WRITTEN BY: JULIE ACKERMAN LINK FOR OUR DAILY BREAD (4/15/12)
When my ophthalmologist says, “Be still,” I am still. I don’t argue. I don’t become defiant. I don’t stay busy behind his back. Why? Because he is a renowned eye surgeon who is trying to preserve my sight, and he needs my cooperation. I would be foolish to ignore his instructions.
So why am I not as cooperative in matters of spiritual stillness? God considers rest so important that He built it into the rhythm of life. Without rest we can’t see clearly; we begin to see ourselves as more important than we are.
After Elijah’s stressful confrontation with Ahab and Jezebel, he ran himself into a state of exhaustion. God sent an angel to care for him. During a time of stillness, “the word of the Lord came to him” (1 Kings 19:9). Elijah thought he alone was doing God’s work. He had been so zealous that he didn’t know that 7,000 others hadn’t bowed to Baal (v.18).
Some of us may fear what will happen if we sit still and stop working. But something worse happens when we refuse to rest. Without rest we cannot be spiritually or physically healthy. God heals while we rest.
Just as I needed stillness so that my eye could heal, we all need stillness so that God can keep our spiritual vision clear.
Christ never asks of us such busy labor
That leaves no time for resting at His feet.
The waiting attitude of expectation,
He often counts a service most complete. —Anon.
Our greatest strength may be our ability
to stand still and trust God.
READ: 1 Kings 19:1-12
1 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.
2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time.
3 And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.
4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.
5 And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.
6 And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again.
7 And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee.
8 And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.
9 And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?
10 And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
11 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake:
12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
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Thank you for reminding us Mychal.
Certaily there is the need for us to stop and rest on our journey. That time, like Jesus in the garden, is the perfect time for Prayer. I offer all of you this in the peace of this Sunday morning.
Unlock your hearts to the joyful secret of Prayer.
There is nothing we can ever do that is better for ourselves and/or mankind than turning our attention to our Infinite God humbly in thanksgiving, offering our lives and our work and praising him for his. But the problem is that we often without realizing it permit our finite thoughts and activities or work to overcome us by thinking we are or can become any thing more than simply a child of the Father we call God.
We must first realize and accept that being his child is quite enough. What more could you want than that? For heavens sake, isn’t that the greatest thing you could imagine, being the offspring of the God of the universe? Once you take the time to put your arms around that truth you can begin to understand just what you are, where you are, and gain control of your thoughts in order to properly direct the life graciously given to you by your FATHER.
Jesus, the one you call Lord, the one you hope to follow, the one who teaches us, the one who was sent from the Father to redeem us from our confusion and sin first and always acted, taught, prayed and worked …in the name of the Father. His Father’s business was all he ever had on his mind and couldn’t wait to begin being involved in it even as a child.
Do you really think there is a better thing to do with your life than what Jesus did with his? It is good that we try to follow the lead of Christ in our daily lives giving help to those in need and spreading God’s truth and message of love, mercy, and forgiveness. But never ever forget that what he said or did and the message he gave was that of the Father through their Spirit. This is the same spirit which he sent to his church at Pentecost and on to us after he returned to the Father.
Understanding this we, like Christ, recognize it is the Father’s work we too must be doing and as such we report to him, we go to him for instruction, we ask him for help, and we praise and thank him for our being. How wonderful it is to know and be known by the one who Christ addressed as our father (who is) in heaven and what power and majesty he possesses and that he knows each and every one of us by name and all he asks is that we acknowledge him for who He is. This is the secret that leads us to the joy of personal prayer.
You see, through the works he preformed, our master the Teacher came humbly in human form into our world with great love to gather and instruct God’s children. He proved to all to be God among us as the Spirit had named him at the time of His conception. Thus our merciful and almighty God revealed He would humbly go so far as to be human…. for our sake. Now, the Spirit of Love at Pentecost comes to the disciples, and through them, to all humanity to give us the strength and courage to go forth in His name accepting the challenge to do God’s work on earth…. for His sake.
Our own spirit, made in the image of our creator, now calls upon our humility before the God of the universe, our own Father, to accept the relationship and realize we are not alone anymore. We have all the backing we will ever need to live our life in peace no matter what the challenges of this world sends our way. Know that your ever loving mercifully forgiving always available Father is eternally in control.
It all comes down to this. We have in Christ through God’s Devine LOVE for mankind the armor for the battle against the Evil One who was able in the beginning to convince our first parents man was designed to be more than the simple beloved children of the living God. The Deceiver, a more powerful spirit than man but no match for the creator, proved to be a kidnaper of the Fathers children hoping to lie and make all who would join him captives of corruption. Jesus, God’s very Word and Truth was mercifully sent by the Father to dispel the lie and reclaim the misguided lost and stolen for Him. All those who will believe in Him, regardless of their errors, are welcome to return home with Christ to the love and protection of the Father who alone can give eternal comfort to their spirit. Those who chose not to believe and reject the Father’s love will be lost forever along with the Evil One who despises the Truth.
Pray then, as Jesus did, to your Father in heaven seeking his help and guidance as any obedient child would do knowing how much they are loved. Be mindful always that the Father gives solutions not as this world would conceive but as His eternal Truth would in justice have it. Trust, as Jesus did, that what you ask and what you seek within the Divine Will of our all knowing and loving Father, in his time and his wise judgment, shall be granted to you.
This surrender to Truth will set your heart free in humility and honor to approach the One who loves you. That heart, at ease with our almighty Father, before it even begins to speak will hear his voice saying …Peace to you my child… and our burdens are lifted, life and prayer become joy.
bill sr: very poignant…thk you much…
Blessings to you Bill SR. Eternity with Our God, and you my brother, what joy lies ahead.