"Be still, and know that I am God."

Rowing out to sea,
Can't see far ahead,
Afraid to lose my bearings,
Can't remember what the map said.

Waves come up to swallow me,
My boat rocks to and fro,
Crying, I crouch in the bottom,
Trying to stay very low.

I don't want to look up,
The rain beats down on me,
No one is near to help,
There is no where to flee.

Then a light breaks through the clouds,
And I hear a voice calling,
'When ever have I failed to catch you,
As downwards you were falling?'

A single word I could not hear,
Calms the stormy waves,
Someone lifts me from the boat,
And me He gently saves.

Embarrassed I remember,
That He had said,
'Stay right beside me,
And I'll keep you safe and fed.'

Gently He hugs me,
Saying it's alright,
He still loves me even now,
And I'm back in His light.



Often, we forget to follow the map and listen to the guide. Life is a trip leading to a city and Jesus is our guide. When we look to change things, we are at a turning. And when God closes that door to that change, He is saying, "In order to get to the right place at the right time, you need to stay to the straight path a while longer."

There are also times when we want to stay to the straight path when we need to turn. When we don't listen to His gentle probing, sometimes he has to shoe in the right direction. Sometimes He has to send stormy seas in order to make us remember to listen.

And then there are times when He says, "Be still."

"Be still, and know that I am God," Psalms 46:10a. In life, we rush and we need to be reminded to slow down and remember what God did. He lived. He died. He rose again. Be still, and know that He is God. I challenge you to stop moving, stop thinking about everything else for a moment, stop trying to cope with the turmoil and simply be still. He is bigger than all our problems and if we slow down, take a deep breath and listen, we can hear His love.

When we are hurting, it is hard to remember to stay on the path. Or sometimes, we just freeze and don't go anywhere. We hide. We don't remember that God can heal. We ask, "Where are you, God? Don't you see I'm hurting?" But God has said, "I am the Lord that healeth thee," Exodus 15:26b. He made this promise to the Isrealites but He makes it to us too. He loves us, and if we let Him, He will heal us.

Mandy