It was Christmas time maybe 10 years ago or so, during my retail management days. I was counting down the registers while my employee stood next to me. You can imagine my shock when I realized that we had a considerable cash shortage after a busy day.
After the long Christmas season day, I hated calling my boss to tell her. It didn’t take long to figure out what had happened. A little research showed that my employee had stolen my passcodes and processed cash returns.
Because I was there when the shortage was found, I had to be interviewed by loss prevention. Let’s just say that by the end of the interview I felt like I had just been caught robbing a bank. He was not my friend, he was not there to support me. He was there to get me to succumb to pressure. He was good at his job too. I would have confessed right then and there if it was true, as if I was dressed in filthy rags facing God on judgement day.
It was pretty terrible, and to this day I can still remember how uncomfortable I felt as it seemed like this guy was accusing me of something I didn’t do.
If I was the enemy…
And friends, there are times in life that I can feel like this, because there is still an accuser, an enemy. And if I were him, my goal would be to make you question that God is good. I would make you doubt His promises. I would make you feel guilty and unworthy of His love. My scheme would be to take the fear that you had to overcome to follow Him and multiply it so you want to turn away from the path He has before you.
But beautiful one, I am not your enemy. I am your friend and I want to share with you the truths that I have been learning over the past few weeks. The truth is the depth of being still, and knowing He is God. Because that verse has more abundance and beauty that meets the eye when it is read in Psalm 46, seen on a t-shirt, or in the picture frame showcased on someone’s wall (including my own).
I want to go back quick to the interview real quick before moving forward here. One of the last questions the loss prevention guy asked me was Why wouldn’t you take the money? I responded by saying If I needed anything, I would just ask my dad. And it was true. I always knew that if I needed anything, I could go to him. One time that “anything” was calling him to get rid of the big dead rat in my basement. One other “anything” was driving me across the country when I moved to California, and back. I knew that he would be there, because he always was.
Be still and know that I am God
Psalm 46:10
In remembering this, it got me wondering why I don’t have the same type of trust in my heavenly Father. The same type of knowing where I can say I know my God with complete confidence when uncertainties arise.
The verse Be still and know that I am God, has been a staple in my life over the past few
months. It is a verse that has popped up more than any verse has over the course of the past few years. And I thought that the verse meant to spend time with God, read my Bible, and write in my prayer journal. And those are all good things, but this verse has so much more weight to it that I need to share with you because knowing the true intent of the words here have a depth that is life changing.
Be still. It’s a command. Coming from the Hebrew word raphah. To let go. To let it drop. Become weak.
I don’t like that last one.
Know. It is relational here. To know in the most intimate way. To know with unwavering certainty that He is a good Father. To know with unshakeable trust that He is God.
To know that He is God. Not to hope, or even believe. But to know. In the deepest possible way. When you know, you don’t have to wonder if what He says is true. You won’t be shaken by the lies of the enemy telling you that you made a mistake, and that you need to turn back and run to safety.
No, you need to let the burden go, become weak. Because this verse tells us that we can’t know in the deepest way that He is God if we are holding on to the false notion of strength that we carry.
Become weak.
You don’t have to worry if His promise holds any weight. Because you see, His promise did hold weight. The weight that hung on a cross. And His promise held the freedom in His resurrection.
Dear friends, you were bought with a price. The precious blood of Jesus. And because of that, when you are confronted with the question of Why…?, you can confidently answer Because I know who my good Father is.
I love this song, and sometimes listen to it over and over. I hope you enjoy it as well!
Thanks Charlene 😊