Be still in the snow and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10 (with a little edit!)

OK, so I KNOW that is not how the real Bible verse goes, but I could NOT help myself this morning. That is what I heard calling to my heart today. God kept beckoning me to just be still and enjoy His presence in the quietness of fresh fallen snow this morning. So, of course, I did exactly that, which is a good choice when the King of Everything is asking you to do something. In fact, it was extremely difficult to come back inside and having done that, it was even hard to step away from the window.

I live in an area of Oregon where we don’t get much snow which I haven’t minded as I grew up in South Dakota where we received TONS of snow, and below zero temps to boot. However, I awoke this morning to a winter wonderland of snow and, after turning on the back patio light, I admired the white beauty. I watched as new flakes seemed to fall effortlessly to the ground in silent abandon. I felt God asking me to just sit in the peace and admire His creation, so I did.

I actually sat outside on a step wrapped in two robes and a blanket and witnessed the renewing of the world with whiteness of snow. I listened to a couple Christian songs, then just sat in the absolute quiet and enjoyed the moment with God. Through this time with Him, I felt Him calling me to quietness. I felt Him reminding me that He is found in the quiet of the day and is found when I take the time to quiet my heart. I relished that quiet time this morning. In fact, as noted above, I didn’t want it to end.

Do you seek quiet moments with God or are you steaming down your worldly road at 150 mph racing from one task to the next? If you are doing the latter, I would imagine you feel exhausted, run down and at times throughout your day you might even feel like giving up or running away to rest. If that statement described you, I encourage you to seek quiet time with God. It can be as simple as staring out the window in silence as you watch the day unfold.

If you think you don’t have time to find time to spend time with God, you are mistaken. You are listening to a lie in your mind. Fight against that lie and take 5 minutes somewhere in your day to just be still. You may have to take that 5 minutes in your car at lunch or perhaps behind a locked bathroom door, but please take that 5 minutes to let your soul soak up a little peace from God.

As I watched the snow fall this morning and witnessed the blanket of white over everything, God spoke to my heart. I was reminded that God sees me “white as snow”.  He tells me so in His Word:

Isaiah 1:18
“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”

He doesn’t see my sin staring Him in the face, He sees a precious, loved, forgiven and set free daughter wearing Jesus’ robe of righteousness. If you are feeling like God doesn’t want to spend quiet time with you because you are not worthy or you are not “good-enough” you are a listening to a lie. As He tells us in His Word, Jesus came to save the sinners, not the righteous for it is the sick that need a doctor, not the well. Come to Jesus and be healed in His quiet presence. Find rest for your soul as what He asks you to do is easy, all He asks is that you come to Him.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

It only takes a moment to quiet your heart and go to the one who can give you rest. Try it today. If it feels awkward at first, that is OK. As you practice sitting in the presence of God, it will feel more natural. In fact, I would venture to say (because this is my experience) the more you do it, the more you will want to do it. There is no logical reason for me to get up at 5AM when I don’t have to be to work until 9AM. But God consistently wakes me up to be with Him and the more time I spend with Him, the more time I want to spend with Him.

Don’t get all legalistic on me telling yourself, “If I don’t start every day with God, I am not a good Christian.” Or don’t enter comparison mode telling yourself, “I could never do that.” This is MY walk with God and each of us will have a unique walk with Him. The most important thing is that we DO walk with Him. Quiet your soul and sit with the King of Everything. He will direct your time and fill your spirit. I often find it funny in that God seems to stretch my time so I can get everything done that I need to get done, all in His time.

Now, back to the verse that started this whole thing, truly Psalm 46:10 is this:

Be still and know that I am God.

In my NIV translation, it says that the Hebrew translation of “be still” can also be translated “let go”. So, read the verse that way:

Let go and know that I am God.

Did that echo differently in your heart? Is there something you need to Let Go and Let God deal with? If that hit you deeply, don’t push it away, accept it and turn to God to let go. Give Him your troubles and let Him take care of it. You draw near to Him, giving Him your heart and He will take care of the rest.

Worthy of one last note is Psalm 46:10 in The Passion Translation:

Surrender your anxiety! Be silent and stop your striving and you will see that I am God. 

Wow! That adds yet another view to that verse. Surrendering is a choice and here in this verse it becomes a command and an invitation. Surrender your worries, stop and be silent, stop your striving and watch God work.

Dear ones, I pray you feel the call to quiet and you indulge that call. Sit and listen for that still small voice of God. He longs to have your heart and your ears. He will give you peace in exchange for your time, so really it is a Win-Win situation.

Blessings and Love,

Pamela