Can We Just Stop For A While?

                                   Can We Just Stop For A While?

How many times as a child did we object to a loving adult as they tenderly attempted the removal of a splinter or a shard of glass shoved deep into the sole of a barefoot?

Being a youth raised in the country and allowed to run the woods and streams at will, I can remember many times when in my barefoot wonderment there would suddenly be a sharp deep pain as another thorn, or stem would find a place deep in the bottom of a foot. After the initial surprise of pain and the knowing that this will be an issue that I likely will not be able to resolve on my own, I begin to dig and squeeze in the hopes that it will be removed by willful stubbornness. I dig and squeeze and poke and dig some more,even as experience is telling me that I am only forcing it deeper into the flesh and the only thing that my futile effort is accomplishing is to make a painful wound, larger and deeper. Eventually, after a time of discomfort, of pain, of the realization of futility to continue on in my own effort , I sheepishly visit the one who I know without a doubt is very adept at meeting my need of the removal of an object which is causing my discomfort.

Lovingly and with a knowing look upon her face, she puts her glasses on her face, she goes to her sewing box, takes out her tweezers and a needle and begins the task of calming me down, before she excises the problem.

You have been there, and so have I, more times than I can remember. Be still, I would be encouraged, don't flinch, it will only make it worse, don't kick, don't shout, don't cry, don't move, because every time a physical objection would be made the discomfort of the action would be obvious.

Eventually, I would for just a moment close my eyes, and stop struggling against the one who was helping me, and suddenly the declaration was made, that there, it is out and look after all that, it wasn't that big of a splinter after all.

Somethings just don't change, do they?

In every stage of life, most of us, (well maybe just me) struggle to meet expectations that others have imposed, or likely just expectations that we have placed upon ourselves.

Expectations that are difficult to meet, and so the struggle begins again, being unsettled, unsatisfied with anything, either physically, emotionally, or spiritually. We begin again to strain, to tug, to pull, to think over and over again, that there is nothing that we (I) cannot handle on my own. To say foolishly, well; I got my self into this and I will get myself out of it. Only to be met with another failure.

Can we stop there and can we go to scripture and examine three records in which we are given instruction, in both warning and in remedy?

In the Old Testament we read in the Book of Isaiah in chapter 30 and verses 15 thru 18,

we see God talking again to those who are called by His Name.

vs. 15 For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength, and ye would not. 16. But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee; and; We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift. 17. One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee; till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill. 18. And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you; for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.

What have we just read? Israel is in need of help, in need of healing, in need of ministry, and the God whom supplies all of that and more is willing and waiting upon a people who have made the decision to do things on their own, because after all they have gotten themselves into this and can within their own power get themselves out of the mess that they are in.

In vs 15 we see that God has lovingly told them that in returning to Him shall salvation and revival come, in quietness and in rest will their problems cease, and yet even with this promise they would do neither. 16. The people had prescribed for themselves their own remedy, they would gather more and gather the best, for that will satisfy their predicament. 17. They are told that in so doing that they would be overwhelmed by those who had more and who had better, and that they would be seen as a visible and convenient target.

Its not easy to be the king of the mountain, as every one now has you in their sights.

The more that we struggle against the willingness of God to move in the midst of our problems, the more we find ourselves in problems that we should have never incurred.

In another passage in the Old Testament we read in the Book of Psalms ch 46 and verse 10, an invitation to find relief from our struggles and in return to find a revival of faith in our hearts.

vs. 10. Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

What a simple cure for all of our struggling for all of our objection to the application of good to our lives, to the failure of self sufficiency what an ease of the pain of a thorn embedded in our flesh and our psyches.

There is a word spoken in Hebrew which can be interpreted to mean, "to slacken, or to let down, or to cease." The same word "rapa" can be used to mean "to drop, to be weak, or to faint." The word 'rapa' is the word "BE STILL.

If we can only BE STILL. If we can only BE STILL. If we can only BE STILL.

What salvation, what healing, what revival would be experienced if we would only BE STILL and let Him remove our failures, heal our wounds, infuse our hearts with His Word.

We must learn to be still and let Him do the work for us. He says that He wants to, He says that He will.

In the New Testament we read of an instance when God in the form of man, instructed a few of His followers to come with Him, alone.

Matthew 17 vs 1. And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart. 2. And was transfigured before them; and his face did shine as the sun., and his raiment was white as the light. 3. And, behold, there appeared unto them, Moses and Elias talking with him. 4. Then answered Peter and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. 5. While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. 6. And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face and were sore afraid. 7. And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. 8. And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only.

Revival starts with just a few, and a few is all that it takes to change the spiritual climate of a family of a congregation or of a nation. The few saw Him changed into a spiritual being and noticed that He was talking to men who had long been physically dead, proving that He is the God that was and the God that is,which surely means that He will be God in the time to come as well. As could be predicted, men who were struggling with self sufficiency decided that they must do something in order to validate themselves. Suddenly they were shocked into the realization that "rapa" should occur, they needed only to listen to the voice of Jesus, nothing more. "Rapa" did occur as they fell to their faces, knowing that any effort from this point forward would be in violation of the command of God. As they lay "rapa" the Christ touches them, encouraging them to now arise, and be not afraid.

In that moment of revival they saw no man, they only saw the reviver, Jesus.

I will no longer struggle, I will resist the urge to fight my own battles, monuments to man will be meaningless, and I will be thankful for all that I am learning, and I will BE STILL.