still – Oh Lord Help Us

still, be still, wait, waiting, joy, overwhelmed, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, mentor, ministry

Be Still: Choosing to Wait on the Lord in Our Circumstances

DevotionalsJuly 23, 2019July 11, 2019

Life’s overwhelming circumstances can leave us feeling completely helpless. But the Lord promises to never leave us. All we need to do is choose to be still and wait on Him.

The quieter you become, the more you can hear.
Ram Doss

I sat on the cold hospital floor and knelt beside the bed as still as could be. My hand held the one whom I had called Daddy my entire life. All we could do was just be still and wait…

Be Still and Know God

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, NKJV

God…sometimes there is just too much noise! There’s just too much going on around me. I just want to run away and hide!

If you are anything like me, you have prayed this same prayer more than once in your life. As Americans, we live in a fast-paced world filled with busy schedules and lives that seem to move at lightning speed. It is so easy to take our great and mighty God for granted when we don’t take the time to be still and know Him.

Kneeling beside the bed of my dad just days ago, I felt the same way. Everything in my life seemed to overwhelm me in that instant. Would he make it through this surgery? Could the surgeons fix his heart? Mind you, I was not doubting God or my faith, just worried and overwhelmed. But, as the minutes ticked by I remembered how God had helped me the past three years and all the lessons He had taught me along the way.

Many times I had people around me ask how I survived and held on to my faith? It was not anything I did, but everything He showed me. So, let me take a few minutes and share with you what God has taught me about being still in Him.

To Know Him is to Love Him

I accepted Christ into my heart at a young age. I am so thankful that I grew up knowing and understanding His love, His Word, and His ways. Dear friend, you may know who God is and believe in God, but do you “know” Him?

Do you believe Christ died on the cross for you? Have you asked Him to forgive you of your sins and come to live in your heart? Once you do this, you will experience His love, grace, mercy, and peace. Then you will begin to understand and “know” His ways.

Let the Worries Fade Away

Have you ever wondered how some Christians can go through pain and suffering and still have joy? It’s because they are being still. As a Christian God teaches us to put all our worries in His hands.

Instead of listening to the noise of your worries, listen to the voice of the Lord. We are not to let our joy come from our circumstances, because our circumstances can change in an instance. Our God does not change. Stop worrying about your joy and your happiness and let Him fight for you.

The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.
Exodus 14:14, NIV

Have No Fear

The Lord remains the same. As Christians, we know He can fight our battles, but we still seem consumed with fear. Fear of the unknown? Fear of failure? Fear of the future? Did you know the Devil can use these fears against us? He loves to distract us with our worries and our fears because they can distance us from God.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.
Psalm 46:1-2, KJV

God has proven time and again that He can work within us and through us. Sometimes He allows trials to come into our lives, so we can learn to depend more upon Him. Remember, God is always in control. Stop worrying and just be still.

Wait

Waiting is hard and sometimes waiting can hurt. It is in our human nature to want to control every situation. Sometimes it can feel like God is not answering our prayers or does not seem to understand the urgency of our situation. But, if we give in to those thoughts we are saying God is not in control or He is not being fair.

Be still because God is worth waiting for. He is often at work behind the scenes in ways we cannot fathom. We should be still and discover what God is trying to teach us while we are waiting.

Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, And He shall strengthen thine heart; wait, I say, on the Lord.
Psalm 27:14, KJV

Be still because God is worth waiting for. He is often at work behind the scenes in ways we cannot fathom. We should be still and discover what God is trying to teach us while we are waiting. Click To Tweet

Choose

I choose to be still and wait on the Lord in my present circumstances. I choose to discover what He wants me to learn in the storm. I choose to listen to the voice of my Lord, and not the noise of my worries. I choose joy. I choose life. I choose love. Join me and let us JUST BE STILL.

Until we meet again… Gracie

Elliot Mann

peace, darkness, still, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, mentor, ministry

Noise: Allowing the Lord to Carry Us Towards Ultimate Peace

DevotionalsFebruary 5, 2019February 5, 2019

It is difficult to truly find stillness with all the noise surrounding us. In the darkest of seasons, the Lord will carry us towards His ultimate peace.

How I longed for the feeling of peace. To be able to sit in stillness and feel the Lords comforting arms wrap around me like a warm blanket. To have peace of mind, knowing that we can put all of our burdens at the feet of Jesus. Acknowledging He will carry me through the darkest of seasons, was something foreign to me.

