Be still

November has almost come to an end. This is the first Sunday in the last six months I am working, I think. Yes I have missed some Sundays because of overseas mission trips. But today, it is work. Circumstances had forced me to juggle work with more overriding demands. I really thank God for my colleagues who have been extremely kind and accommodating my shift changes. 

But today gave me some time from hectic Sunday  schedules and to ruminate. As I sit in the office and reflect on what has transpired over the last trying months, I am reminded of the song “Be still”, especially the lyrics:

When the oceans rise

And the thunders roar

I Will soar with You

Above the storm

Father You are King

Over the flood

And I will be still

And know You are God

Those words resonate with the scriptures, where David wrote in Psalms 46:10 - “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

But the issue is not God. The test is for me to keep still. Yes, there were many opinions to compel me to take actions that “will keep the church free from further harassment”. “It’s all legal”. But the Lord taught me over the years, that there are some boundaries in leadership one cannot trespass, though the line may be a shrill one.

Ravi Zacharias in one of his insights said that a true leader is one who is humble and one who will not allow wrong doctrines to enter the church. I second that requirement and I believe God has given me the grace to guard the “doctrines handed down to us by our forefathers”, without any conciliation. Anyone who falls short of it is not fit to be a leader, Ravi said.

But going to the law for protection? I think that is a boundary not to be crossed unless forced into it by external sources beyond your control. It in times like this that one needs to be tranquil and know He is God. You see, talk is cheap but obeying the Word is the real concern.

Why we can keep still?

1.  God is in control

• Rom 8:28 - And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

2.  God cares for me more than me myself.

• Mat 5:26 - Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 

3.  God knows my future

• Jer 29:11 - For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

4.  God never makes a mistake

• Num 23:19 - God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfil?

With all these assurances, why do I have to fret? Is there any need for me to take action?  Psalms 94:22 - But the LORD has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge.

When we dare to trust God and praise Him to take charge, the enemies will fight amongst themselves and kill each other. The battle is won without you engaging in it.  2 Chro 20:22 is a case in point. I have witnessed this over and over again. That is the kind of God we serve, but you need to "Be Still".

And another thing I have learnt, Don’t destroy the church or else God will destroy you.