ENCOUNTER: DAY 17

SCRIPTURE READING - DAY 17


Psalm 46:10

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will
be exalted among the nations, I will be
exalted in the earth." (NIV)


MEDITATION by Chet Seapy


It was 5:00 a.m. and all was still. We were tucked in bed, sound asleep, when suddenly a large explosion rattled the windows of our 10th floor apartment. While living in Caracas, Venezuela, my family had grown accustomed to hearing all sorts of loud noises from the streets below, but when I heard the popping of nearby gunfire, I became concerned for the safety of my wife and our two young boys.

Carefully peering through our bedroom window, I looked down onto the major street below to see what was happening. There were numerous police cars, and about 20 Venezuelan police officers having a shootout with six malandros (bad guys). It was like watching the live version of a television police show, but the bullets were real. Six young men had robbed a store and the police were in full pursuit. One of their patrol cars had been blown up with a hand grenade. The battle seemed to go on forever, but after a short time, the gunfight came to an end. I watched the police drag the dead bodies of three young thieves across the pavement and throw them into the back of their jeeps and drive away.

“Be still, and know that I am God,” the psalmist tells us. How can I be still when people are being killed outside my bedroom window? How can I remain calm when it seems that everything is in turmoil? I wonder if Jesus meditated on these words while he was being beaten and crucified on the cross. Jesus had every opportunity to be concerned for his life and for the well-being of those whom he loved, but by faith he chose to be still and know that his Father would use the moment for good, and that he would “be exalted among the nations.”

Caracas was not the safest place in the world to live, but it was a great place to learn how to depend upon God daily for his care and protection. Now that I live in the U.S., life is different, but I still find myself being challenged in the area of being still and knowing that he is God. How can I be still when I don’t know how tomorrow’s bills are going to be paid? How can I be calm when my aging father has dementia, and my adult children don’t appear to be making wise decisions?

It is by faith. By faith I humble myself, totally surrendering everything to God, relying on him and not on myself. God will accomplish his work in me. My job is to be still and know that he is God. Lord, help me to be still. Lord, help me to appreciate the bullets in life that drive me into a deeper relationship with you. May you be exalted among the nations.

Even though the earth give way, God will be our refuge and strength, and he will be an ever-present help in trouble. “The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”

REFLECTION


What kinds of things cause you to become stressed and anxious in life?


Are you being still? If not, in what ways could you do a better job at being still and knowing that he is God?


How is God using your life to make his name to be exalted among the nations?