Be still

This morning I read Psalm 46:10, the first part of which reads, "Be still, and know that I am God."

I thought about that and then started writing down other be's -- be quiet, be calm, be careful, be focused. And then I thought of To Be or Not To Be, a line from one of Shakespeare's plays. A Google search of that line brought me to the March 13 Our Daily Bread entry, which reads as follows:

When I was a child, kids on the playground jokingly quoted Shakespeare’s famous line: “To be or not to be—that is the question!” But we really didn’t understand what it meant. Later I learned that Shakespeare’s character Hamlet, who speaks these lines, is a melancholy prince who learns that his uncle has killed his father and married his mother. The horror of this realization is so disturbing that he contemplates suicide. The question for him was: “to be” (to go on living) or “not to be” (to take his own life).

At times, life’s pain can become so overwhelming that we are tempted to despair. The apostle Paul told the church at Corinth that his persecution in Asia was so intense he “despaired even of life” (2 Cor. 1:8). Yet by shifting his focus to his life-sustaining God, he became resilient instead of overwhelmed, and learned “that we should not trust in ourselves but in God” (v.9).

Trials can make life seem not worth living. Focusing on ourselves can lead to despair. But putting our trust in God gives us an entirely different perspective. As long as we live in this world, we can be certain that our all-sufficient God will sustain us. And as His followers, we will always have a divine purpose “to be.” — Dennis Fisher

Still, we need to be still, so we can hear God speaking to us in the midst of failure and success.

To Be or Not To Be

To Be .... alive, living life
or
Not To Be ... dead

That is the question. ... the state of affairs.

There are still some, a handful or two at my workplace who continue to have jobs, yet their careers are on hold ... waiting day-to-day for that new job offer or the pink slip that confirms their greatest nightmare / fear.

Every person has (or will have) been in this type of dillemma sometime during their lifetime.

Focusing on "what if I lose my job" only leads to despair, desperation, distrust, depression. Might as well focus on "what if I die tomorrow." Well, we might. You never know what may happen. But turn the tables -- "what if you received $1,000 in the mail?" "What if all your bills were paid in full?"

We never know about the "what if's," so you might as well not go there. God alone knows where you are right now and where you are headed and the road you will take. Best to keep it all with Him.

The more we know, the more we think we need to know, is not always satisfying. As children of God, our faith and trust must rest solely in Him. He will sustain us. He is all-sufficient. God will provide for our every need.

What can we do? We have nothing. We can grapple within our minds, thinking of the best way to do things, but is it the best way? Sometimes, we simply must wait. Pray, talk with the Lord, share with Him your feelings. Then wait for His response. But we must wait, reassured God will answer, will show us the way we are to go. We must not worry or become distraught, but rely on God's promises.

"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything, as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God." (2 Corinthians 3: 5)