December 23, 2024

In The Stillness

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

Here in the stillness my heart is at rest
Alone in the silence, that’s where I hear You best
In the rush of the river, like a song in the breeze
It’s here in the stillness You speak to me

When I’m lost in Your Presence the world disappears
Taking all of my troubles…my burdens, my fears
Oh how gently You hold me, You are all that I see
It’s here in the stillness You speak to me

I will be still
I will stand in awe

Oh, just to know that You are my God
You are my God

Yes, it’s here in the stillness You speak to me
You speak to me
Oh, speak to me

Singer/Songwriter – Ali Matthews

*  ~  ♥  ~  ✞  ~  ♥  ~  *

One of the absolute joys of being in a relationship with our heavenly Father is our ‘quiet time’ with Him.  Not only is it a joy but it is a need, too. It is necessary to dwell in His Presence…to choose to have a dedicated, purposeful, intentional, devoted quiet time.  Of course there are many other components that make up this time with God, such as:

  • reading the Scriptures
  • meditating and considering those words
  • singing our praises
  • thankfulness
  • intercession
  • prayer for ourselves

But I do believe that there is one essential aspect—stillness—which presents itself in two very needful ways:

1) actual physical-absence-of-distracting-noise quiet
(and, perhaps even more necessary,)
2) a quiet, still, peaceful heart

Our Lord recognized His need for quiet and time alone to pray to His Father.  If He, in His perfect sinless life, needed quiet time to be still and alone seeking the Father then we surely do also…and even more so! His example speaks clearly to us.

And in the morning, long before daylight,
He got up and went out to a deserted place,
and there He prayed.
Mark 1:35

…and great crowds gathered to hear Him and to be healed of their infirmities.
But He would withdraw to desolate places and pray.
Luke 5:15, 16

(Perhaps, when our Lord was alone, He sang words similar to those in that beautiful song we just listened to….)

And there is the second type of stillness—a quiet, still, peaceful heart.  Isn’t this something that each of us yearns for?  Truly I believe it can only be found as we seek Him.  There is a quietness that we are promised as we trust in our Lord.

Be still and rest in the Lord;
wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him;
fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way,
because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass.
Cease from anger and forsake wrath;
fret not yourself—it tends only to evildoing.
For evildoers shall be cut off,
but those who wait and hope and look for the Lord
shall inherit the earth.
Psalms 37:7-9

Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah.
Psalms 46:10 and 11

And. as Jesus Himself said to us,

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden
and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest.
[I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]
Matthew 11:28

In closing, consider these verses in which the psalmist speaks about his quiet time with his God.  As we intentionally pursue having quiet time alone with our God may we ‘pour out our heart before Him; God is a Refuge for us!’

For God alone my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation.
He alone is my Rock and my Salvation, my Fortress;
I shall not be greatly shaken.
For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from Him..
On God rests my salvation and my glory;
My mighty Rock, my Refuge is God.
Trust in Him at all times, O people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a Refuge for us. Selah
excerpts from Psalm 62

*  ~  ♥  ~  ✞  ~  ♥  ~  *

May I suggest, before you and I run along and jump into your ‘to-do’ list, that we each stop for a few minutes and be still and quiet before the throne of God…worshipping and giving Him our praise for the joy and privilege of these times of stillness and quiet alone with Him!  Oh, how He loves us so!

In The Stillness

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

Here in the stillness my heart is at rest
Alone in the silence, that’s where I hear You best
In the rush of the river, like a song in the breeze
It’s here in the stillness You speak to me

When I’m lost in Your Presence the world disappears
Taking all of my troubles…my burdens, my fears
Oh how gently You hold me, You are all that I see
It’s here in the stillness You speak to me

I will be still, I will stand in awe
Oh, just to know You are my God
You are my God

Yes it’s here in the stillness You speak to me
You speak to me
Oh speak to me

Singer/Songwriter – Ali Matthews

*  ~  ♥  ~  ✞  ~  ♥  ~  *

One of the absolute joys of the privilege we have to be in a relationship with our heavenly Father is our ‘quiet time’ with Him.  Not only is it such a joy but it is necessary to dwell in His presence…to choose to have a dedicated, purposeful, intentional, devoted quiet time.  Of course there are many different components that make up this time with God, such as:

