Be Still: Learning to Wait While God Works

Scripture: Psalms 46:1-11

We live in a hustle and bustle society. Society tells us we must go, go, go, but God tells us to slow down and find rest in Him. 

Research tells us the average person spends over four hours on our phones a day, and half that time just on social media. That means we are checking our phones every 12 minutes, if not more.

The average mom with kids under 18 spends 20 hours in the car every week taking them from place to place. 

It’s hard to be still. 

And when we do find the time to try to be still, we have to deal with over 60,000 thoughts every day that consume us—and 75% of those are negative thoughts. Thoughts that can blind us from the truth.

We always tend to be doing something or thinking about something, and even when we aren’t, we can still feel like we should be doing something or thinking about something. 

But are we making the time to BE STILL in God’s presence? That’s what this reading plan aims to explore 

It’s time to slow down, rest in God’s loving arms, and have the faith to believe that God is in control and is our loving shepherd.

Along with this reading plan, you’ll need a journal. A place where you can write down your thoughts, your prayers, how you see/feel God’s presence as you undertake this journey. Take time to BE STILL. Find a quiet, secluded place and take advantage of whatever time you make. 

I would encourage you to open that journal now and answer a few questions: 

What in the past are you still holding on to that you need to let go?

What fears or worries of the future are you letting weigh you down?

Have you found peace in the presence of God? 

What do you need God to do in your life?

What negative, consuming thoughts do you need to replace with truth from God?

Scripture: Psalms 46:1-11

My name is Amy LaRue, and I was ten years into what I thought was a rock-solid marriage when I learned that my high school sweetheart, my husband, was addicted to alcohol. 

You know what two words I did not want to hear during that time? BE STILL. 

And to be honest, I wasn’t. I immediately went into “fix-it” mode. How am I going to fix this? What did I do to make Shane drink and how can I fix that, too? 

But I never thought: If I am still, then God can fix it.

Well, I didn’t stay still. I searched the house, I checked his phone, I made appointments for him, I threatened him. I worried. I was fearful. I was determined to FIX this situation and I began to search and search and search Google for an answer. But you know what? Google couldn’t tell me how to fix this situation either.

I grew up in church. I was always very active and went to church every chance I could get. But if I am honest, I never really had a strong prayer life. I’d never experienced any MAJOR life events where I had to fully surrender to God to get me through. 

Until addiction hit our family. 

I knew I couldn’t do this on my own, even though I tried. This is when my prayer life really began. 

It’s true that I was the one who prayed when life got hard… but not so much during the in-between. And honestly, I had a lot of “in-between.” But when addiction came, I cried out to God, “How can I do this for the rest of my life? Will I ever be happy again? I need you. I need YOU!” 

When difficulties like addiction make their way into our families, it begins to control us. They tell us what to do, what not to do, how we should act, how we should not act, how we should feel, how we should not feel, where we should be, where we should not be. The list goes on. 

Trials and storms want to drive us into hiding while we go into fix-it mode. We want to just fix everything so that we can show the world our perfect family once more. It’s easy to be fearful, like I was when things aren’t going well or when we face challenges and conflicts in our lives. But in Psalm 46:10, God reminds us that the only thing we need to DO is be still and know that he is God. 

Get out your journal and answer these questions reflectively: 

Can you identify with Amy’s story of addiction betraying her family? Why or why not? In what ways have you been blindsided? What did you do?

What sort of prayer life do you have? Are you content with it or would you like it to change? What practical steps can you take to make that change happen?

How easy is it for you to be still? Why do you suppose you feel that way? If you have trouble being still, what’s one step you can take to make it easier?

Scripture: Psalms 46:1-11

We’re focusing a lot on verse 10 of Psalm 46, the verse which reminds us to Be Still, but Psalm 46 actually starts off in the very first verse with this setup: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” 

We’re reminded at the very beginning of the kind of God we serve. The song begins with strong statements about God’s protective power and availability. In Hebrew, the word “refuge” is similar to the term “shelter:” a place of safety away from a particular danger. Likewise, the original Hebrew more naturally implies that God is “very present” in the sense that He has proven His ability to see and care for His people. He is not hard to see or perceive; He is near and accessible. 

That level of care should inspire us to trust rather than fear.

Going back to verse 10, we are commanded to “be still” and trust in the truth of who God is. The main point of this passage is for us to end our striving by relying instead on the strength of God. 

“Be still” is not just a pair of sweet, nice words. This isn’t a suggestion. It’s a command. 

I like the Christian Standard Bible translation of Psalms 46:10, which reads like this: “Stop fighting, and know that I am God, exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.” 

What are YOU fighting that isn’t yours to fight? 

What weapons are you using to fight this battle? Your time, energy, money? How is it going? 

Why do we tend to do the same thing over and over again, even though we keep getting the same outcome? What would happen if we stopped? What if we took back our time, energy, and money? 

After we’re commanded to “Be still,” the next part of Psalms 46:10 tells us what to do while we’re still: “…and know that I am God.” 

AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD. 

How have you have seen/felt God through your trials? How have you KNOWN that God is God?

If we have seen God and know and believe He is working, why do we go to fix-it mode and become roadblocks? When we do that, do we cause His plan to be detoured? Why are we not being still? 

