"BE STILL"

Scripture: Psalm 46:10  

A few days ago my wife noticed a strange vehicle in our subdivision release two pit bull dogs. She called animal control to report the incident. Later that evening while she was in the back yard she heard the dogs bark from under the neighbor's deck. She slowly walked to our deck as the dogs followed and then she realized the door was locked. She struggles to move some of the deck furniture to block the stairs in hopes that the dogs would not leap over to attack her. Fortunately the dogs went away. A few minutes pass and my wife decides to go through the garage to enter the house only to discover that the dogs were in the garage. Slowly she walks to the front door as the dogs followed her and discovered that door was locked as well. She dials 911 and they give her one instruction...."be still." The emergency operator dispatched animal control and for what seemed like hours, my wife stood still as the dogs seemingly dared her to move. Animal control arrived and captured the dogs.

Psalm 46:10 reads "Be still and know that I am God." "Be still" in Hebrew literally means "to weaken oneself." It has the connotation that this is not the time to act strong and flex your muscles. Any sign of aggression would have caused the dogs to attack. "Be still" means to "drop ones hands." It carries the idea that there is little, if anything else you can do. All natural human efforts have been exhausted and it's time for supernatural intervention. "Be still" gives us permission to realize that we are weak in this situation while simultaneously knowing that He is strong. These are those occasions in life when God orders us to give Him center stage that He might show that He is indeed GOD.

Yours may not be pit bulls in the literal sense but it may be a child on drugs. It may be a foreclosure situation or any number of challenges where your efforts have been exhausted. Sylvester Stewart wrote a song that Donnie McClurkin sang. One part of the song says "what do you when you've given your all and it seems like you can't make it through? Well you just stand when there's nothing left to do. You just stand; watch the Lord see you through. After you've done all you can, you just stand. "Experience the sufficiency of GOD'S power as you acknowledge the inadequacy of your own. Be still.