The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.
—Exodus 14:14
“Be still, and know that I am God.”
—Psalm 46:10, NIV
I don’t know about you, but being “still” is no easy task for a CDQ (caffeinated drama queen), especially one two and half month’s behind on impending deadlines. Heck, even in church, my leg goes a mile a minute until Keith very slowly and calmly places his hand on my knee, yet another gentle signal that I am driving him crazy. Again. Of course, I immediately freeze, staying still until a tic finally twitches in my eye and then I start kicking all again without even realizing it.
One time in the first grade, a nun threw a book at me because I wouldn’t be still, and as luck would have it, that hardback book grazed my eye. Of course, being the CDQ I am, I capitalized on that with a very effective bout of tears that coerced the nuns into sending me home so my dad (whom I very tearfully and wisely informed was an eye surgeon) could attend to me. Worked like a charm because I’ll tell you what—I may be a wired CDQ, but I’m not a stupid one.
And then there was that time when I was sixteen and crying in my bed late at night because I had something the doctor’s diagnosed as middleschmertz, which basically boils down to ovulation cramps at a very high level of pain. Well, there I was sobbing, writhing and moaning like I was dying when my little sister runs to get Daddy, who promptly “stilled” me in his usual no-nonsense manner. “Knock it off and lie still,” he growled, “and tell me where it hurts.” More effective than a stun gun, my ophthalmologist dad could paralyze all fidgets and hysterics with a single glance, forcing me like nothing else to just “be still.”
Well, this week I learned just how important God thinks it is to “be still” and you know what? It’s a good thing, not a bad thing. It’s that moment when someone or something is about to impart blessing to you in some way. Be it a teacher who needs you to zip it and be still so she can convey a truth or lesson … or a pastor who needs you to be still so He can convey God’s message. Maybe a parent who needs a child to lie still so they can get well … or a mom who needs a little one to be still so she can remove a splinter.
Be still. Not an easy thing for some of us, is it? It sure wasn’t for me until this week when I was so close to TILT that I broke down sobbing to my prayer partners, discouraged and ready to throw in the towel. That’s when God dropped the two Scriptures above in my lap during my morning devotional reading. The first one, “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still,” is what God told the Israelites when they fretted over their enemies. And the second Scripture, “Be still and know that I am God,” is what He told me in the midst of my despair. But … it wasn’t until I read the Message translation of that very same verse that it hit me hard, not unlike that textbook the nun threw at me in the 1st grade—“Cease striving and know that I am God.”
Cease striving. In anotherwords, stop it, Julie—all the worry, all the dread, all the fretting that you won’t meet deadlines or worrying those endless hours of promotion for your Christmas e-book won’t achieve squat. Cease it—now!
Yeah, right. Not an easy thing to do, God, I think to myself, and then all at once it hits me—hard. The second part of the message—know that I am God. The same God who pulled me from the mire when I was a hard, calloused, hopeless wild child of the 60s/70s on the brink of destruction. The same God who scooped me up in His loving arms and set this orphan from a dysfunctional family of 13 into a family where a godly husband cherishes her and godly children bless her. A God who wants me to quit my yapping and complaining and crying and … just … be … still. To let Him do what He does so well in our lives and what He has never failed to do in mine: defend us, empower us, heal us, love us …
To just cease our anal striving and let God be God, leading the way to that elusive peace, calm, hope and joy that this CDQ has experienced more times than she can count but all too often fails to remember.
So repeat after me:
I will cease striving. I will remember Who God is and what He has done for me. Then I will be still … and let God be God in my life, directing my path with His power and wisdom, not my own.
Even if it takes a bloomin’ straitjacket to do it …
FABULOUS GIVEAWAYS!!! (Note: Pic shows all the books you can win at the Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt listed below.)
THE ENTIRE MONTH OF OCTOBER, 2012!
PRIZES GALORE TO CELEBRATE SEEKERVILLE’S 5TH BIRTHDAY!!! Free books, Kindle Paperwhite, gift baskets, computer, gift cards and more, so stop in to win!
Seekerville Birthday Party Giveaway
THROUGH OCTOBER 22, 2012:
FIVE CHANCES TO WIN A Love Surrendered at a giveaway on THE BOOKCLUB NETWORK blog at:
The Book Club Network Giveaway
THROUGH OCTOBER 22, 2012:
YOUR CHOICE OF ANY OF MY BOOKS at Finding Hope Through Fiction at:
Finding Hope Through Fiction Giveaway
OCTOBER 15 – 19, 2012:
YOUR CHOICE OF ANY OF MY BOOKS at Sarah Forgrave’s blog at:
Sarah Forgrave’s Blog Giveaway
OCTOBER 25 – 28, 2012:
Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt!! Please join me and 31 top CBA authors including Lisa Bergren, Liz Curtis Higgs, Kristen Heitzmann, Robin Lee Hatcher, Laura Frantz, MaryLu Tyndall, Tracy Higley and Tamara Alexander, to name only a few (entire list below) for an opportunity to win a Kindle Fire and 31 New Releases from these authors. The hunt features exclusive material from each author about their new release, not found anywhere else and a wide selection of prizes from each author.
My giveaway will be choice of any of my books, a $50 gift card and having a character named after you in my next book! The hunt begins at www.LisaBergren.com at Noon MST onThursday, October 25. The hunt can be completed anytime that weekend, so you have plenty of time to visit all 31 author sites and collect a clue. It’s fun … it’s easy … and it’s a great chance to win great prizes!! So remember … on OCTOBER 25 at Noon MST …click here to begin.
Here’s the author list and the pic to the left are all the books you can win, along with a Kindle Fire!!
- Tamera Alexander
- Ruth Axtell
- Lisa Bergren
- Lyn Cote
- Liz Curtis Higgs
- Margaret Daley
- Melanie Dickerson
- Melanie Dobson
- Laura Frantz
- Sibella Giorello
- Leslie Gould
- Winnie Griggs
- Robin Lee Hatcher
- Kristen Heitzmann
- Tracy Higley
- Sharon Hinck
- Vicki Hinze
- Ronie Kendig
- R. J. Larson
- Julie Lessman
- Judith Miller
- Nancy Moser
- Nicole O’Dell
- Marta Perry
- Sandra Robbins
- Susan Sleeman
- Janice Thompson
- MaryLu Tyndall
- Kim Vogel Sawyer
- Stephanie Whitson
- Jill Williamson
Happy weekend and Hugs,
Julie
