Trust God in the Stillness

I am a go-getter at heart. If I have my sights set on a thing or if I aim to have something done, I see to it that it’s achieved. While at times an admirable quality to have, in the recent years, I’ve experienced the downfall of this go-getter trait. There are a few things that, for quite some time, I’ve been believing for and I seem to constantly hit the enigma of deciphering what would be the appropriate display of faith during this season.

What I have gathered in the past few years is, trusting God by walking in faith can look like one of two things. There are times when God calls for us to act, where we must take the initiative to do something and then there are times when He calls for us to be still. The majority of the time, when we hear about someone stepping out in faith, their faith is accompanied by the act of doing something. But we can’t negate the other display of faith—the act of waiting and being still.

For some of us, it’s not the act of “doing” that’s our issue—it’s the act of being still. Can I get an amen from those who share this struggle? I know I’m not in this boat alone. Just the thought of the four lettered word —“still”—makes me anxious at times. I often feel as though I must always be actively doing something in order to make progress.

As simple as being still sounds, it can be one of the hardest things to do. It takes strength to be still. During those times in which it seems more appropriate to act by doing something, it’s extremely tempting to talk ourselves out of being still. Especially when either our back is up against a wall or it seems like God’s not working things out. When being still seems to yield no results and the overwhelming sense of impatience begins creating a whirlwind of unfavorable emotions, the default response is doing what we think should be done at that time.

Like many, I have been guilty of succumbing to this temptation on multiple occasions. I would often convince myself that God was waiting on me to act in faith by doing something.  Concluding that, if I do this, then God will do that. Or, if I do this, then God will provide that opportunity; when all God really wanted me to do is trust Him in the stillness.

With me now being fully aware of this default response that I’m accustomed to giving in to, over the course of these past few months, I have been approaching things differently. Whenever great angst and confusion set in and I’m tempted to respond by doing what I feel is best to do at the moment, I stop to ask, “God, how do I show my faith in you at this time?” More often than not, the answer has been to be still and trust God in the stillness.

In these instances, the Holy Spirit calls back to memory the times in which God’s word says “be still”.

Before the parting of the Red Sea, the Israelites in Exodus 14 were instructed to “be still”.  Let’s picture it for a second. With a sea in front of them, a seething Egyptian army chasing after them, they were literally in a do or die fear-provoking situation. However, we see that one of the greatest, most talked about, miraculous, occurrences that defies human logic, happened after it was stated that God would fight for them as they were—not to act, but—to “be still” (Exodus 14:14).

In Psalm 46, after giving an analysis of God’s mighty power and the great care He shows His people, it begins to conclude with,

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” – Psalm 46:10 (NIV)

A principle I take away from both of these biblical passages is—at any given point—God knows the situation His people are in and because He is God, He can handle it. When God says “be still”, we can be sure that it’s more than appropriate to be still. No matter how illogical being still may seem.

Being still is an opportunity for us to experience God working in our life and it’s also an opportunity for others to see Him as God. If only we would cease striving in our own strength, step aside, and let God work.

Relinquish the burden of trying to figure things out; stop trying to work things out and instead, trust God with the outcome.

God can be found in the stillness of our lives. We don’t have to physically see God working to know that He is working.  In places where it doesn’t seem like God is doing anything, He is always doing something. He’s not a do-nothing God. So even when God isn’t doing anything, He’s in actuality doing something. That something, could very well be Him reshaping our character through the stillness.

Which leads me to another thing that I’ve come to grasp in this season. And that is, being still is not a license to check out. It’s an invitation to trust God. When I’m being required to be still, initially, I just want to shut down. As if thinking that, being still is God telling me to give up—to surrender the idea of that in which I’ve been believing for. And that is so far from the truth. Being still essentially invites us to trust God to handle what we are believing for and trust Him during the process He’s taking us through.

Giving up? Now that’s too easy. But trusting God, and allowing Him to transform us through the stillness is hard. Among various instrumental outcomes, transformation causes the ripping away of impatience and the building up of patience. It causes the wearing down of self-reliance and increases our dependence on Jesus Christ. It censors pride and promotes humility. Transformation is what makes the process of being still hard but it sure does make us better in the long run.  

2 Corinthians 3:18 states,

“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” – 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV)

Meaning, as believers, we are the reflection of the Lord’s glory. And to continue to be such, we are being transformed daily to mirror who Christ is. Transformation is what makes us look more like Christ, so embrace it while being in the stillness.

The complications of being still is not an “if” scenario but it’s a “when” scenario. Thus, I urge you to trust God in the stillness. When nothing seems to be happening, when things appear to be going awry, when your back is up against the wall; trust God in the stillness. And whenever anxiety swells up and you’re tempted to act on your own accord, just calm yourself by first believing and then saying, “God knows the situation I am in and He can handle it. Therefore, I’ll trust Him in the stillness.”