BE STILL

 “Be still, and know that I am God.” 
Psalms 46:10

    The Hebrew word for “be still” is raphah. It means to cease, to be feeble, faint or weak, or to be idle. So there is something about being still, quiet and weak that enables me to hear the voice of God.

    “The Lord said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by. Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.” 
    I Kings 19:11-12

    If I can just get past the storms of life and be still, the voice of God will always be there, speaking to me. He will never leave me nor forsake me. God is always talking to me, always desiring that I would listen. Always trying over and over. He wants me to raphah.

He patiently articulates 
things of inestimable value.
Whispers of intimate loveliness 
from the lips of my Creator.
They fall to their death
like soft fledgling birds
on the cold, stony shoulder
of my preoccupation.
He speaks again
Flutter
Downy feathers drift away 
on a tepid breeze of indifference

    “The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.” 
    I Samuel 3:1

    Did God not speak much or did Eli not hear God speaking? I believe the latter, because when God spoke to Samuel, Eli didn’t hear him at all. Eli had become so consumed with the storms of his life that he could no longer raphah. The loud and demanding voices in his head drowned out the gentle whisper. Eli had completely lost his raphah.

    “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” 
    Psalms 51:16-17

If I am ever to walk in raphah consistently, I will have to allow a broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart.

    “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” 
    Psalms 34:18

God wants to crush me so he can redeem me. He wants to destroy my old ways and rebuild me in His ways.

    Be weak, and know that I am God.

    Can I admit, even to myself, that I am weak? The enemy has a devious version of this verse.

    Be busy, and learn that you are a god.

    If I convince myself I am strong, 
I will charge ahead on my own.
Eventually I really won’t need God anymore.
Eventually I will be my own god.

    “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” 
    James 5:16

If I will confess my weakness, I will be able to wait on God and depend on God and lean on God. Only when I am broken will I admit my weakness.
Then I can raphah.

    Be quiet, and know that I am God.

There have been times when I was afraid to hear God. I knew in my spirit that he would ask me to repent and lay something on the altar. I knew I would be crushed, so I got really busy and loud.
Play loud, pray loud, stay loud…

In the end I was crushed just the same.
God will always be God.
He just waits for my “yes” each morning so he can be my God.

    “Be still, and know that I am God.”

    The way to catch monkeys in the jungle is to drill a small hole in a coconut, barely big enough for the monkey’s hand to fit through, and put a peanut inside. You tether the coconut to a stake and wait. The monkey will reach in and grab the peanut, but then he will be a captive. His clutching fist won’t fit back through the hole and he will never let go of that peanut either.
    Sometimes I am just like that monkey. I grab and grip the world’s peanut. I am taken captive by my own stubborn strength and foolish will.

I need to rest and relinquish.
I need to be still and listen.
The wind will shatter my rocks,
The earthquake will splinter my mountains,
The raging fires will devour my forests,
But I must raphah
God will speak.
I will catch the warm fledgling bird and treasure it.

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