Terri's BlogChristian perspective on today's issues.

Psalm 46:10

Hey Y’all, watch this!
Okay, that’s not really what God said, but it’s what He meant when He spoke to me. And it got my attention.
I was facing a problem, and try as hard as I could, I couldn’t find a viable solution. It was really frustrating. It was actually causing me to lose sleep over it, and trust me, I need a lot of beauty sleep. Consulting with a few trusted friends simply got me conflicting opinions, kinda like Job. The sad thing about it was I knew what to do: give it to God. Why didn’t I?
If you haven’t looked up the scripture yet, in the first line God says, “Be still and know that I am God.” You can see there are two commands here and the first is Be Still. He’s saying: Stop striving. Stop stressing. Stop trying to control everything. Calm down. (And maybe “turn off that TV, and put down that phone”?) and LISTEN TO ME.  God tells us to Be Still so He can move in our lives. We may have prayed about it, but many times we still haven’t gotten out of the driver’s seat. There’s only so much we can do, folks, then it’s His turn. As in we can plant the seed, but only God can make it grow.
Let me give you another example: my younger sister decided she needed to follow this first command, so she went into her closet, closed the door, and sat down. She was going to Be Still and listen. She admits later that after an hour she had arranged all her shoes and matched all her outfits by color.  Like so many of the rest of us, she couldn’t BE STILL.  It’s hard to listen when we stay busy.
The second command is “and know that I am God”. (There should be an exclamation point behind that, ya think?) Ponder on that command for a moment. That’s an incredibly profound statement. What is it saying to you? To me He’s saying “I’ll take it now. Take a deep breath. Relax. I’ve got this.”
ME: Easy for you to say.  God (smiling): Yes.  It is.      He is GOD!  When we finally KNOW this, then we really can calm our hearts, not stress, rest easy (and sleep well). He’s saying “realize Who I Am.   I am in control.   Give it to Me and Know that I am GOD.”        Ahhh, what a relief, right?
Same chapter, the first two verses: God is our refuge and our strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So, we will not fear… (NLT)
Proverbs 3:5,6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, leaning not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledges Him and He will direct your path. Amen.

I’m not a pastor, nor a biblical scholar, just a Christian still under construction. So feel free to make any comments or criticisms – I’m still learning. Terri took me to Uganda in 2010, to be one of five speakers at a Pastor’s Conference. I had never spoken in front of a church before, and I was told to prepare four sermons. Me? Oh Lord! Four polished speakers/pastors/missionaries, and a youth Sunday School teacher.  My secular job was as a Financial Advisor.  What could I speak about? Not only that, but you had to speak in short sentences so the interpreter could translate. (A lot didn’t come out like I spoke it, LOL) That was a great learning experience on the subject above, and very humbling. When we let God and His Spirit have control, what He wants accomplished will be done.
In His service, and yours,
Mike Jared, TCM board member