Joyful Expectation | December 4
Be still and know that I am God
Psalm 46:10 (NIV)
Stop and realize that I am God
Psalm 46:10 (Beck’s)
“Praise Him in the hallway”“God doesn’t close doors without opening a window” “If nothing ever changed, there would be no butterflies”“And if not, He is still good” These are some of phrases you hear when you find yourself in a place of change or transition. This last one has spoken deeply to me and is often cited as Daniel 3:18. It is not a direct translation but more of a synopsis of the faith journey of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The faith to be able to know that no matter if you find yourself in a fiery furnace or not, in the end He is God and He is good. Luckily, my faith journey has not involved any fiery furnaces to date but many times I have found myself facing a spot where I needed to trust God and affirm, He is good.
My graduation from Ball State with a degree in education during a time when only 25% of my class found a teaching position (and I wasn’t one of them) was the first time I discovered Psalm 46:10. I didn’t know it was a psalm then because I only knew the phrase “Be Still and Know”. “Be Still and Know” became a way for me to slow my whirling, fiery brain and start learning to trust in something unseen. Later my journey included a teaching position in a new state, a husband, three children, and two houses. Along the way of not always knowing the next steps, I found a little more of my centering verse: “Be Still and Know that I Am”.
The great “I Am” continued to calm my whirling, fiery brain and force me to trust that all will be right in the end. Shortly before the next “between place” of a lost job and a move to a new state, I found a plaque of the entire verse of Psalm 46:10. The final piece of what I always knew was completed in the only way it could be – with God. The Psalm was one of the first things to hang in our new Wisconsin kitchen. From its’ place, I have been reminded through several “between places” to stop, be still and know God. My whirling, fiery brain is slowed for moments and my trust is challenged and grown.
As I am facing a large “between place” of an empty nest and searching for new work, I found an addendum to my centering verse “and if not, He is still good”. This melds my verse with another phrase that has seen me through the dark places of loved ones going home to heaven, “God is Good…Always”. My whirling, fiery brain is slowed, my trust is secure, and I know that wherever the next place is, it is Good because He is already there.
by Emily Thomson
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This post is part of a series of Advent Reflections – “Joyful Expectation”
Learn more about the series at gslcwi.com/advent