  • reading the Scriptures
  • meditating and considering those words
  • singing our praises
  • thankfulness
  • intercession
  • personal prayer

But I do believe that there is one essential aspect—stillness—which presents itself in two very needful ways:

actual physical-absence-of-distracting-noise quiet
(and, perhaps even more necessary,)
a quiet, still, peaceful heart

Our Lord recognized His need for quiet and time alone to pray to His Father.  If He, in His perfect sinless life, needed quiet time to be still and alone seeking the Father then we surely do also…and even more so! His example speaks clearly to us.

And in the morning, long before daylight,
He got up and went out to a deserted place,
and there He prayed.
Mark 1:35

…and great crowds gathered to hear Him and to be healed of their infirmities.
But He would withdraw to desolate places and pray.
Luke 5:15, 16

(Perhaps, when our Lord was alone, he sang words similar to those in that beautiful song we just listened to….)

There is also another type of stillness—a quiet, still, peaceful heart.  Isn’t this something that each of us yearns for?  Truly I believe it can only be found as we seek Him.  There is a incomparable quietness that we are promised as we trust in our Lord.

Be still and rest in the Lord;
wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him;
fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way,
because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass.
Cease from anger and forsake wrath;
fret not yourself—it tends only to evildoing.
For evildoers shall be cut off,
but those who wait and hope and look for the Lord
shall inherit the earth.
Psalms 37:7-9

Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah.
Psalms 46:10 and 11

And. as Jesus Himself said to us,

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden
and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest.
[I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]
Matthew 11:28

In closing, consider these verses in which the psalmist speaks about his quiet time with his God.  As we intentionally pursue having quiet time alone with our God may we ‘pour out our heart before Him; God is a Refuge for us!’

For God alone my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation.
He alone is my Rock and my Salvation, my Fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.
For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from Him..
On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty Rock, my Refuge is God.
Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him;
God is a Refuge for us. Selah
excerpts from Psalm 62

*  ~  ♥  ~  ✞  ~  ♥  ~  *

May I suggest, before you run along and jump into your ‘to-do’ list, that we each stop for a few minutes and be still and quiet before the throne of God…worshipping and giving Him our praise for the joy and privilege of these times of stillness and quiet alone with Him!  Oh, how He loves us so!

16 Day Love Challenge: Chapter 1 – Patience

16daypatience

 

To Walk or Stay

I have a friend who is struggling with a situation in her life. The enemy is trying his best to steal, kill, and destroy all that she has. In the midst of this, God is reaching out to her and asking if she will walk in patience with Him. Will she give Him the time needed to turn this around?

We understand patience when the context is to be patient with our loved ones or others. But to be patient with God for the purpose of giving Him time to turn our situation around—this is asking a lot of a person, especially when they are looking back as a witness on the destruction of something that was once so promising.

I wonder if this post has found you in a place where God is asking you the same question: “Do you have the strength (patience) to turn to Me and let Me walk you through this?”

One of the most powerful things I have learned in my walk with God is that my trials tend to unmask my weaknesses. Once my weaknesses are revealed, I am left with a decision to make.

Will I walk away from the person and the situation or can I stand still and let God work to save my relationship?

In my pain and anger, I feel walking away would be the easy decision. After all, I have been hurt by this person and have a right to walk away. Entangled in my thoughts of leaving, I hear God’s voice softly speak to my heart.

The thing I LOVE about God is the fact that He is not demanding. He understands the hurt we have been through. He gets that our hearts can only take so much. So He gently asks us, “Will you walk away or can you stand still and wait for Me to turn your situation around?” James tells us why we should consider God’s request:

This you know, my beloved brethren. But let everyone be quick to hear,
slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man
does not achieve the righteousness of God.
James 1:19-20

Our anger (though understandable) will not achieve the righteousness God is looking for. He wants to develop Righteousness in our character and will use our trial as the vehicle to use when we are willing. Standing still means we are willing to not only be patient with Him, it says we are willing to recognize our weaknesses and walk through them -one by one.