It is a difficult task to find peace of mind with all the noise in today’s world. We are constantly being pulled in many directions, sometimes all at once. Our minds never quiet long enough and our bodies are never still enough to feel the full presence of peace.

Noise

I remember moving into our new home nestled on 3 acres away from the city noise. Once we were all moved in and the house was quiet, I heard this loud ringing in my ears. I couldn’t shake it. My husband couldn’t hear it, but it was loud as day to me.

Come to find out I have the condition called Tinnitus. Tinnitus is a chronic ringing in your ears and it affects 1 out of 5 people. The quieter it is the louder the ringing is. So, over the years, I consumed my days with being a self-proclaimed busybody. I overcommitted, overextended, and became overtired. I did everything to drown out the ringing in my ears.

Darkness

Then the ringing was replaced with anxiety, depression, and voices telling me that peace didn’t exist. So, I controlled my environment. I surrounded myself with validation that what I was doing was the norm. My family suffered, my health suffered, and I was truly suffering.

I had nothing left in my tank. My cabinet was filled with orange medicine bottles to help me stay overextended, but the Lord spoke to me and said, “It’s time for you to be still.”

Be still and know that I am God.

Psalm 46:10

Stillness

For someone like me who is wired to constantly keep moving, sitting still was not on my task list. He demanded it because His love for me was stronger than anything I had planned for the week. I had a hard choice to make. I felt like I had to slowly detox from the life I was living at the time.

There were days my anxiety was so overwhelming that I was literally on the floor. But I was determined to change. I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but I knew His plan for me was far greater.

Peace

I am learning that it’s not just about sitting still. It’s also about being present; ready to receive what the Lord has in store for me. He shows us every day the beauty that He created for us, but we often are too busy to see it. The more I sit and surrender control, the more peace I feel. The more peace I feel, the closer to the Lord I feel.

I remember the day that I felt it…

It was an unfamiliar calming feeling that washed over me. It was like I was looking through a lens and I could see the beauty in the sunrise. I felt a huge sense of gratitude for painful experiences that led me to new beginnings. Tasks that would have seemed daunting made me feel excited and hopeful. That is where I realized the Lord was showing me true peace; His peace.

God shows us every day the beauty He created for us, but we often are too busy to see it. The more we sit in stillness and surrender control, the more peace we will feel. Click To Tweet

Kari Shea

I am a mother of 2 amazing daughters, a wife, a friend, and the real deal. I am a child of God who is messy, honest, and loved. I am a firm believer in rewriting your story even if there is a ton of typos.

-Nicole James, Artisan Director of Oh Lord Help Us

wait, rest, stillness, Oh Lord Help Us, Christian, women, mentor, ministry

Wait: Allowing Stillness in the Lord to Become Dancing

Devotionals, Stay SaneNovember 6, 2018January 13, 2019

So much of life is waiting. It’s easy to allow our minds to race towards an ‘out’, but it’s in the wait, in the stillness that we find our faithful Lord.

I’ve kept a quote before me for years, decades now, I guess. It goes with me on my desk from location to location. Somehow these words ground me during the in-between times, the liminal spaces. The words were penned by the twentieth-century poet T. S. Elliot, but lest you think me a poetry buff, be informed that I found them quoted elsewhere, lifted from one of his works:

I said to my soul, be still and wait…

So the darkness will be the light,

And the stillness the dancing.

Such winsome words; truth rings out through their beauty. Scripture repeatedly bears out the value and reward of waiting, even in darkness and confusion…

To Wait Is Life

I’m trying to remember a time when waiting was ever my strength, my forte…

Nope, the memory isn’t coming. Yet, as I gaze over my lifespan, so very much has involved this very thing that most of us cringe at, wrestle with, and squirm under – waiting. Whether it’s waiting in the carpool line, waiting at the ATM, or waiting for the Amazon order, we don’t like to wait in this instant society.

If we find ourselves caught in a line, if you’re like me, our minds begin calculating similar to a military general. We search for ways to circumvent the system in order to expedite our exit. We’ve got things to do, deadlines to meet, people to have coffee dates with – WORK WITH ME, WORLD!

