Be Still And Surrender - Rev. Bernadette Towers
“Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
Submitted by: Rev. Bernadette Towers
I woke up with Psalm 118:24 on my mind, this is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it. I felt full of joy as I began my day. I also felt very thankful for another day to give God praise.
As I pondered the words throughout the morning at work. I thought to myself, what can I do to bring Glory to my Lord? Later in the day I suddenly found myself thinking about the past several months and considered the work I had done for the Lord. Shortly after this, I found myself struggling. As I came home from work I became overwhelm with sadness as I realized that I was not as busy working in the Kingdom as I had for so long.
By the time I was ready for prayer, I was a mess. I heard voices of conflict. I heard, “you are a failure, a disappointment to God”, but at the same time, I also heard, be still. However, the words failure and disappointment seemed louder and more consistent. These thoughts surrounded me for a long while and began to hinder my prayer time with the Lord.
I took a deep breath, sat down, put Christian music on and took my Bible into my hands. I knew and know God’s voice, and I knew He would not speak to me this way. I would and the enemy would, but not God. So, I needed to clear the voices of contradiction and stop this conflict. I read Psalms 118:24, and shortly after I found myself on Proverbs, 16:9, A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps. I then heard, Be Still and know that I am God (Ps. 46:10a). At that very moment a peace came over me and the voices of conflict stopped. I was finally able to go into prayer, to praise my God and seek Him with an empty mind, and open ears.
During my time of prayer, I realized that, I was the voice of conflict. I was fighting a spirit of guilt for stepping back and slowing down. Even though I knew I was following God, I was still struggling. I cried out to God and asked for forgiveness and for Him to help me. I had to confess that I didn’t know how to be still. Oh, how loving and patient our God is, He spoke and, I heard Him say, “Be Still Bernadette, Be Still and Know that I am God. Draw near to Me, and I will draw near to you. This is a season of refreshing, of growth, a time for silence and stillness, a time for you to listen and learn”.
I must confess to you, that it is not easy for me to be still. In fact, it has been a challenge, however, I am happy to say; by God’s Grace I am overcoming this challenge. I have no guilt, and I have peace knowing that I am where God wants me to be. I am in a place of increase, in His presence filled with joy. I have learned that seasons of silence and stillness are seasons for us to go deeper, draw closer, nearer to God so he can refresh us, teach us and increase us.
I felt compelled to share this with you. If God has asked you to be still, to slow down, or even give up something. Do it! He has a reason for everything! Yes, it can be a struggle, but the struggle cannot compare to the joy of His presence.