Facing our unrighteousness can be tough. Sometimes this reveals where we are wrong in the situation. Facing ourselves means we are putting a Holy mirror in front of us. God’s Holiness reveals the areas we need to change. But God gives strength to those who are willing to be patient with Him…

But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31

God’s Word tells us that if we will wait on the Lord, He will renew our strength. We will mount up with wings like eagles. God spoke to my heart once again as I read this verse. Mounting up with wings is a promise to those of us who choose to walk in patience with Him to the end. The wings represent flight, or an easy flow of things. Once we overcome one of our weaknesses, the road ahead will be so much easier to navigate. Our character is strengthened and our relationship has the chance to turn around, as God is now able to use us as His vessels.

To the one who is reading this post and facing a trial of your own, I ask you the question: Will you walk or will you stand?  I pray you will choose to stand and let God turn your situation around.

* * * * * * *

Here are a few more verses to further encourage you:

And let us not lose heart in doing good,
for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary.
Galatians 6:9

And we urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly,
encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with all men.
1 Thessalonians 5:14

Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret, it leads only to evildoing.
For evildoers will be cut off,
But those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land.
Psalms 37:7-9

Cease striving and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.
Psalm 46:10

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk
in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,
with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
showing forbearance to one another in love,
Ephesians 4:1-2

Enter To Rest

SeekingHimLogoThe children in my class are laid down to rest for two hours each day.  Everyone does well laying quietly, except one.  This boy loves to talk, shout, and walk around during naptime. I constantly tell him to be quiet, lay down, and don’t talk so loud!  And he constantly does what he wants, while glancing at me to see if I’m watching.

I’m like this with God.  He gives me days of work and He gives me days of rest. Rest, to me, has always referred to sleeping or doing absolutely nothing.

However when I read Psalm 91:1, it gives me the impression that neither sleep or not doing anything is not what is being referred to in this verse.

Those who dwell in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

No, the type of rest that is being referred to is the type of rest that has always baffled me. It is the  kind of rest spoken of in Matthew 11:28-30.

Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

When I take a day off to rest, I don’t clean, won’t go anywhere, and I used to “take the day off” from spending time with God.

…For anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his,”
Hebrews 4:10

Resting, God’s rest, requires my heart to be quiet, and that’s no small feat.  And it definitely is not possible without God’s word.  To me, resting is the equivalent of  “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).  Know that You are God? Check!  Be still? Excuse me, what does that mean?  My body may not be in motion, but you better believe my heart is still doing laps around the concepts of “rest” and “be still.”

The best way to combat a restless heart is to dwell in the shelter of the Most High—

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God.  And the peace of God that transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7

In Hebrews 4:11 it says, “Make every effort to enter [God’s] rest.”  Every effort.  This rest doesn’t come naturally to our hearts, though our hearts were made for this rest, we have to be intentional!  When was the last time you wrote “rest” into your daily planner?  Schedule a heart rest…we all need it.

* * * * *

Thank You, Abba, for being so gracious to us that You saw our need for rest and created a way for us to enter into it.  Thank You for peace.  May we intentionally latch onto Your rest.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

Girls with Swords: Chapter 12 Sword of Silence – “A New Kind of Weapon” (Pgs 187-190)

We may not ever get justice in this world or this life, but believe me, God will have justice.

I’ve never thought of silence as a weapon, but it is. As I read this section of the book, I can think of countless situations where silence would have definitely been my best weapon. As a mom, when that precious child you’ve nurtured, built up, loved and protected comes home wounded by the words of her friends, and I pray for the strength to be silent when what I really want to do is get justice for her. When a husband isn’t doing things the way I would, I wish I had prayed to be silent. Oh what strength it takes to hold our tongues.

