STILL WATERS
STILL WATERS
Well, are you ready? Is your tree up? Presents wrapped? Meals planned? Groceries shopped for? Parties attended? I can mark off most of those things. Can you? At the writing of this blog, it is only six days till Christmas. I am getting out on Monday, like all the other crazy people, to mark off my grocery list. It is such a busy, sometimes stressful time of the year. A time when we wear ourselves out preparing for. But what have we pushed to the background? By the end of one day, I sat down just worn out. I sat still and realized, I had forgotten to read my Bible. Had I remembered to pray that day?
There is a song by Leanna Crawford called “Still Waters” taken from Psalm 23. I love the words and thoughts that go along with this song. Psalm 23:2 reads “He makes me lay down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.” We are called sheep all throughout the Bible. Sheep do not feel secure, nor will they lay down, when they hear a disturbance or intruder that scares them. Sheep are afraid of flowing streams. God’s provision of still waters has a soothing effect and calms the sheep. They can feel secure, calm, peaceful and lie down.
Here are a few of the words to the song referred to above. “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He leads me by still waters ‘til my fears are gone. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, oh, I know You are with me, my Father, my friend. Your goodness and mercy will follow me all of my days. I know by Your still waters, I’m safe. Lord, I believe You can set me at ease. Turn this broken piece in me to peace and quiet. I know there’s power in Your word…I’m laying fear down here at Heaven’s riverside. Your word has been true in every season of my life. I believe, yes, I believe.”
It is okay to acknowledge difficult, hard feelings and turn to faith and honesty with God during times of anxiety, pain, trials, and in anything that feeds stress into our hearts. The song above was inspired by her great-aunt who memorized much of the Bible when she knew she was going blind. When we have God in our hearts, through study of the Bible, the presence of God provides safety and calm even in the darkest, most anxious moments of life. We should come to God in prayer laying our burdens and raw emotions down at His feet in all sincerity and faith, telling God about our feelings of doubt, fear, and struggle. God does not require us to be perfect or our best selves. He just wants us to reach out and turn to Him through prayer and faith.
It is normal to have these God created emotions that tend to overwhelm us, making us feel: lonely, depressed, stressed and any other raw emotions that tend to make us feel they will swallow us whole. I have found in the hardest times of my life, I try to solve a difficult situation by myself, but then realize I am getting nowhere and sometimes, even, making it more difficult. Then, I turn to God to help me and throw the hardship at His feet and hand it over to Him. When I have done that, the feeling of peace, still waters, washes over me.
I know personally, of: a family who just lost a loved one and there is an empty seat at their Christmas table-someone who has been waiting for a liver transplant and has now received it, now starting the process of recovery-someone who found and is now dealing with the pain of a loved one who had committed suicide-someone feeling the affects of depression-someone who does not feel they are worthy of the love of God-someone with four kids, who is trying to navigate through this time of year without their spouse, because he has been deployed in the Navy, for several months already and will not be home till spring-someone who is trying to care for their aged loved one in their home and all the challenges that brings-someone who is dealing with trouble and anger with family and they aren’t even getting with them this time of year. Who knows, this might be the last holiday their loved one or even themselves will be alive.
Philippians 4:6-7 reads “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” We can’t understand how God can give us much needed peace by turning to Him. But He can. He can lead us to still waters. We just have to stop, be still, turn to God and let Him fill your heart with peace.
Enjoy the holidays with all the beautiful things it brings! Thank you, God, that you can fill our hearts with peace, when we rest by still waters and just take in the glory of our heavenly Father! Turn to Him!
Till next time!
Keela