From the Rev. Deacon Larry Barnhill Reflection for 24 Nov. 2013 Psalm 46:10-Be Still and Know that I am God This particular verse is a great bit of advice which the Lord has given to us all. In today’s modern society we have become so dependent upon our gadgets and being “plugged in” that we have, for the most part, forgotten how to unplug and do nothing. Being still and knowing God is not just doing nothing. Instead, it actually involves intentional actions on our part. We have to make a true mental effort to shake off our fleshy nature. Our minds inhabit our flesh and despite what we may want or wish to believe, our flesh is constantly in and of the world. Thus our natural tendency is to focus or shift our focus onto the things of the world. This is what happened to the Apostle Peter as he was walking on the water towards Jesus. When Peter was able to quiet and still his mind, he was able to focus solely upon Christ, to draw upon Christ’s power, and walk upon the water. Now when Peter let his flesh gain control and thus intrude upon his spiritual quietness, he lost his focus upon Christ. When this occurred, Peter became overwhelmed by the world, its lies, its distractions, and its concerns. Thus he began to sink and panic set in. Peter lost his focus. His conscious and intentional focus of mind, body, and spirit upon Christ was shifted and the worries of the world sought to pull him down and separate him from Christ. When we can let go and find our quietness in and with God we are able to draw upon his power and overcome the worries of the world. Peter was lifted up out of the water to safety by Christ. Christ wants to do the same for us, we just have to focus upon him, reach out in faith, and let him lead our thoughts and our focus in life. All of this brings us back to an age old debate of what the Sabbath day is and what is its role in our lives today. The Sabbath day was a day ordained by God himself for we, mankind as a whole, to be quiet, still, and spend time in prayer and reflection so that we can truly and deeply know God. More importantly, it was created as a day in which we can deepen our focus upon God, His creation, and our role in it. The Sabbath was to be one day out of each seven in which we honor God by being still and refraining from our secular works. This stillness was to include, in the original context of Scripture, any and all of our servants and our beasts of burdens. In today’s modern setting this can be transcribed and expanded to mean we are to include our families, our employees, our places of work, and what we use to do that work. We are to take one day and just be quiet, still, and bask in the glory of God and in doing so we are called to honor and worship Him as we enjoy the beauty of His creation. Traditionally the Sabbath day has been on a Sunday, but the day we take to be quiet and with God can be any day. We just need to do it. The tradition of Sunday as the day of the Sabbath came from an edict by the Roman Emperor Constantine who declared that Sunday would be a day of work cessation and rest so that the people could worship God. Christ himself states that we are to take one day out of seven to rest from our work and spend time with God the Father. In that rest we are to quiet our souls so that we can see, hear, and feel God in all of the splendor and glory of His creation. Therefore as you go to a time of prayer today, seek to be still, know and see God, and then give Him the due glory that His work deserves.
Posted on: Sun, 24 Nov 2013 01:57:26 +0000
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