Because of my past, I was the topic of conversation at many dinner tables.  Even after I had a few years of a transformed life under my belt, rumors (and yes, the facts) were still spoken about me, hurting my children and me.  As much as I wanted to set the record straight—as much as you may want to set a record straight, or defend your husband, child, sister, or mother—as a child of the King we are to be different and choose a different weapon!  This time we are to trust that God, Who is all powerful, will fight for us and make all things right. It may not feel like it is right, but on this earth there will be injustice time after time. But take heart, dear Sister! He has overcome the world!

As this next scripture says:

Ex14_14.jpg

How perfect!  He knows our hearts. He knows when we have been wronged and He cries with us. He loves us so much and He’s always got our back.

Be silent. Be still. He is for you….

 *****

Let’s Pray:

Dear Heavenly Father, we come to You today needing strength only You can give; the strength to hold this powerful weapon silen—our tongues.  There’s a time for everything and may we listen to the Holy Spirit and allow You to guide and direct us and choose the right weapon at the right time.  Lord, You know our hearts and You know what we need from You and we praise You for bringing justice to us through the Cross.  We love You and thank You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Glorious Living w/ Coach Megan: Christ’s Ambassadors

GL header

2 Corinthians 5:20 and 21

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

*********************

 Merriam-Webster’s definition of Ambassador:

1: an official envoy; especially: a diplomatic agent of the highest rank accredited to a foreign government or sovereign as the resident representative of his or her own government or sovereign or appointed for a special and often temporary diplomatic assignment
2a: an authorized representative or messenger, b: an unofficial representative <traveling abroad as ambassadors of goodwill>

Being a Christ follower, I am who people look to in order to see what Christianity is like. If you are a Christ follower, you are, too. Our eternal home is in Heaven, and our job as ambassadors of Christ is to show people how amazing it’ll be through the way we live our life and how we interact with others…showing the love of Christ.

Why are we ambassadors? Jesus has instructed us to do so, in the Great Commission. In Mark 6:15 Jesus tell us to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” That is all the reason we need, right? So then why is it so HARD to just do it??? Fear of rejection? Afraid you won’t have all the answers? Why?

We are commissioned to NOT keep the good news to ourselves – it should be contagious! In Matthew 10:27,  Jesus tells us “What I tell you now in the darkness, shout abroad when daybreak comes. What I whisper in your ear, shout from the housetops for all to hear!” If you are called to do something by the Lord and you choose to ignore that calling, not only are you not receiving the full blessing of God, but think of all the lives who are also not receiving it! God put you on this earth for a specific reason and puts you in the different seasons and places you are in for His purpose to be done on the earth. If you are not seeking Him to guide you through this life, to give you the boldness to be His ambassador, just think of the many lives you are not affecting!

Before we can be ambassadors, we need to know the person we are representing. Think about it…if you took a job as an ambassador of a country you knew nothing about and had never been to, you wouldn’t be able to do a very good job of representing it, right? It makes sense then that in order for us to do a good job of representing Christ to an unbelieving world, we need to first spend time getting to know Him. This means that we need to be spending time with Him on a regular basis—reading His Word, spending time in prayer, and growing closer to Him. He is craving this relationship with you…. all relationships need work. Are you doing your part?

Being an ambassador of Christ means being “like Christ” and having a servant’s heart. We need to strive to:

  • Be kind and compassionate.
  • Challenge what is wrong.
  • Speak out for truth.
  • Be joyful.
  • Refuse to conform to society’s standards.
  • Have self-control.
  • Do things only to please God, not man.
  • Be spontaneous and creative.
  • Think of others rather than yourself.
  • Live out life in all its fullness.

We must have integrity in our words and actions. Integrity means that what you say, what you profess to believe, and what you actually do, match up. This is certainly an intentional process. For us to be effective ambassadors of Christ, we can’t go around claiming to love God and then not show that we love Him by our actions. Actions speak louder than words, right? It is imperative that our actions back the Word of God that we are professing. We are not perfect, we are human…but we can strive to do our best, intentionally, everyday for His Glory!

