“Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” Psalms 46:10 NKJV

This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible! It is my mantra in a seemingly always busy, rushed and stressed world.  When I am feeling overwhelmed in a situation or stressed about an issue, I stop; and breathe; and try to be still.  I repeat this verse to myself and clear my mind. I give God room to come in.

This may be a way to begin a morning Bible study. Be still for a few minutes, speak to God and ask him to speak to you through His Word. Then be still and wait on the peace and the joy and the closeness of God. This is also a wonderful verse to contemplate when outdoors in nature, God’s creation. Be still and feel God in His creation. Look at the complexity of a flower, the layers of a rock, the cool green moss on the forest floor and see God in this beautiful world He has created for us. I love to hear the wind move through the trees until it finally reaches me with a gentle breeze across my face, God’s touch!

Shifting our focus from our busy everyday lives to God and His still world can help us cope. When my children were young (which was a very long time ago!), we would have nap or quiet time. My son would fall asleep almost immediately, nap time! My daughter rarely napped, but would read a book or play very quietly in her bed. They both knew that we had quiet time for at least half an hour. And this became my “still” time with God. It helped to revive and calm me and give me the strength to face whatever else came my way that day.

“For the kingdom of God is…peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Romans 14:17 NKJV

Try to find your still time with God this week. You don’t have to talk or pray, you can just invite God to be close. Listening to God is hard (I continue to struggle with this) because so many other thoughts want to invade, problems come to the forefront, and others occupy our minds. But if we can “be still and know God”, then He will be exalted!

Just a side note: I looked up the definition of exalted when I had decided on the verse for today. The first definition is to place someone in high regard or at a powerful level (God, among the nations and in the earth), but the second one is a state of extreme happiness or joyful (us, when we are still and know God)!!

I thank God for each of you! And I thank you for being “still” with me today!