand. He will do great things. He can do them on His own, or He may choose to do them with us, or instruct us to do them. In the instances quoted above. He is directing the people to be still as God fights for them.
I read recently about what we all say and question. That God will never send us into situations we cannot manage. We question because sometimes it seems to not work out that way. But the writer said one thing that struck me. God knows we will always manage those situations because He will never leave us to resolve those situations on our own. He is always with us.
What a wonderful comfort it is to know that! What an important message to remember when we are in difficult situations. Be still and let God fight for you.

Trust Him.
 

“Who stood up for me against the wicked? Who took my side against evil workers? If GOD hadn’t been there for me, I never would have made it. The minute I said, “I’m slipping, I’m falling,” your love, GOD, took hold and held me fast. When I was upset and beside myself, you calmed me down and cheered me up.” Psalm 94:16-19 The Message.
When times are bad we don’t always feel God’s presence. We feel abandoned. Often we can feel we are oppressed by the behaviour of others. It often feels that God is not there with us and we wonder when He will come to save us. I have discussed this in other blogs so I will not discuss it here.
For me, this section of Psalm 94 is a beautiful reminder of the fact that God is with us, even when it doesn’t feel like that. Depending on which Bible translation you read, this section either talks in the present tense (who will stand up for me) or in the past tense (who stood up for me).
The main message in these verses is that we cannot make it without God’s help. But God’s help is there so we can make it. The psalmist is acknowledging and thanking God for His help and also expressing his faith in God’s promise to help.
This is one of those verses to cling to when things seem bad and we wonder if God actually cares.
If it takes time for you to start remembering these verses, don’t feel bad. Sometimes we need to walk in the wilderness. We need to feel despair. We need to be at our lowest point. Only then are we willing and able to turn to God and cling to His promises. And when we do that, the terrible wilderness suddenly seems less terrible. We realise we can make out a path ahead and there is God walking beside us or, if need be, carrying us.
 

Psalm 92

A Psalm like 92 is a celebration of God’s righteous rule. It is a joyous account of all that is righteous and great about God. It speaks of God’s love and faithfulness. It speaks of God’s ultimate triumph and that of those who love Him.

So how does that sit when life seems so hard?

That depends on how bleak things seem. There are days when a Psalm like that is an affront. Something you cannot relate to and feel cut off from. But there are days when it gives hope.

It is the hope that I am talking about today.

I work a lot with people who are grieving. Some of those people have past traumas to heal from. They grieve for what their childhood should have been, for what they were never given. There are times when I ache to tell those who have no faith in God that He can reach out and comfort them. That they are seeing me because He led them there. I can pray for them, but I can only talk to them about God if He instructs me to. In my work it is neither wise nor appropriate to bring God into a conversation He has not opened the door to.
I want to tell people that God is trustworthy. That He cares. That He will heal them. That those who love Him will flourish. That they are planted in God’s house when they accept Him. That they do not have to suffer in the wilderness. That God is there to protect and heal them. That their lives matter to Him. That He feels their pain and longs to hold them and give them peace.
I cannot speak where God has not already laid the path, or prepared their soul for me to plant seeds. I can sometimes help people better by being present for them and praying privately for them.

I have to let them go and let God deal with them.

It is not my place to step in where He has said not to. To do that is to overrule God. God knows best what is needed, and He is greater than me. To not accept that and to override that is to reject God.

The old saying “Let go and let God” is vital for us in our walk through this life.

When things are bad for me, I cling to the trust I have in God’s faithfulness. When things are bad for my clients, I cling to the trust I have in God’s faithfulness. In all situations I hand those troubles over to God. Sometimes I have to prise open my fingers to let go of the troubles. Often I have to express my willingness to let go and ask God to open my fingers.
I seek to remember that the righteous – you, me, clients of mine, people we pass in the street, people we hear about on the news – will flourish. That we will grow and flourish in the courts of God. We will someday proclaim that God is upright. He is our Rock. There is no wickedness in Him.

All things work out in God’s time. The hardest part is sitting and waiting patiently for that time to come. Sitting and not trying to intervene.

Letting go.