We must love people without any agenda. We don’t love people so that they will become Christians. We show love to them because they are God’s creation and sometimes, as a result of that, they will eventually come to accept Christ. We shouldn’t give up on loving them if after a few months it has had no visible spiritual impact. Loving people doesn’t mean doing good deeds begrudgingly for them because we feel as Christians that is what we should be doing. If that is the case, we are acting out of duty, not love.  Sometimes it can be hard, but we need to remember the example of Jesus. Many of the people He showed love to turned their back on him (such as the time he healed ten lepers, but only one came back to thank Him). We are working for a heavenly reward, not an earthly one…and that must remain at the front of our minds and hearts.

We must encourage people not to want to stay “on the outside looking in.”  This means making them want to be a part of the Christian community we are a part of. In Romans 11:14, Paul says “I want somehow to make the people of Israel [the non-believing Jews] jealous of what you Gentiles [the early Christians] have.”  If people see contentment, joy, and genuine passion when they look to us they are going to be curious. If all they see is people with the same doom and gloom as the godless world around them, they won’t be interested. Would you?

We must be openly honest about our faith, not hiding it when it is inconvenient. In Matthew 5:15, Jesus says “No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.” Because sharing your faith isn’t just about your words, it’s about actions, too. Here is a question to honestly ask yourself: If someone was watching your life 24/7 “Big Brother” style, how long would it take for them to realize you were a Christian? Would it be evident through the way you live your life, or would it take them until you went to church on Sunday to make the connection?

Hmmmmmm? OUCH!

Being an ambassador of Christ means being his hands and feet to a world that desperately needs God.

1 Corinthians 12:27 says that “All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.” You have probably heard the Casting Crowns song, If We Are the Body, which has a really challenging chorus for those of us who profess to be trying to be ambassadors of Christ.

“If we are the body,

Why aren’t His arms reaching, why aren’t His hands healing,

Why aren’t His words teaching, why aren’t His feet going,

Why is His love not showing them there is a way?”

If we REALLY are serious about being ambassadors of Christ, we need to reach out to the world through being Christ’s hands and feet.

Being an ambassador is what we have been called to do. It is not optional to the Christian life.

Ephesians 6:19 and 20

Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 

 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Blessings,

Coach Megan 🙂

Glorious Living w/ Coach Megan: Stress Management

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Dear Megan,

I have been feeling really overloaded and burned out lately and I’m not sure what to do to make it stop. I was on your GCH call last week and I completed the exercise you gave us and talked about in your blog last Friday…. but I just feel stuck with what to do next. I know I need to delegate more and God showed me some tasks He does not intend for me to do, but I feel like I could be handling it all (especially the stress) better. I’m hoping you can give me some advice on this!

~M.

Sweet sister,

Thank you for taking the first step by doing that exercise from last week ! I pray it was a blessing for you to be able to see in black and white how you are spending your precious resource of time. Our world makes it easy for us to feel overloaded, over burdened and over worked! What I heard through your cry for help is that you are looking for some practical stress-management tools to help you now that you are beginning to spend your time more wisely (as God intends you to).

Adopting healthy stress management skills will enable you to slow down, stop, yield and reduce speed at appropriate intervals on your path of life. In turn, your pace will be regulated and you will be lifted out of the ditch of overload and burnout. As you work through this exercise, you will see how you can begin to walk the road to transformation in the peaceful assurance that God will never call you to do more than He gives you time and ability to do (1 Thessalonians 5:24).

SLOW

{Slow down and make the necessary changes for good physical health}

  • Do you eat a balanced and healthy diet?
  • Do you exercise at least three times a week?
  • Do you take at least one day of rest per week?
  • Do you get adequate restful sleep most nights?

Psalm 127:2

 In vain you rise early and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—for he grants sleep to those he loves.

{Slow down and evaluate your priorities}

  • Do the exercise from last week if you have not done so (Link up above)
  • Consider other priorities that should be on the list
  • Choose your commitments with careful prayer
  • Eliminate unnecessary stressful obligations
  • Don’t accept impossible deadlines
  • Don’t give in to the pressure of urgency
  • Tackle only one problem at a time

Ecclesiastes 4:6

Better one handful with tranquility
    than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.

