Pause in his presence
Everyone look!
Come and see the breathtaking wonders of our God.
For he brings both ruin and revival.
He’s the one who makes conflicts end throughout the earth, breaking and burning every weapon of war.
Surrender your anxiety.
Be still and realize that I am God.
I am God above all the nations, and I am exalted throughout the whole earth.
Here he stands! The Commander! The mighty Lord of Angel Armies is on our side!
The God of Jacob fights for us!
Pause in his presence
(Psalm 46:9-11 TPT)
I’m thinking about quiet tonight.
In the stillness, God is there.
When we pause in his presence, he is with us.
I am staying at my parents’ home for a few days, reflecting on my trip to see my grandmother, aunt, and cousins, and then spending time here with family and friends. Today was windy, there were tractors working in area fields, and my children were helping pick up sticks in the yard to prepare for the first mowing of the season. Conversations, furnace sounds, wind, vehicle noises, doors banging, raking, chains on a tractor pulling downed limbs, and birds, birds, birds singing their spring songs – all of these sounds filled the daylight hours. But tonight, standing under the horizon-to-horizon landscape of silent stars, all those noises were gone. In the dark was a type of almost-silence. And as I write I hear only the click of the computer keys, the sound of silence in my ears, and my own breath and heartbeat. Not everyone likes quiet or silence, but it must be valuable to God if he told us to “be still and know that I am God.”
In the stillness, God is there.
When we pause in his presence, he is with us.
“‘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. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.” (1 Kings 13:9-11 NIV)
When the winds, earthquakes, and fires of our lives swirl around us, God is there. He is in all those things. But he is within us in the place where our emotions do not reign, our thoughts are calmed, and our spirit is tuned into his Spirit.
In the stillness, God is there.
When we pause in his presence, he is with us.
May the beauty, the holiness, and the peaceful stillness of quiet be a part of this day today. May you pause and know God’s presence even where life gives us winds, earthquakes, and fires. And may God’s peace, which goes beyond anything we can imagine, guard your thoughts and emotions. We pray in the powerful but peaceful name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
“Then God’s peace, which goes beyond anything we can imagine, will guard your thoughts and emotions through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7 GW)