Waiting in the Wings

For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.

Tag: surrender/yieldedness

Renewing Our Focus

“Be Still” by Meghan Williams of Dyed4you Art

Psalm 46:10 (VOICE) “Surrender your anxiety! Be silent and stop your striving and you will see that I am God. I am the God above all the nations, and I will be exalted throughout the whole earth.

When we are yoked with our Creator, there are moments when we’re not going at the same speed that He is. When we are out of alignment with Him, we can feel it as tug upon our soul. Sometimes that tug is gentle, and at other times—when we are insistent in our striving—that tug is much more firm. “Stop striving,” He beckons. “Stop pulling against My yoke. It’s time to come and sit at My feet and just rest. It’s time to remind yourself of Who is leading.” 

This call is reminiscent of Psalm 46:10, where God tells us to “be still and know” that He is God. When we dig deeper into the Hebrew of this text, there is beautiful insight into what God is asking us to do in the moments when we feel that tug upon our souls. The command “be still” in Hebrew is raphah (Strong’s H7503), which means “to sink, relax, sink down, let drop, be disheartened.” One definition according to the Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon is “to leave off anything, e.g. a work begun, Neh. 6:8… Psalm 46:11 ‘leave off your own attempts and know.’” 

Think of a field hand diligently working the soil in a field. His supervisor suddenly calls out to stop work and take a break. So the field hand immediately stops, lets go of the tool in his hand, and walks away to take that break. In much the same way, when God tells us to “be still,” He’s calling us to stop striving over a matter in our lives and come into a place of rest.

Yet there’s a second layer to this call. God asks us to “be still and know” that He is God. Not only must we stop striving, but we must also be intentional to realign our focus on God. In Psalm 46:10, the Hebrew word for “know” is yada (H3045). Yada alludes to a type of knowledge that involves an intimate perception of something. Yada is also used euphemistically for the intimacy between spouses. (Genesis 4:1 says that Adam “knew” his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore their son Cain.) When we really comprehend a person or matter, we obtain intimate knowledge. We gain a unique clarity of perception.

In 1 Corinthians 13:11-12, Paul says, “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known” (NKJV). When we feel the call to “be still and know,” God is calling us to realign our focus in that moment. This is a precious gift, an opportunity for us to enter the Holy of Holies and have a “face to face” moment with Him. This is a call to reconnect with the Source of Love.

When we are striving, there is a misalignment in our spiritual vision and our misperception of love concerning a particular matter. Clarity can only be found when we’re seeing the matters of life the way that God sees them. By the flesh, we have a cloudy, distant perception of life, but with God, we have access to a full level of disclosure. 

Are you anxious and afraid over a matter? Do you feel alone and without answers or help? Or perhaps, you feel exhausted and weak, facing a challenge in your life to which you feel at a disadvantage. It’s time to “be still and know.” It’s time to reconnect with your Creator and remember that He has everything under control. Let His love and peace wash over you, and allow Him to give you fresh revelation for the road ahead.

Looking Up

“Infinite Possibilities” by Meghan Williams, Dyed4you Art

I admit that I have often struggled to find a balance between keeping my feet on the ground and having my head in the clouds—keeping my thoughts in the heavens that is. I always thought that “looking up” meant continuing to looking forward to Christ’s reign. Someday, Christ would return. Someday, the Kingdom would come, and the earth would be restored. All the while, the daily demands and desires of the flesh kept me miserably rooted to the earth moment by moment. How could I practically pursue heavenly things while still in the flesh?

Over the years, God has been teaching me what it truly means to be heavenly-minded. Christ’s reign is now. In fact, Christ can reign through you and me in the earth today. It simply takes a yielded heart that’s willing to look up and ask, “God what would you like to do in the earth through me right now?”

And this perspective by no means limits our life on earth or the things we can accomplish. It doesn’t mean that we forsake our basic human needs or tremble in fear over our carnal desires. On the contrary, when we yield our hearts to Christ, we are allowing Him to reign over us. And when we allow Him to reign in our hearts, we enter the realm of the Kingdom—the realm of unlimited possibilities. Through the Holy Spirit within us, we each have access to the thoughts and perspective of the Eternal One. This way, we can keep our heads in the heavenlies and view the things of earth as God does instead of through the lens of our flesh.

Temporal desires and fears no longer drive me when I am truly being heavenly-minded. Instead, I am motivated by a desire to explore, create, and build as the Creator inspires me. All at once, I feel connected to that spark of the Eternal within me that has always been waiting to express Himself uniquely through my hands.

Colossians 3:1-2 (TPT) Christ’s resurrection is your resurrection too. This is why we are to yearn for all that is above, for that’s where Christ sits enthroned at the place of all power, honor, and authority! Yes, feast on all the treasures of the heavenly realm and fill your thoughts with heavenly realities, and not with the distractions of the natural realm.

Matthew 6:25, 31-33 (NKJV) “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? …Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

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