{Slow down and nourish your spiritual life}

  • Remind yourself daily to “be still, and know that (He is) God” {Psalm 46:10}
  • Open lines of honest communication with God about your concerns, needs, and fears
  • Set aside time daily for personal prayer and Scripture meditation
  • Memorize Scripture that builds assurance of God’s love {Psalm 36:7; Jeremiah 31:3; John 14:21; Romans 8:39}

Psalm 119:71

It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees

STOP

{Stop and look at the real reason you are experiencing stress}

  • Do you try to meet your own needs instead of waiting on the Lord?
  • Do you think God cannot accomplish His purposes without your over-achieving?
  • Do you seek self-worth through proving your adequacy and effectiveness?
  • Are you Spirit-led or people-pressured?

Galatians 1:10

Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people?  If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

{Stop, confess and turn away from any known sin in your life}

  • Do you manipulate or control others?
  • Do you feel envious or jealous of others?
  • Do you express your feelings inappropriately?
  • Do you overreact to criticism?
  • Do you have impure motives?

Proverbs 28:13

Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper,
    but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.

YIELD

{Yield to God’s sovereign control over your circumstances}

  • What is God doing in your circumstances?
  • In what way does God want you to change?
  • How does God want you to respond?
  • Do you have impure motives?

Proverbs 21:1

A king’s heart is like streams of water in the Lord’s hand:
He directs it wherever He chooses.

{Yield to God your rights and expectations}

Dear God,

  • “I yield my right to control my circumstances.”
  • “I yield my right to be accepted by others.”
  • “I yield my right to be successful.”
  • “I yield my right to be heard and understood.”
  • “I yield my right to be right.”

Proverbs 3:5

 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding

RESUME SPEED

{Resume speed, living in the presence of God}

Dear God,

  • “I choose to let Christ live His life through me.”
  • “I choose to live in the present, not worrying about tomorrow.”
  • “I choose to refocus my thoughts away from my pressures to Your purposes for allowing these pressures.”
  • “I choose to have a thankful heart regardless of the pressure I feel.”
  • “I choose to call on You, Lord, for wisdom and peace.”
  • “I choose to commit to talking less and listening more.”

Psalm 62:1

My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him

Blessings,

Coach Megan 🙂

Seeking Him – Quietness

This week in our current series, Seeking Him, we continue to look at one of the joys (and privilege!) of our relationship with our heavenly Father—our ‘quiet time’ with Him.  Each Saturday we have been looking in-depth at some of the more important aspects of a dedicated, purposeful, intentional, devoted quiet time.

Over the past few weeks we have thought about a few of these aspects, such as:

  • reading the Scriptures
  • singing our praises
  • being intentional—seeking Him
  • physically expressing ourselves: cry, kneel, raise hands, etc.
  • speaking out our ‘love’
  • praying

In addition to each of these, I do believe that quietness is required as a major component of a dedicated, purposeful, intentional, devoted quiet time.  Actual physical-absence-of-distracting-noise quiet…and perhaps even more important…quietness in our hearts.

Our Lord recognized His need for quiet.  If He, in His perfect sinless life, needed quiet time alone…we do also and even more so!  His example speaks clearly to us.

And in the morning, long before daylight, He got up and went out to a deserted place,
and there He prayed.

Mark 1:35

…and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities.
But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.

Luke 5:15, 16

There is also another type of quietness—a quiet, peaceful heart.  Isn’t this something that each of us yearns for?  Truly I believe it can only be found as we seek Him.  There is a incomparable quietness that we are promised as we trust in our Lord.

Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him;
fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way,
because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass.
Cease from anger and forsake wrath;
fret not yourself—it tends only to evildoing.
For evildoers shall be cut off,
but those who wait and hope and look for the Lord
shall inherit the earth.

Psalms 37:7-9

Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah.

Psalms 46:10 and 11

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened,
and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]

Matthew 11:28

Keep seeking Him and enjoy your quiet time with your Lord!  As you seek Him, He will be found…He has promised!

Jeremiah 29:12,13
Then you will call upon Me, and you will come and pray to Me,
and I will hear and heed you.
Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity]
and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Praying for each of you!  I know that the Lord will answer your heart’s cry as you are seeking Him with all your heart!

♥  coleen