Editor's Note: The following is excerpted from Wait While God Works.
Psalm 46:10 (NKJV)10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!
We are not in control of the world God is. We are not really in control of our futures, God is. The only response to our problems or our condition is to "be still" and turn them over to God.
The Latin imperative for “be still” is to vacate (from which we get the word vacation), so God is inviting us to take a break and allow him to be God in our daily lives. In addition the word translated “know” refers not only to intellectual knowledge but also to knowing God through worship and obedience. In your daily life, what might it look like to actually put into practice these definitions of stillness and knowledge.
Most of us don’t find it easy to be still and wait on God.” We keep taking on responsibilities and trying to accomplish more and more in our strength. Yet many faithful followers of God who have gone before us have learned to live life with a keen awareness of God’s perspective and our human frailty.
We can learn some to the benefits of waiting on God from these scriptures.
Psalm 37:4-7 (NKJV)4 Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.5 Commit your way to the LORD, Trust in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday.7 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 brings wicked schemes to pass.
1 Peter 5:6-7 (NKJV)6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
Matthew 6:31-32 (NKJV)31 Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
Isaiah 30:18 (NKJV)18 Therefore the LORD will wait, that He may be gracious to you; And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him.
2 Peter 3:8-9 (NKJV)8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
Psalm 145:8-13 (NKJV)8 The LORD is gracious and full of compassion, Slow to anger and great in mercy.9 The LORD is good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works.10 All Your works shall praise You, O LORD, And Your saints shall bless You.11 They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom, And talk of Your power,12 To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, And the glorious majesty of His kingdom.13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.
Isaiah 40:31 NKJV 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.
The word still is a translation of the Hebrew word rapa, meaning “to slacken, let down, or cease.”, to let go, surrender.
To be still means to stop frantic activity. The meaning would be best understood to say “cause yourself to become restrained or to let go”. For Christians being “still” would involve looking to the Lord for their help. In other words, we need to come to a place where we are willing to submit ourselves to God and acknowledge that He is in sovereign control.
Exodus 14:13 (NKJV)13 And Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.
This command—“be still”—forces us to realize that we are finite, and that God is infinite, that He’s in control, He’s sovereign over our lives, He’s Lord of heaven and earth.
Romans 14:11 (NKJV) For it is written: "As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God."
Being still doesn’t mean that there won't be trouble. It is remembering that He promised to never leave or forsake us.
Deuteronomy 31:6 (NKJV) Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake
Psalm 46:10 (NKJV)10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!
We are not in control of the world God is. We are not really in control of our futures, God is. The only response to our problems or our condition is to "be still" and turn them over to God.
The Latin imperative for “be still” is to vacate (from which we get the word vacation), so God is inviting us to take a break and allow him to be God in our daily lives. In addition the word translated “know” refers not only to intellectual knowledge but also to knowing God through worship and obedience. In your daily life, what might it look like to actually put into practice these definitions of stillness and knowledge.
Most of us don’t find it easy to be still and wait on God.” We keep taking on responsibilities and trying to accomplish more and more in our strength. Yet many faithful followers of God who have gone before us have learned to live life with a keen awareness of God’s perspective and our human frailty.
We can learn some to the benefits of waiting on God from these scriptures.
Psalm 37:4-7 (NKJV)4 Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.5 Commit your way to the LORD, Trust in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday.7 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 brings wicked schemes to pass.
1 Peter 5:6-7 (NKJV)6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
Matthew 6:31-32 (NKJV)31 Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
Isaiah 30:18 (NKJV)18 Therefore the LORD will wait, that He may be gracious to you; And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him.
2 Peter 3:8-9 (NKJV)8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
Psalm 145:8-13 (NKJV)8 The LORD is gracious and full of compassion, Slow to anger and great in mercy.9 The LORD is good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works.10 All Your works shall praise You, O LORD, And Your saints shall bless You.11 They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom, And talk of Your power,12 To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, And the glorious majesty of His kingdom.13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.
Isaiah 40:31 NKJV 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.
The word still is a translation of the Hebrew word rapa, meaning “to slacken, let down, or cease.”, to let go, surrender.
To be still means to stop frantic activity. The meaning would be best understood to say “cause yourself to become restrained or to let go”. For Christians being “still” would involve looking to the Lord for their help. In other words, we need to come to a place where we are willing to submit ourselves to God and acknowledge that He is in sovereign control.
Exodus 14:13 (NKJV)13 And Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.
This command—“be still”—forces us to realize that we are finite, and that God is infinite, that He’s in control, He’s sovereign over our lives, He’s Lord of heaven and earth.
Romans 14:11 (NKJV) For it is written: "As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God."
Being still doesn’t mean that there won't be trouble. It is remembering that He promised to never leave or forsake us.
Deuteronomy 31:6 (NKJV) Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake
While You Wait, God Is Working on You
By Rick Warren
“God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart” (Deuteronomy 8:2 NIV).
If every prayer were answered immediately, if every need were instantly met, and if every problem were automatically solved, your faith would never be stretched. You’d be spoiled. You’d have no need for faith!
We’re humans, and we don’t like to wait. We hate it! We don’t like to wait in a doctor’s office or in a grocery store line or at stop signs. And you’d better not make us wait for our food at a restaurant!
But life is full of waiting. The Israelites had to learn this reality. Deuteronomy 8:2 says, “God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart” (NIV). The journey the Israelites made from Egypt to Israel should have only taken a few weeks. But it took them 40 years! They wandered around and around because of their disobedience to God. And as they were experiencing one delay after another, God was testing them. He wanted to see what kind of faith they had.
God uses delays to test us, too, to see what kind of faith we have.
Do you ever feel in a hurry but believe God isn’t? God’s timing is perfect, but often his timetable doesn’t match ours. When we’re in a hurry, we always ask the “when” questions. “Lord, when am I going to find employment again?” “When am I going to find that right person to marry?” “When am I going to have a baby?” “When am I going to get well?” “When are you going to answer my prayer?”
Maybe you are in God’s waiting room right now. It’s not a lot of fun. But it is a necessary time of building your faith.
The Bible says in Isaiah 64:4, “Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him” (NIV).
This means that while you’re waiting, God is working. You may not be able to see it. It may be behind the scenes. But while you’re waiting for that answer to prayer, for that thing to change, for the circumstances to be different, God is working—and he’s working on you.
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