Consenting Where We Are

And don’t even mention waiting on God! He definitely has NOT entered the 21st Century of the Western world! Isn’t there a newer version of the Bible that has changed Psalm 37:5 from “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him,” to something like, “Get moving with God and He’ll get moving for you!”?

Right. I haven’t seen it, either. It’s just as well because I think we’d miss out on verse 9 if we rewrote verse 5…

For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.

Psalm 37:9, NKJV

Generally, as long as life hums along smoothly, waiting quietly before the Lord seldom comes to the forefront of our minds or hearts. Waiting, you see, “is consenting to be where we really are,” as a monk from the Abbey of Gethsemane once said.

People recoil from it because they don’t want to be present to themselves. Such waiting causes a deep existential loneliness to surface, a feeling of being disconnected from oneself and God. At the depths there is fear, fear of the dark chaos within themselves.

Sue Monk Kidd, The Heart That Waits

Crisis

Unless a level of crisis disrupts our carefully choreographed days, the daily or weekly Bible Study usually suffices. Which may be why God orchestrates or allows, (however you choose to see it), an occasional crisis.

My most recent ‘crisis’ has been moving to another state. Being closer to grandchildren has been life-giving. Leaving close friends, our oldest son and his wife, and the familiarity of home have been more of a challenge. Believing I would hit the ground running, making friends, immediately involved in ministry, was a mind-trap I should have been prepared for. But, somehow wasn’t. I’m a master at setting myself up for the enemy’s lies of unrealistic expectations.

So, this is key; I need to be very careful and keenly aware of what is pulling my heart to rush away from the stillness. Here is the point where I can continue to make the situation all about me, have a pity party, call some friends to join me, (for prayer bandaids or commiseration), and not learn one thing from this period between death and resurrection. The other alternative is to sit before the Lord and ask Him, with the Psalmist, to:

Show me Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me. For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day.

Psalm 25:4-5, NKJV

How Long?

Am I willing to wait all day long (or a month or a year?) for the Lord to teach me His truth about this time in my life? Throughout the Psalms, David asked God to teach him His ways and to lead him on the right path, but there is never an indication that David believes the process will be instant. One of my favorite Psalms bears this out.

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord.

Psalm 27:13-14, NKJV

David believed in the goodness of the Lord. He didn’t lose heart – although he could have – because he was waiting in faith. His was a faith that had seen God deliver him over and over again. He anticipated God delivering, again.

How long are we willing to wait for the Lord to deliver us? Like David, we shouldn't lose heart, but have faith in God to reveal His truth. Click To Tweet

First Light

If you’ve ever sat through the night rocking a sick child…or if you suffer from insomnia, you know what it means to watch for the first light of morning slicing through the clouds. Sometimes, waiting on the Lord is like that.

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, And in His word I do hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning – yes, more than those who watch for the morning.

Psalm 130:5-6, NKJV

This much I know, waiting is difficult, but the loving-kindness of the Lord never ceases. He knows my weaknesses. He meets me where I am.

The song “Here Again” from Elevation Worship has bolstered my spirit as I have been preparing this devotional, mainly because this is a place I have to return with God repeatedly. He meets me here again…and that is cause for dancing.

Be still, still, battle, Oh Lord Help Us, ministry, Christian, women

Still: God Will Fight For Us and Prepare the Way Forward

Devotionals, Stay SaneMay 16, 2018June 27, 2019

We do not need to be afraid. We are to be still and see the Lord at work, trusting that He will will fight for us and prepare the way forward.

Those who know me best would characterize me as an action person. Although in recent years health issues have slowed down aerobic activities, when a plan is adopted I want to attack it. Mulling over it, tweaking it ad nauseam, re-thinking the plan from multiple angles, or just plain procrastination can cause me intense internal combustion. In other words, my husband can sometimes make my head explode!…because don’t we usually marry our opposite?

Standing still is not my forte; never has been. A decision is made to be executed, so let’s not delay – make a list, mark items off as you go, MOVE!

So, in Exodus 14, let’s just say I totally GET why the children of Israel freaked out when they realized the Egyptians, now angry and vengeful, had pursued and caught up to them at – of all places – the Red Sea! They were shaking in their sandals. After they had left Egypt on such an ‘in-your-face’ emotional high, having plundered them of much of their wealth, (at God’s insistence), God had lead them the long way around the wilderness rather than through the land of the Philistines (Exodus 13:17-18). So rather than getting into a war with the mighty Philistines, Israel ends up with their backs against a wall of water and the fierce Egyptians bearing down on them! Ouch.