Think through any of these questions and write your answers in your journal. Don’t be afraid to go long.

Scriptures: Psalms 46:1-11, Psalms 130:1-8

I once heard someone say, “I pray for God to close the right doors, and for God to open the right doors.” As soon as I heard that, it hit me hard. How many times have I decided I knew which doors needed to be closed and which doors needed to be opened?

When we are still and we know that God is God, we can then trust Him, let go of our own ways, and have faith in His plan, believing that He works at exactly the right time. We must trust Him because there’s a vast difference between what we know and what God knows.

As I look back at my husband’s addiction and our recovery—yes, “our” recovery, both mine and his—I can see God’s hand at work: from the way He aligned our careers with His plan to the ways that my husband was able to seek treatment, to God answering my long-standing prayer to help other loved ones of addicts with my new career. God’s been at work through all of it 

Do I wish my husband would have gotten sober a lot sooner? Yes. Do I ever look back and think, “What if?” Yes!

But then I have to follow that train of thought to its conclusion: “What if I had done this or that sooner? Would I be where I am today, in a career I love, helping other loved ones of addicts find peace and healing? Would my husband be at home today, sober, with all three of our kids?”

We can’t look back and dwell on the ‘would’ve’, ‘could’ve’, ‘should’ve’. We must give ourselves grace and forgiveness, then look only at today. We must have faith that God has us today, tomorrow, and into the future. 

God hears our cries. He is eager to listen, comfort, and answer our prayers 

Yes, the waiting is hard. It’s especially difficult when we feel stuck in our own lives or when we see our loved ones on a destructive path. 

But waiting is often part of being still. And when we practice that stillness, when we stop to worship, to read the scriptures, to pray, and to meditate, then we renew our confidence in Jesus to come through when we need it most. 

Or as we read in a different psalm (Psalm 130), when we wait for the Lord, we can hope in His promise. “I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, And in His word I do hope.” 

Journal time! Write down some of your “What ifs”. Now take them to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to show you how He’s been present in every part of your life, even the ones you wish were different. Write down what you learn and spend some time today considering it.

Scriptures: Psalms 46:1-11, John 16:25-33

Boats have anchors to keep them secure in the storms, and we are much the same when it comes to the storms of life, except instead of a heavy piece of iron, our anchor is the hope we have in God. When life around us is in chaos and a storm is brewing, we can find peace and hope in God if we allow Him to be our anchor and hold us. 

Have you ever just cried out to the Lord, “Hold me! I need you! Comfort me!” God is our Father, and just like a young child (even my teenager) still needs a parent to comfort them, we still need our Father to comfort us. 

In the gospel of John, Jesus tells us this: “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” 

This is an invitation to cultivate inner peace, to anchor ourselves in the unwavering certainty of God’s presence. To find moments of quiet amidst the chaos where we can reconnect with our faith and draw upon its reservoirs of resilience and hope. Jesus has overcome the world! 

Too many times we waste our energy and voice on the storm. But the storm is not in a position to hear our cries! That’s where God is! He is ready to accept our grief and offer comfort; to hear us and respond by giving us strength, to listen to our prayers and provide an answer (which is usually “Yes,” “No,” or “Not right now”).

Have you ever heard the story of bamboo? According to legend, after farmers plant bamboo seed, they water and fertilize it—and then nothing happens for the first year. The second year they water and fertilize it—and still, nothing happens. The third and fourth years they water and fertilize it—and, you guessed it, nothing happens. And then, sometime during the course of its fifth year and over a period of merely six weeks, the bamboo tree grows roughly ninety feet. The question is: did it grow ninety feet in six weeks, or did it grow ninety feet in five years? I believe it grew those ninety feet in five years because, had the farmers not had the perseverance to keep caring for the crop day-in and day-out each year, despite their lack of immediate results, then there would be no bamboo tree at all. 

Our faith often works like that bamboo tree. When we continue to pray and work on ourselves, pray and wait, pray and be still, pray and know that He is God, we put ourselves in a place where God is working, and growth is coming! 

Here are your journal prompts for today: 

How easy or difficult is it for you to believe the growth you want to see is coming?

How easy or difficult is it for you to “Be Still” in the midst of the wait?

How easy or difficult is it for you to remember that God is your anchor and to treat Him as such?

How easy or difficult is it for you to think of God as your Heavenly Father who hears and responds to you when you cry out to Him?

Scriptures: Psalms 46:1-11, Romans 8:18-30

The eighth chapter of Romans tells us this: “We know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” 

This can be a difficult thing to remember when we’re trying to Be Still. But that doesn’t make it any less true! 

The fact is that each of us—including you—has been called according to God’s purpose. And that holds true no matter how much the storms of this life rage around or within us; no matter how much we want to shift into fix-it mode or give up in despair. 

But hopefully you’ve been encouraged over the last few days to stop striving, stop fighting, and stop trying to do things your way. 

So, stop stressing about the battle ahead and trust God. He is the Lord. He is your refuge and your strength. He will fight your battles and deal with your enemies. 

Stop getting in God’s way by going into fix-it mode. Step back, open your eyes, and acknowledge who God is and what He can do. Let Him be God and stop doing His job for Him. He’s better at it than you are! 

Instead, it’s time to start being patient, being still, and letting God go to work. Know that He is God. He’s working for you! Let Him!