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“Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for him to act.”
Psalm 37:7a (NLT)
I’m usually a King James Version fan because while it’s not perfect, it seems to take fewer liberties with interpretation than a lot of the new versions do. However, my uncle read Psalm 37 in the New Living Translation during devotions one morning while we were on vacation this past week, and this verse really jumped out at me. In the King James Version the verse reads, “Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him.” Very similar, but the NLT brought out a few nuances that I liked.
Be still…stop your clamor, your busy thoughts, your constant scrambling to fix things
Wait patiently for him to act…just give it up, you can’t do it yourself, it has to happen on His schedule or it won’t be right
Can you tell I’m still thinking about my computer that has been out of commission for two weeks now? And somehow this verse ties into the whole surrender thing. Again. I’m obviously still in need of some training in this department, but thanks to God’s continual schooling, I’m feeling progress.
I hope that verse blesses you as much as it did me. I encourage you to read the rest of the chapter in the NLT as well; there are some really neat, practical phrases spread throughout the chapter (you can read it here).
The verse reminded me of a song I was listening to the other day: “Be Still My Soul”. I was listening to it on this CD by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. “Peace Like a River” is a great CD, by the way. It has a whole slew of my favorite songs on it, including a lot of beautiful pieces by John Rutter (one of my all-time fave choral composers). Anyway, I couldn’t find a copy of the song on YouTube, so I’m linking to a version by Libera instead. The lyrics are below; they’re very powerful:
Be still, my soul; the Lord is on thy side;
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul; thy best, thy heavenly, Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
Be still, my soul; thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul; the waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.
Be still, my soul, though dearest friends depart
And all is darkened in the vale of tears;
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrows and thy fears.
Be still, my soul; thy Jesus can repay
From His own fullness all He takes away.
Be still, my soul; the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul; when change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.
Cheryl Smith says
This was such an encouragement to me today, Brianna. I, too, mostly only read the King James Version. But, I do like to explore the other versions to add clarity sometimes. I have never read this in this version, and it was a real comfort to me today. It goes right along with what God has been dealing with me about. We are going through some very fiery trials, and things are so hard to understand right now, but God keeps taking me to the time when He had delivered the children of Israel by opening the Red Sea and then after that span of time bringing them to Jordan, and He told Joshua to tell the priests to “STAND STILL” in Jordan. Later, he told the 12 men to go back and pick up stones from the same spot where the priests had stood still. Oh, I am getting SO much good from that! While we are standing still, there are many lessons to be learned, and those lessons can be taken with us away from the trial when it is over! My little family and I have even been writing down the “lesson stones” we are gleaning from this trial, so later down the line, we can reflect back on them…sort of like the Ebenezer Stone in I Samuel 7:12. Sorry to be so long-winded, but I am just so blessed to read this and to see how God used you to reinforce things He has been telling us about “being still” and “standing still”. It takes a LOT of self-control to stand still, and allow God to do all the moving, because I just want to jump in there and fix things for find a quick remedy. That is not His way, and like you said, we just have to surrender to His timing and His escape route. (I Corinthians 10:13) I appreciate you, Brianna. God bless you, and may your computer issues be resolved soon. Praying for you!
Briana Thomas says
Thank you so much for sharing, Cheryl. I’ve heard the “stand still” story that you mentioned, and it’s been a big encouragement to me as well. So many times the Lord speaks of this, like when He says, “Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord!” I love your idea of writing down the “stones”…I’m sure those will be precious reminders to you later on down the road. Your comments are always such an encouragement; thank you!