After considerable complaining (Exodus 14:11-12), Moses reveals to Israel the incredible battle plan… Are you ready?

Don’t be afraid
Stand still
See
Know The Lord Will Fight For You
Be quiet
Go forward

WHAAAT??!! That’s IT?! No spears? No forward group to distract them and rear guard to defeat them? Not even a trumpet sound???

Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.

Exodus 14:13-14, NKJV

Don’t be Afraid…

Often, as we all probably know, fear can be paralyzing, but when a vast army of enemies is marching toward you, the last natural inclination one usually has is to stand still. Simultaneously, Moses instructed the Israelites to have more trust than fear and to stand still in the face of their enemy.

We don’t know the exact timeline, but let’s say just days before, God had released the people of Israel after many years of oppression in Egypt. Using jaw-dropping miracles, God made sure they were loaded down with Egypt’s wealth as He ushered them out of captivity. After the flush of victory had passed and they faced a test, did God’s people remember the miracles of God on their behalf in Egypt? Sadly, no…but then, do we?

In essence, I call God a liar when I grip my fear tighter than my faith in God’s character and intentions toward me. I’m confessing He is not who He says He is and doesn’t do what He says He will do. It has taken me a lifetime of struggle and stumbling to reach this understanding rather than to simply beat myself up with guilt each time I am convicted about my lack of trust in a given situation. We are a fearful people. God already knows that about us, but we don’t have to live there. Our mighty God is greater than our most entrenched fears.

Don’t be afraid. Fear not. Remember when He has rescued you before; He will do it, again.

In essence, I call God a liar when I grip my fear tighter than my faith in God's character and intentions toward me. Click To Tweet

Stand Still…

I liken standing still to waiting. These are areas where I learn from my husband’s more patient nature. He doesn’t rush headlong into things; therefore, he sees potential problems that I might miss on my initial fly-by. He has an eye for details; I like the big picture. Standing still can take in the small things. Being still is necessary for knowing God more intimately (Psalm 46:10).

Moses instructed the people to stand still, to wait, in order to see the salvation of the LORD, (or the deliverance). If they remained fearful or panicky, running into action that God had not ordained, I am convinced Israel would have missed the deliverance God had planned for them that day. They would have been too preoccupied with what they were doing to see what God was doing! Or they might have been crushed.

I question how often I miss the wonder of what He is doing because I’m busy ‘helping God’ do His ministry or whatever I think He needs to be doing…

See…

The more I see what God is doing and join Him there, the more convinced I become that He is, indeed, fighting for me, and not just me, but for His people. God told His people in Deuteronomy, Joshua, 2 Chronicles, Nehemiah and Isaiah that He would fight for them or their victories had been due to Him fighting for them.

Know the Lord Will Fight for You…

I love the picture of God slaying the enemies for Israel, but at the same time, I am aware that I often fight against doing nothing while trusting the Lord to do all the fighting in a battle that is raging around me. I don’t like to admit it, but I believe that it’s a mixture of pride and some skewed notion I learned a long time ago concerning works. Not a good combination!

If the Lord God Almighty says He will fight for you, then sister, you and I can put our absolute trust in Him because He is faithful!

Be Quiet…

“Oh,” Moses said, “By the way, while God is fighting for you, you shall be quiet,” (this is the Dodie version).

Not that any of us are like this, but the children of Israel were the biggest whiners and grumblers you’ve ever seen! So, I have an idea that God just wanted them to button it up for just a few minutes and watch Him deliver them in a miraculous way. Like when God doesn’t answer that prayer how I wanted or when I wanted or where I wanted…you get my drift, don’t you? I don’t want to be quiet. I think He needs to be reminded because surely He didn’t hear me correctly, or maybe He forgot!

Be quiet. In fact, in verse 15, God wants to know why they are still TALKING and CRYING OUT to Him! Uh oh.

Go forward…

Now, God says GO FORWARD.

Um…Lord, have you noticed this large body of water we are standing in front of? We don’t have boats, and uh, what about the children? And we don’t swim!

Be quiet…Go forward…oh, what glory you will see.

And the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward…”

Exodus 14:15

What is your obstacle? Does it feel like the Red Sea is before you and the vicious Egyptians are behind you?

