Message from Karen Boyce, Business Manager

If not already, schedules are about to be very hectic with holiday festivities. As I pull out the ornaments and tinsel, I also pull out one of my favorite Bible verses, “Be still and know that I am God.”~ Psalms 46:10. You can emphasize each word of this verse and it has a different impact on your heart.

BE still and know that I am God.

Be STILL and know that I am God.

Be still and KNOW that I am God

Be still and know that “I” am God.

Be still and know that I am GOD!

Psalms 46:10 has been my partner through a lot of circumstances. There are times that I need to do nothing more than to just exist as His child. Oftentimes, I need to interrupt my daily agenda and simply exist in His presence. When my own means exhaust me, I need His divine wisdom. For Him to remind us that HE is God, I need to remember that HE is the Almighty. And, always, I just need to stop long enough to remember His awesome power. To just say the name “God” brings His authority and humility to me.

Some people assign stillness with a negative connotation - as weak or disheartened. However, being still does not restrict my mobility. Rather, being still is a command that requires me to take courage in divine dependence rather than my own self. I can be still because of what I know about God. His command for me to be still forces realization that I am finite and then humble myself to His infiniteness. He provides me a controlled composure in my chaos.

So during this season, I pray for spiritual serenity - the kind that God gives despite our circumstances. Spiritual calm does not come from peace, but a steady deep reflection of how God intervenes in the midst of circumstances. In Romans 15:4, I find hope. “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.”

As a little girl, I remember going to church and my mother telling me “Sit Still!” My teachers told me the same thing in the classroom. I did not like those words. I did not have time for stillness. Now, sometimes I think God tells me to “Sit Still!” That command I have learned to obey. I pray for opportunities to be still and learn more about the infinite God that I love and who loves me
unconditionally.

May each of you have a wonderful and blessed Christmas season and find some time to be still.