Be Still and Know
During my years I have met a lot of people that seriously wanted to know God but didn’t know how to start. Many of them regularly attend their preferred places of worship, however, the thought of having intimacy with God is not something they would consider possible. Instead, they are complacent with going through their rituals of worship thinking that is all God requires of them. They may even refer to Him as Lord or Father, but deep inside they really don’t know God, not as a child would know their parent.
It is said that God is unknowable. I suppose the ones who think that way have never met God in an intimate way. Perhaps they feel that God does not stoop down to our level so we could really get to know Him up close and intimately. According to the Word of God that is not correct. God desires to have the most intimate of relationships possible with the ones He made. In fact, we were created just for that purpose. This is not just mere opinion, it is from the Word. Listen to the spoken words of the Spirit of Christ, our Lord.
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” Rev. 3:20 — Doesn’t that sound like a direct invitation from God to know Him?
Jesus also said: “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” Jn.14:23 — Doesn’t that sound like God wants intimacy with us? How much more intimate can it be when He wants to come to us and make His home with us?
In Psalms 46:10 you’ll find the passage referenced in this essay title: “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge, Selah!” God did not create us and walk just away, He stands watch over His creation. We are the ones He wants to accept as His children. We were given dominion over the earth… God wants us to know Him.
So how does one develop an intimate relationship with an invisible God when you can only know Him as He IS? The short answer is, we can only know Him as He exists… in Spirit and in Truth. The same invisible God that created the entire universe could also create an opportunity for you to know Him. Although He IS our Most High God, it was He that formed all things in existence, including time. A million years can be made into the bat of an eye for God. “What is impossible for man is possible for God.” However, there is a caveat… God is not available to any and everyone alike. This is not because of something that God does, but because of our irreverence, our defiance, or our failure to come before Him properly. God is not a person that you would treat Him as such! God is Holy and must be approached in that manner. If you are right by God only He can invite you into His presence. If you are unwilling to accept God on His terms chances are you are not worthy of such an invitation.
As a person that deeply desires to have an intimate relationship with my Creator, it appears that the Lord may be drawing me near. Times before I would make my requests known to the Lord through prayer and hold on to what I hoped for. I did not realize that as I was holding on to my desires. I was not allowing the superior divine will of God to come forth. I was stuck on me, my, I, and all the things that I wanted to happen so I was not ready. God knew me well and waited. I would occasionally see bread crumbs leading me a certain way and quickly pounce on them but still, I wasn’t ready. It was only when I was willing to let go and let God that the Spirit saw enough in me to draw me closer. The more I emptied out my desires and allow God’s desires to set the stage, the more God would be God and I just submitted. Although this might sound odd until we are willing to surrender all things to God there is no room left in us for God.
I am not saying that I have found the way, the truth, and the light, but I am saying that if, or when we are right by God, He will be right by us. God must be respected and approached properly before any line of communication or relationship can be formed. One of the central requirements is to “be still and know that I AM God.” When I say be still, I mean to quieten the needs of the self and yield to God in all ways. Come to God with an empty cup and allow Him to fill it to whatever degree He decides. “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Rather than seeking the desires of our hearts and minds, you should seek only God’s Will along with His plan and His purposes. “Use me oh dear Lord according to Thy wishes.”
Today I have found a relationship that feels very intimate to me, but for me, this requires a considerable amount of practice, most of which entails me getting our of my own way and, certainly out of God’s way. I had to learn to receive God in Spirit and in Truth as He exists… not in the manner of a person. I learned to humble myself as much as possible and to come before Him in reverence. God in return comes back in Spirit. Unless the heart is humbled more than likely you will not be able to sense His presence. When things are proper you will have a knowing. Perhaps not one that you could easily explain to others because an intimate relationship with God is just that personal and intimate. It is directly from the Maker to the made. It is through this channel that God can lead you based upon faith and trust, surrendering all things over to Him. This is a state that most of us cannot stay in for very long periods of time. Before we realize it the cares of the world get to us and the connection is interrupted, but not lost… God is still there.
Learning to communicate with Spirit is a challenge because it is not done through our ears but through the innermost depths of our hearts. You must come before God with a clean heart or you will not be able to receive. Your unwillingness to do so blocks any chance of making such an intimate connection. Again, if anyone desires intimacy with God they must be willing to surrender their will, desires, cares, and wants over to His divine will and approach Him in reverence and humility. BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD!