Don’t be afraid. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.

Erda Estremera

rest, stillness, meditation, Oh Lord Help Us, women, ministry, encouragement

Stillness: Creating Oneness with God in Quiet Meditation

Devotionals, Stay SaneApril 3, 2018September 8, 2019

Stillness can be a daily habit to insure our whole being aligns with God. Creating oneness with God in our busy lives, becomes easier during quiet meditation.

Life is a whirlwind of happenings, appointments, activities, stuff. The world yanks us in many different directions and the multiplication of all of life’s intricacies, create huge “energy stealers”. In busyness, it can be incredibly difficult to focus in on God. At the extreme, it paralyzes our ability to even experience God. So, how can we overcome these pulls?

I recently wrote about rest and how rejuvenating our souls in the Lord gives us true energy. But, what should we do with that energy. Yes, the normal daily things come to mind… cleaning up messes would be a great use of it. However, I want to suggest one more step before we head off into our worlds of schedules and tasks… stillness.

Confused Stillness

I’ve touched a bit in previous posts that I tend to be more reserved and introverted. For a long time, I thought stillness and quietness were one in the same. That may be true in the worldly realm, but spiritually, they are quite different. I am quiet and also distracted. Yes, I can pray while I do the dishes, or contemplate God while folding laundry, but that is not stillness. That’s multitasking.

Stillness can also be confused with rest. Stillness uses energy. Whereas, resting causes you to gain energy. When you seek rest in the Almighty, you are trusting Him to fill you with supernatural energy. Oppositely, stillness uses that energy to zoom in on God within us, to provide peace, clarity, and joy.

What Is Stillness?

Not to get all Hippie-Dippie on you, but it’s a tranquil activity which produces serenity and calmness within. Stillness is a complete focus on God inside of us. Our bodies, minds, hearts being completely still before the Lord. Stillness insures we are hearing God’s voice, feeling His presence, and His goodness is filling us. A meditation if you will. In order to truly meditate on something, you must have energy. Just like in any activity, you need the power to do it.

Now, meditation can be a taboo word in the Christian community. It’s usually has association with other religions or practices. However, in my research, I learned that meditation is not linked to any religion, at all. There’s actually science behind what happens. Our bodies physically benefit from this activity, and, ultimately, our souls.

Quiet Meditation

Yes, messes are all around us physically, but our minds are no different. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if God didn’t have to push through all that clutter in order to speak with us? To have an unadulterated oneness with the Lord, could you imagine? We are humans, so, this isn’t possible. However, we can create habits that drive us towards oneness.

I’m not a yoga teacher and I have no schooling in the art of meditating. All I can give you is what I have personally learned…

Clean Space

I noticed that when I need meditation most, is when there’s the biggest mess. So, finding an uncluttered, completely clean part of your home may be difficult, but it’s vital. Yes, our eyes are shut, but our minds are not fooled.

Breathe

We all know that a few deep breaths can bring calmness and clarity, but slowed, controlled breathing for periods of time, really brings a nice detox to the blood stream and the mind.

Posture

I am a sloucher. If I don’t change this habit, I see back issues in my future. Sit up straight. Really be mindful of the posture of your body. Sit in a comfortable position that allows for pristine spinal posture.

Shut Out

One part of meditation is the practice of completely shutting out the world. This is really important. As a child of God, I have a calling to not be OF this world, but to allow God to transform me. If I don’t minimize myself in meditative habit, I cannot be changed.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Romans 12:2, NIV

Thinking

This is the hardest for me; to combat human nature… I think all of the time. It’s so important to push out all our thoughts and really focus on God. I try to focus only on one thing about God: the cross, a specific characteristic, God’s work inside of me (physically or spiritually), specific scripture.

Hope for Stillness

Again, this oneness in the Lord is something only hoped for. However, stillness thins the line between hope and achievement.

Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

John 15:4, NLT

Jesus came to earth, lived as one of us. He saw our struggle then, and sees our struggle now. The world pulls us in so many directions; most dragging us away from our Father. Jesus knew this truth when He spoke those words. We cannot flourish in all we do, aside from God. Making stillness a daily habit insures our actions, attitudes, thoughts are saturated in God.

We cannot flourish in all we do, aside from God. Making stillness a daily habit insures our actions, attitudes, thoughts are saturated in God. Click To Tweet